Photo Friday: dusk

Taken on a mountaintop overlooking Phoenix, Sept. 2006:

pictures-206

You know you wanna see everyone’s else’s Dusk pics, so check out Photo Friday’s Link Viewer.

PhotoFriday: Strange

Can you tell I’m such a procrastinator. I have a ton to do, & it’s not like I don’t want to do it, I desperately need to find a new place asap. I just don’t feel like making a bunch of phone calls. And my mind wanders, & I was wondering what the PhotoFriday challenge was for this week, cause in all honesty, I haven’t even checked up on them ever since I thought they started putting up lame challenges way back last Fall. So, I stopped participating.

But this week’s challenge is “Strange”, & it made me think of these trees I saw in Phoenix when I was there last September. Take a look:It’s kinda strange, but mainly just weird. My cousin & I went out to lunch at this yummy place (forget the name), & in the parking lot were all these trees. A LOT of them had these weird, un-natural shaped trunks. I mean, it’s un-natural right? No normal trees grow this way. This was definitely man-altered right?

You can click on the pic to see it enlarged & in all it’s glory. And as usual, you can click here to see other PhotoFriday submissions in the link-viewer.

I’m currently baking

Not “baking-baking”, as in pastries in the oven. Although I did make cupcakes last night. But honestly really truly baking myself. I’ve been up since 7 am & out in the glorious “77 degrees at 9 am sun”.

It is truly beautiful out here. Gorgeous. Sunny & gorgeous & warm. And beautiful. A change of scenery is always nice & very much appreciated. I’m not blogging b/c I’m enjoying my surroundings & the weather & my family.

Oh, did I tell you guys I’m in Phoenix? Beautiful, gorgeous, sunny PHOENIX! ~sigh~

My niece saw a black snake as we were walking to the bus-stop this morn. I wish I could post some pics, but I forgot the usb cord that connects my cam to Fernando.

Oh, did I tell y’all I finally picked a name for my new laptop? I ran the choices by my nieces & was secretly hoping that they also would like Fernando, & they DID!!! So, I’m happy to announce the name now. I said I liked it cause then he’ll have his own song, & I could call him Fern for short. I like when you have a long girl’s name (ie. Alexandra), & the shorter version is like a boy’s name (ie. Alex). Or, vice versa. The girls thought I should call him Ferny for short instead of Fern. So, I’ve concluded that it’s Fernando, short version will be Fern, & the affectionate nickname will be Ferny.

Growing up, we’ve all had our affectionate nicknames. I’ve had quite a few that I’ve been called, & some family members still call me by those names. Most call me by my proper (real) name, but I still have an aunt who calls me “Chuckee”, which was one of my nicknames.

Ernesto, fun new toys, & my hair

Ok, so here’s the thing. I’ve got lots to tell. Today’s Friday, which means PhotoFriday, but I’ll just have to post a PhotoFriday pic sometime this weekend.

I got my new laptop. It’s cool, & new, & just the greatest thing EV-A. I love it. I haven’t named it yet, & am taking suggestions. I am leaning towards naming it a boy’s name. We name all nice things girls’ names, but not boy’s. Like ships, cars, all that stuff. So, I’m leaning towards a boy’s name. And we all remember how sexy a name I thought Ernesto was when that hurricane was comin round. Oh, wait, did I not share all that w/ y’all? Yeah, I just looked through my emails & saw that I didn’t. I’d just emailed my thoughts on the rainy season, & Ernesto w/ my girls. I’m not gonna post what everyone had to say about Ernesto here. Eh, what the hey, I might as well. Here’s what my girls had to say in response to one of my emails I sent around where, at the end I mention how sexy Ernesto sounds.

Now that I’m thinking about sexy Ernesto, I’ve forgotten about the cold and rain. Oh the things he could do to me. Excuse me for a bit. 😀 haha
–sparks

Ernesto does sound sexy…Everytime I hear a newsperson say it (or everytime I read it) I think of a swarthy, dark, tall, handsome man with chocolate brown eyes and wavy black hair. Very Harlequin romance picture in my head. Unfortunately, like most sexy men, he will do a lot of damage. 🙂
–urban cowgirl

So, anyway, I want to name my laptop a boy’s name. Not Ernesto. Maybe something equally ‘cabana-boy’-like; def something exotic & unusual. Any thoughts? Keep in mind that he’s very powerful (my laptop, not Ernesto or any assorted cabana-boy). He’s got a hundred gig memory so I can store all my junk (ie pics, music, & videos), & a centrino duo processor. I have no idea what that’s for, but both of my sisters said I need it to do what I do, so it’s what I have now. So, again, we’re lookin for a name! Please help.

And, last night, I drove down to Akron with my dad & BOUGHT A CAR!!! Yes, a brand, spankin new car. A new car that’s currently sittin pretty in my driveway right now, b/c I can’t drive it until I go see Nikolina tomorrow & get it added onto my insurance. It’s black. BUT, it’s not just black. It’s black w/ teeny-tiny flecks/specks of blue & purple mixed into the black paint, so it looks really metallic & sharp! I love it! It’s a 2007 Corolla LE, & it’s got a 6-disc changer.

Do I need a 6-disc changer? No. I really don’t. I explained to the car-dude that what I really need is a single disc player that plays both audio cds & mp3 cds. But he said that’s just not available on my car model. Whatev. I’ll deal w/ what I’ve got.

And, even more NEWS!!! I’m going rock-climbing in AZ for my beautiful, cute little (well, she’s not so little anymore really) niece’s birthday. I can’t wait to go! I leave next week & will be there for a week. Ok, more later. Can I just say that I’m really very excited about everything.

Oh, & there’s some mediocre news too…
I got my hairs all cut last weekend. I went in & asked for just an inch off at most. I told the chickee that I wanted to keep my length, but I really the split ends cut off. And I wasn’t delusional, I knew I had split ends that needed to go. I missed a hair cut appointment entirely in b/t now & my last cut. PLUS, I’d done some serious damage to my hair by straightening it during this really humid summer. So, I told her to do what she had to, but no more than an inch off the length. Well, she cut it, it looked a little short, but I thought it was just me not being used to having my hair cut. I just had it pulled back after b/c I was going straight to go work out & shower after that. After all that, I let my hair down. And was shocked. SHOCKED! I showed my sister (who’s visiting home from school), & she confirmed that the chickee had to have taken at least 2 or 3 inches off.

I was pretty pissed. I’m still a little irratated. I mean, it still looks cute. (Seriously, I don’t know how, w/ a face like this, any hair wouldn’t look cute). But I was pissed that I was told one thing & something else was done. You know? I don’t like being lied to. I feel betrayed. It wouldn’t be so bad if I knew what was gonna happen.

You know, it’s like when you eat something salty when you’re expecting something sweet. Or, a few weekends ago, me & my 2 sisters went to Trader Joe’s & I found a bag of the salted pb-filled pretzel nuggets I love. They’re usually out, but someone had picked up a bag, & then dropped it off in the frozen food aisle cause they prob decided against it. So, in the car, on the way to our next shopping destination, I asked my sis to open the bag of pretzels so we could have some. She put one in her mouth, & was grossed out cause there was something gooey inside. She didn’t know they were filled w/ pb. It’s like that.

Anyway, my hair was like that. If I knew she was going to cut off that much, it wouldn’t have bothered me as much. Just let me know.