Wordless Wednesday

Ooh La La!

Coasting.....

In the interest of celebrating the beginning of Good Luck 2010, we took off on Friday to spend a couple nights at the coast. The good signs of fun started right away when John drove up in our rental car, a sporty, 2 door Nissan Altima. Last time we went to the coast, we ended up with a PT cruiser, complete with wood paneling. This time, we didn't have to walk around the block before getting back into our car for fear of being seen with it. The Altima was cool and fast and fun. The weather was amazing. As soon as we saw ocean, we started to get excited to reach our destination, The Rogue Pub in Newport. When we walked in, we saddled up to the bar, ordered some Dead Guys, and made friends with Awesome Bartender, Chris.
After a couple beers and some calamari, we headed down to our usual town for coastal sleeping, Yachats. We scored a pretty good room and spent some time on the ocean and then went into town for a dinner from the appetizer menu and the wine bar and then a nightcap at the Adobe before heading back to fall asleep to the sound of waves on the shore. Morning brought a oceanside jog and one of JJ's goals, a dip in the ocean (for him, not me, are you kidding?) Then it was time to pack up, head back north to Depoe Bay for a quick breakfast of clam chowder and a Whale Watching trip!! Hooray!
We saw some whale action, but seriously, the boat ride is enough to be worth the trip. I can't wait to do it again. Weary from our time at sea, it was back to Newport and to Rogue, where we ended up meeting some awesome new friends, as we tend to do. A little more of Yachats night life, a little more time on the beach and back home on Sunday, rested, happy and optimistic about this next stretch of life.

Here's JJ taunting the sea....
It responds....
Is that all you've got?
nope.

How cute would you be delivering dessert in this?

Little Black Kitty tries to figure out how to put it on....
If you must have a set, I'm heading to Last Thursday today to sell them!! Also, I have a plethora of Halloween and Christmas pasties. If you can't make it to Last Thursday, check out the Etsy page or email me!

and Kim, here you go, 80's wife, circa 1988.

Wordless Wednesday: 80's Husband

Once upon a time.....

I recently got a message from an ex-coworker that said they found a bunch of my old pics on my old laptop and burned them to cd for me in case I didn't have them. as I went through what I'd left (and to my disappointment, there wasn't even any nudity to cause embarrassment to the guy who found them on there...) it was fun to see some of the pictures that I hadn't seen in a few years. It reminded me of this little story, stolen from my old myspace blog in Jan 07:

This happened as I was heading to Grand Forks to judge the dance competition last week: I spent the morning on my Treo: work, work, work… I stopped for a minute and went to use my stylus. Hmmm, can't find it. looked through all my bags and coat pockets. No luck...

Oh well, on to the plane to Minneapolis. Fly to Minneapolis

Off the plane and across the terminal and to the bar… work some more. Where the hell did that stylus go?!?

Then grab a cup of hot chocolate and head to where I board the plane to Grand Forks.

Go to bathroom and happen to look in the mirror: ..Nice. I spent 10 hours with a stylus horn yesterday. Worst unicorn ever. Feel free to make fun of me..

Addendum: A guy at my office passed me this morning and put his pointer finger up in the middle of his forehead to simulate the stylus above. When he did, it made his thumb go out to the side, making the same finger "L" for loser that we used in high school. I just can't win :)

I am very happy to announce....

that John got a job!!!!!!
Not just a job-to-get-by job, but a real one that he's REALLY looking forward to. He is going back to a company that he worked at for four years. He is going back in a completely different capacity but is going to be surrounded by people he likes, working for a company that he believes in, and doing a job that will challenge him and make him learn. It also happens to be downtown, conveniently located across the bridge from Vega.

also, they have kick ass holiday parties.

It was at this time last year (this very weekend, actually) that the first signs showed up that something was wrong with him. Cancer wasn't even on our radar screen yet, but it was the beginning of what it turned out to be. For the last year, we have had more than our share of well, I don't know if I'd say bad luck, but certainly a lack of good luck. It has been a hard year. A really hard year, in a lot of ways. and now, its over. We've worked through a lot of stuff together (and separately) and we are grateful for our friends who have been there for us too. Not that we won't still be susceptible to the occasional bad days that come with simply existing, but I feel like the really hard part is over, and we made it. and we're still holding hands. I am going to stick the SS/JJ flag of victory in the ground right now, look back at last year, flip it the bird and then look forward to what lies ahead. The possibilities are endless.

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

I can't believe that I forgot to share this with y'all, but a couple weeks ago, John and I watched the cinematic thrill that is Mega Shark s. Giant Octopus. First, I mean, with that name, how could we lose? Second, it starred someone we all remember from our Electric Youth, Miss Debbie Gibson (except she goes by Deborah now, presumably to be taken more seriously as an "actress"). Third, it also starred Renegade, Lorenzo Lamas. If those three things don't convince you to search out this movie, maybe this will:

Huckleberry Hunting

JJ and I spend quite a bit of couple time with two lovely ladies, Jen and Jen, aka The Jens. Last weekend, John was doing man stuff and I got to join the Jens for a girl day in the woods, picking huckleberries. I had never done it and we had gorgeous weather, fun company and Jen fashioned these cool bucket holsters for us to fill with berries. After spending quite a bit of time picking and thinking about hiking to another area, Jen and I heard "um, you guys, there's this sign here that says this land is reserved for the Native Americans for huckleberry picking...." oops. In our defense, the sign isn't even on the trail and is written in about 8 pt font. So after that, we went for a little hike, picked a few more berries in an area that was not reserved for anyone, I mean as far as we could tell, took turns climbing onto a giant rock and taking pictures of each other and then as with all good outings, ended the trip with a beer.

Wordless Wednesday

All Hallows....Eve?

So in preparation for the upcoming Halloween and Christmas holidays, we over here at Strippy Longstocking have been busy making some seasonal bling for boobies everywhere. (I kind of hope when you read that, you picture our living room full of fabric and sequins and rhinestones and an assembly line comprised of me, Pasty Cline, John and Little Black Kitty) As I was working on some Halloween themed ones, I was also thinking about good costumes that one could wear and rock some pasties. When I was struck with the best idea ever, I created these. May I present, Eve:
I totally want to be Eve for Halloween, but am just a little afraid of the weather. Halloween is not always very warm and the party I think we'll be at is outside (and zombie inspired, so I guess I would have to go as Zombie Eve, no big whoop.. she's dead anyway so if she was at a party, she'd probably be a zombie...) anyway, the weather is a big concern, but not the biggest... It's convincing John to go as Adam.

Dear Kimberly Yannarelemenapeeno,

It's just not as fun to be the Random Tandem when my dress up cohort wants to live in HI, where all there is to wear is grass skirts and coconuts. If you were still here, you'd have this on too and we'd use it as an excuse to go to the bar. We'd the the funny, hot girls. If I do it alone, I'm just that weird girl in the bikini... If I take that picture of you with me and start talking to it at the bar, no one will even sit by me.
PS: Wings are kind of complicated. I wonder how the birds do it?

More dancing!

Wordless Wednesday

The other side of paradise....

My friend Kim has been trying to convince me to move to Hawaii since Memorial Day. She got a job there and has been trying to swoon me with promises of sunshine, ocean, rainbows and unicorns. But I know me, and I'm a country girl at heart, and have to be able to get to the midwest, or at least the middle of nowhere, if I need to. I enjoy miles and miles of road, wide open spaces, I love road trips, unknown destinations, and feeling of escape. Plus, I don't have to go to Hawaii to find unicorns. Hell, I found these two this weekend in Huntington, OR...

and I know the ocean is nice, but I spent the weekend with no desire to be anywhere but here...
PS: yes Kim, those are your shorts. I haven't taken them off since you left.

Something fun...

I got to sub Evie's class this week and decided to rock some Broadway...

I don't know what to be more shocked about....

That she's actually gone,
That she lives in Hawaii now,
That her last name is now Yannariello,
That she found the internet and started a blog,
or that she can spell.

Religion is weird...

but I have to admit I'd be interested in hearing a sermon based around picnic inflatables.
PS: Do you know what a picnic inflatable is? a blow up BBQ?

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard in the bathroom at the state fair...

"What, did you drop your hat in the toilet?"
"No, but my teeth almost fell out..."