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Photo Scavenger Hunt ... and Wordzzle... and maybe some stuff...

Ten Word Challenge: build-a-bear workshop, man bites dog, opulent, disparaging, lipstick stain, preponderance, smoky quartz, clothes pin, meticulous, falling leaves

October 25, 2007 - Chicago, IL - MAN BITES DOG! In a rather bizarre turn of events today, Martin G. Russel, the city's most opulent citizen, asserts that his dog, Bailey, was bitten by a man with a clothes pin on his nose. While visiting the Build-A-Bear Workshop with his granddaughter at Chicago Towne Center, the meticulous Russel stated the man, who was wearing black dress slacks, white button down shirt, and a smoky quartz suit jacket simply walked up to him, bent over and bit his incredibly rare snow white bullmastif. The preponderance of eye witnesses confirmed the story and even added that the man left a bright red lipstick stain on the dog. Bailey did not bite back. According to standers by, the man then ran out crossing the street and disappeared into a wooded area nearby. Authorities have noted that his tracks were covered by the Windy City's falling leaves. Mr. Russel said the entire incident was quite disparaging, and he is flummoxed as to why it occurred. Police ask that anyone having information about the alleged dog biter, please call 1-800-DOG-BITE. All calls will remain anonymous.



Mini Challenge: moisturizing, pickles, seat belt, flip-flop, Chicago

Do you have dry, cracking feet? Are you tired of using gallons of lotion on them, leaving your hands a greasy mess? Well now your problems are SOLVED! Pickles all NEW Moisturizing Flip Flops will make your feet soft and supple... Your dry, tired feet will feel brand new! Just like a baby's! Just slip into a pair of Pickles Moisturizing Flip Flops and walk around. Your feet will be moisturized as you go about your day. And best of all - no gooey greasy lotion on your hands! You'll be able to fasten your seatbelt on the first try! And then drive on down to Pickles, on Chicago Avenue! Ask for YOUR new Moisturizing Flip Flops today! Yes, Moisturizing Flip Flops -- ONLY at Pickles! Get YOURS today! Just $19.95!

Labels: Photo Hunt, Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 20 comment(s)

Wordzzle.... and stuff...

10 Word: blinking, cellulite, crescent, ship-shape, homonym, suffering, packer, wind chime, scissors, necklace

I was stopped at the blinking light, contemplating whether the weather was way to warm since the humidity was weighing down my curls... and other such homonyms of life... when the suffering speedster behind me sat on his horn! Snapping out of my thoughts, I hit the gas and then wondered why I had bothered to stop for a blinking light? Must have been another senior moment. All the more reason to get myself back to the gym! They say that exercise keeps a mind fit as well as the body... if my brain is developing the same kind of cellulite my thighs have, I'm in deep doo doo! A few extra pilates will get this belly ship-shape! Ugh... right now it's more like crescent shaped! Sometimes I wish I could just take the scissors and cut the stupid flab off! My meat packer sister offered to do the job for me... offered me a free breast reduction too! But I need them! Who else could wear this wind chime necklace? No 36 C, that's for sure!!!


Mini Challenge: static, floppy hat, penguin, cinnamon, alphabetical

There once was a penguin with static
Who found a floppy hat in the attic
With a cinnamon wide brim
And alphabetical trim
Her waddle became quite dramatic!


Annnnnnd a MEGA...

Once upon a time (all good stories start that way) there was a little penguin. Pete. Pete the penguin. No no... that's much too obvious... Stanley. Stanley the penguin. Stanley was a very smart penguin! He could name all his cousin penguins in alphabetical order ... and he knew how to correctly use the most common homonyms too! (sometimes he got confused on sewer and suer - but then he'd never been sued, so that's understandable.) Every morning for breakfast Stanley ate eight slices of cinnamon toast. He loved cinnamon toast more than that cereal with crescent moons and 4 leaf clovers! The only problem with this was that he was starting to develop a little cellulite under his tail feathers. Stanley didn't mind a little cellulite. (He reasoned that he wasn't trying to wear a bikini, and in arctic temperatures, cellulite could probably only be a good thing!) The other thing that Stanley loved was participating in the annual snow and ice sliding contests! Stanley was actually a 3x Grand Champion in the Scissors Sling and he would be defending his title on the Necklace Loop Track this year! The Necklace Loop was his favorite! He spent hours out by the track watching the Packers pack the ice good and tight and smooth it to perfection. Stanley dreamed about whisking down that last slope through the finish line! Ice sliding was in his blood! He knew the competition was stiff - but Stanley spent hours every single day on the practice ice perfecting his form and getting himself ship-shape for the event!

On the morning of the big race, Stanley got up extra early. (He was much too excited to sleep) He preened every feather into place, and brushed his beak, and ate his eight slices of cinnamon toast. While he was eating something happened. First one little tail feather sprang up. Then a wing feather ruffled. And then a couple of belly feathers popped loose. Ohhhhhh NO! Stanley was suffering from a case of Feather Flare! (Feather Flare is aerodynamically fatal to an ice slider!) Blinking back tears of frustration, he did the only thing that would come to mind at a time like this. He phoned Mom! She told him not to worry - but to meet him at the track and she would bring the cure! Stanley put a lot of trust in his Mom, but if this didn't work he was one trussed penguin! He donned a big floppy hat, in hopes that no one would recognize him, and headed over to the Loop. Sure enough, Mom was there, can in hand! They went into the locker igloo and she sprayed him down with Static Guard. She warned him that this was just a temporary fix. It would get him through the race, but he would have to change his diet! (He needed more protein and less carbohydrates! Penguins are fish eaters for a reason! It keeps their feathers smooth and sleek!) They quickly re-preened him and he was at the gate just in time! The race started with the sound of the ... wind chime?

Labels: Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 17 comment(s)

Wordzzle ... and Stuff...

Laying on her bunk thinking back over the past 20 years, she wondered what exactly was the catalyst that landed her where she was. She hadn't always been such a misanthrope. Once upon a time she actually liked people! She could remember her first crush... Calvin Boondoggle... when he'd asked her out she felt like she'd hit the lottery! Then he gave her his game winning hockey puck - that sealed it! But in 8th grade it's nothing more than puppy love. It only lasted until Insipid, her little green parakeet pooped on his team shirt ... easy come, easy go. Then there was the erudite Jason Willowthorpe. They had a wonderfully torrid thing going that summer between junior and senior year. That might have actually lasted if it hadn't been for that totalitarian tycoon he called "Father"... when "Father" found out they were dating he was livid! How could HIS son date "that repugnant piece of filth" from Keller Falls? How could he judge her simply on the town she lived in? She would have liked to throw him naked into a pool filled with bluebottle man o'wars! But none of that compared to Bobby Poole. You're a fool Bobby Poole! He thought she would just display her usual apathy... but you just don't take your wife's name off the credit cards without telling her! His moronic thinking had landed him just where he deserved. And she shivered realizing it was almost as cold in this jail cell as it was for Bobby laying in the morgue.


Back when my 3 youngest were very small ... and up until they were young teenagers... I had a friend who only had ONE child. He and my Derek were very good friends and on and off through the years Kenny spent a LOT of time at our house. His mom, who was a very good friend of mine would roll her eyes at me and say "Melli, I don't know HOW you DO it with 3 of them!" She could never keep up with just one! Back then I thought my friend was a bit of a wimp. And then came Luz! ROFL!!! I told my hubby this evening that I now fully understand what Debbie was always talkin' about back then!!! ONE CHILD is a LOT of work!!! I keep wondering if I really have the energy to BE a Nana when I'm with her! And yet... I keep tellin' myself, SELF... this is EASY! She's just ONE little girl ! But it is not easy. Well... part of it is Luz has nightmares. She woke up crying 3 times during the night last night - so neither PopPop nor myself got hardly any sleep last night. Of course, when Luz is done she just goes back to sleep... while he and I lay there and toss and turn. If I weren't painting the kitchen and the "spare" room weren't once again filled with JUNK... Luz and I usually sleep down there so that at least Dennis gets a good night's sleep! BUT... on top of that... from the very MINUTE Luzi Goose opens her eyes in the morning, she starts rapid firing questions at me! !!WHA!!? ... I can't THINK that fast -- not even after 3 cups of coffee! It doesn't stop! She is a whirlwind of activity and stories and questions! She can have EVERY toy in the house out and strewn across the floor in a matter of about 30 minutes! I find myself just kinda of watching in a daze and shakin' m'head... my house was clean yesterday ... for a minute! WHERE do they GET this energy and why don't I remember MY kids having THAT much of it!? I know for a fact that my kids liked to lounge around in the morning... watch a couple of hours of Barney and gently sliiiiiiiide into their day. Ms. Luz Estrella wants no such sliiiiiiiding. She JUMPS into her day! HELLO DAY! HERE I AM! Whew! Soooooo... Amanda and Hector and Mathew picked up she and Krysti and they all went to a Halloween Movie Fest this evening -- It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and Casper - The Movie. They invited me to come along... but I'm doing just I what I'd planned for this evening. I'm catching my breath!

Labels: Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 15 comment(s)

Saturday Photo Hunt... Wordzzle...

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: tattletale, homogeneous, flighty, cornucopia, plethora, militant, lovelorn, myopic, digitalized, mute

Oh, I am so MAD at that bratty little militant tattletale I could just spit nails! Do you know what she's done? We were having a perfectly fair and FUN little competition to see who could snag the most spewlies on campus... you don't know what a spewlie is? Oh! They are those homogeneous little bobble things they put in the mugs down at the pub! You know... after a few too many (or even one) they're fun to toss around and play with! But it was just for fun! Ya know? EVERYBODY has them! So anyway... I just happened to mention it to the soccer team after Tuesday night's win and they all saved their spewlies for ME! I didn't ASK 'em to! They just did it! Well, little miss flirty flighty is rather lovelorn at the moment and has her myopic eye set on Chad - you know - captain of the team! It doesn't seem to matter a fig that HE hasn't even noticed she exists, while Brandon's tongue is practically hanging on the ground every time she walks by... she won't give him the time of day! So now she's all snarly at ME because Chad gave me his spewlies! It's not like she caught us under the bleachers or something! So... what'd she do? She went to the DEAN! Now mind you, she DIDN'T tell on the soccer team! Just on ME! So of course, MY dorm was searched and they found my plethora of spewlies spilling out of the cornucopia on my shelf... Sure, I coulda made up some canned story about "finding" them all or how they were all given to me or something, but it just wasn't worth it - ya know? I mean, EVERYBODY has spewlies! What's the big deal? Well... I'll tell ya... the big deal is that NOW, since she tattled, spewlies are no longer allowed on campus! This is sO juvenile! Next they'll be installing digitalized breath analysis on campus or something! The whole thing has just left me MUTE! (can't you tell?)


And for the Mini Challenge: washing machine, cholesterol, blatantly, Birdman of Alcatraz, poltergeist

Did you ever have one of those days where nothing goes right? Today was one of those days. It started out with poltergeist in my washing machine, moved on to a bat in the basement about the size of the Birdman of Alcatraz! How it got in there, I have no idea! Then the doctor called with my the results of my blood tests. My cholesterol is sky high! Satan is blatantly messing with me, and I'm going back to bed and pray! Maybe when I get up again, it will all be over!

Labels: Photo Hunt, Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 34 comment(s)

Maryland Crabs... Photo Hunt... Wordzzle... and stuff...

You may not know it, but Maryland's logo is... Maryland Is For Crabs. You know... the whole Chesapeake Bay thing, and the Maryland Blue Crabs... I've always thought it was a stupid logo - but the fact is, it is ours! What are ya gonna do?

Well, for ONE, you eat a LOT of crabs when you live in Maryland! I LOVE crabs! Most folks who were born here I believe grow up LOVING crabs. But maybe not this kind so much...

Labels: Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 21 comment(s)

Wordzzle... and Beachy Stuff...

Words for this week's 10-word challenge: budget, news, outer space, gargantuan, brass band, Purple Rose of Cairo, polar bears, insight, innovations, mute


I heard on the news the other night about that new "budget" dance club for poor blokes like me. They were having their grand opening Friday night and I stopped in. They had a great brass band playing... Purple Rose of Cairo & The Polar Bears! The trumpet player was awesome, and the trombone ... DUDE! The light show was like something from outer space... which was cool because the decor is all gallactic too. I ordered a Blue Moon and it came to me in a gargantuan space capsule with those flickering lights around it! Totally cosmic! The club is split into nine separate areas - each a different planet - and Saturn even has rings floating around it - what
great innovations! The owners have put a lot of thought into this and have some great insight! And the fact that there was NO cover charge left me mute! I think Planktyn Planet is going to be smashing success!



And for the mini challenge: investments, purring, death penalty, mercury, convalescent home


When our investments plummeted, the engine quit purring and the mercury climbed higher. It felt like a death penalty, but we had no choice... we would have to send the old clunker to a convalescent home for Ford Trucks.

Labels: Ella, Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 9:43 AM | 16 comment(s)

Closing Doors... Wordzzle #3 (for me) ... and the Zoo!

Each week Raven challenge's the blogosphere to come up with a story or a poem or some sort of prose involving a list of 10 words she gives us. She also offers a smaller 5 word challenge... and the Mega Combo!

This is my 3rd week playing! I didn't think I could do this even the first week - but it's sorta growing on me! I'm really having fun with it! I still find myself wondering with each list, will I be able to DO this? WHAT will these words do? WHAT will they become? Even I'm surprised at the end! LOL!

This week's Ten Word Challenge: invincible, falling leaves, lap top, two-year-old, fusion, grizzly bear, Jamaica, delivery, popsicle stick, caviar

And my story...

I was working under cover for the D-double U-M-B ( i could tell ya what it stands for - but then I'd have to kill ya) . I needed to infiltrate Fusion Manor so's I could deposit my surveillance apparatus. Seemed like a gravy job... in and out... then Jamaica was mine for the rest of the week. I donned my Swann's Food Delivery uniform, and put the popsicle stick in my pocket. (clever, these gadgets... you can disguise them as anything these days.) I figured the popsicle stick would be easy to hide and hard to recognize since the runt was only a two-year-old. Surely even the rich kids eat popsicles ... especially in Jamaica! I drove around to the service entrance, and knocked. "Mrs. White" let me in. I think she did it in the kitchen with the ... lead pipe. I told her I was here to stock the freezer and if she'd just show me where it was I wouldn't bother her any further. She escorted me right through the old man's office and into the five car garage. To the right was the "meat locker". I was gonna need another truck. She followed me back out to the kitchen, but then she busied herself with the dishes, and I got to work. I loaded up my dolly with some meat boxes, and strolled right past her. After depositing the load, I made a pitstop in the office long enough to hide the popsicle stick in a book, peeking out the top, straight across from the laptop. Perfect. Now, I don't think I'm invincible or anything. I take my job seriously and I scoped this place out. So HOW did I miss the pet grizzly bear? I'd just closed up the back of my truck when suddenly I was flat on my back with an 80 pound paw on my chest. There I lay without so much as a can of caviar in my pocket wondering what to do next. It was then that I noticed the falling leaves...

And for the Mini Challenge: toad stool, liquid lunch, counting sheep, manacles, Jurassic Park

Something made me try a poem this week...

As I was nodding off to sleep
Counting sheep
...Off to sleep
A glimpse of something in the dark
Jurassic Park?
...Deep in the dark...
Dragon wings all tied and bound
manacles tethered to the ground
whispered roars the only sound...
Squatting under a toad stool
An elfin man with magic jewel
His eyes say he's not cruel
Ties fall off; dragon is free
Trusty man is he.
No more liquid lunch for me.

Labels: Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 18 comment(s)

Wordzzle

Each week Raven challenge's the blogosphere to come up with a story or a poem or some sort of prose involving a list of 10 words she gives us. She also offers a smaller 5 word challenge... and the Mega Combo! I decided to combine them for the Mega Challenge this week.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: pogo stick, ant farm, psychic, tin box, wall safe, Waterloo, surge protector, pneumonia, ravages of time, turtle

And for the Mini Challenge: Swollen ankles, opera singer, toothy grin, oil paints, potter’s wheel



Yea... so I was visiting my friend Gattina in Belgium last month when she asked if I had ever been to an ant farm. I can pretty much guarantee that I never have, so she suggested we go to the one in Waterloo. You know me - I'm up for ANYTHING... so I donned my Crocs (to guard against swollen ankles), grabbed my purse out of the wall safe, and my camera and off we went!

As we drove along we passed La Monnaie, and Gattina relayed funny stories about this opera singer or that. One story in particular had me laughing so hard I could hardly breath! Apparently a long time ago there was a girl - Angelina Chalmondelay - who had the most beautiful voice ever heard in all the world! She started singing when she was practically an infant, and by the time she was 6 she had her own spotlight on the local radio show! Little Angelina could sing opera as well as any adult woman performing in the finest opera houses! But! (there is always a but, is there not?) But ... She could only sing while she was hopping on a pogo stick! If she were not on the stick she was paralyzed with fear and shyness! But on the radio, who knew? No one could see her! They just listened to her beautiful voice and marveled at what such a young child could do! But as she grew older, and began receiving offers to perform on stage... well, you can imagine, THIS became quite a problem! They tried everything they could think of, but she was held tight by the ravages of time! Eventually they hit upon the idea of a hypnotist. They called in the famous Beardson Bellina, a giant of a man with a big toothy grin. Bellina was able to hypnotize Angelina, and at last she was able to sing without the pogostick! Angelina and Beardson ended up falling madly in love and married! She became Angelina Bellina! (you didn't have to be psychic to figure that one out, did ya?)

By the time we arrived at the Ant Farm, I had been laughing so hard my lungs felt like I had pneumonia! (okay... honestly... you have to hear the way Gattina tells the story!) At the entrance of the farm was a big stone statue of a turtle. I thought that perhaps being that ants aren't really all THAT fascinating that the farm had branched out... but no! It turns out that turtles don't eat ants, and so ants have adopted the turtle as their "great protector"... they give homage to the turtle, if you will. Hey! I guess every place has to have a gimmick of some sort!

We went into the visitor's center to get a map of the place and see what was on the Ant Agenda for the day. We chose a good day because throughout the farm was an art exhibit. As we strolled the grounds - trying really hard not to step on any of the residents - we enjoyed fabulous works! Of course, they were all of ants or antish things. My favorites were one artists rendition of ANThony & Cleopatra - she had used oil paints in the style of pointillism and it was really quite impressive ... and another was a statue that appeared to have been sculpted - but I couldn't even believe my own eyes as I watched the artist create these fabulous ants - on her potter's wheel!!! You would never believe it if you didn't see it! I had to have one!

On the way home we stopped at the Midi Market! I've always wanted to go there. I got some lovely jewelry and a great deal on jeans! I bought some fresh spices to bring home with me, and some fresh fruits and veggies for supper that night! I also got an adorable little hand painted tin box - perfect to keep my jewelry safe! Silly Gattina! All she bought was a new surge protector!

Next Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: invincible, falling leaves, lap top, two-year-old, fusion, grizzly bear, Jamaica, delivery, popsicle stick, caviar

And for the Mini Challenge: toad stool, liquid lunch, counting sheep, manacles, Jurassic Park

Labels: Wordzzle

posted by Melli at 8:07 AM | 20 comment(s)