Bad Hair Day

There are good days and bad days. Yesterday was a bad day. First off, I headed outside to walk to the hair salon (for a haircut) and it was raining. Then, holding onto the handle I swung my umberella to extend it and the functional part of the thing fell off into the mud. And then, when I got to the salon, the guy who cut my hair, butchered it. And now I can only do one thing with it. AND to add insult to injury, I now must use a ton of product to make it do the one thing to it. Otherwise it just looks awful. I guess those were really the only things that happened, but truely, a horrid haircut can ruin your day.
The good news is the hot pink that went into my hair the day before yesterday looks great! It's almost a perfect match for the pink in my orange and pink glasses. And I love it.

Other than that I have no new news. At least nothing that I can share with anyone. Secrets. Aren't they fun?

--Little Bird wants a good day.....soon

Frozen Bunny

Oh, Spring you fickle season. The other day you teased us. It was so nice outside. Not exactly warm, but the promise of better weather. And then yesterday. Why do you do this to us? It SNOWED!! There is still snow on the ground. And piles of what Wendy over at poundy.com calls "lumpy icefuck". That awful conglomeration of ice, dirty ice, and the droppings of pets, not to mention the trash dropped by people.
It'll be Easter tomarrow and there is snow on the ground. Grrrrrrr. But hey, tracking that Easter Bunny will be easy.
I need spring to really arrive. I would even welcome the thunderstorms.


--- Little Bird is in danger of turning into a broken record

Suburban Hell, Retail Style

Ikea is a wonderfull place. That I love. It is unfortunately located in the suburbs. Which I hate. It takes forever to get from one place to another. Even if that other place is only on the other side of eght lanes of traffic. And they have a ridiculously large parking lot.
A couple words of wisdom for those of you contemplating making that trek out to the world of no sidewalks, DO NOT WEAR HIGH HEELS. The store is huge. No. Really. It's huge. Three floors of inexpensive furniture and stuff. I call it stuff 'cause really, that's all it really is. Also, when you know that you will be shopping in Ikea, eat there and get a beer. You'll need it. Yes, they serve beer. Lastly, bring a limited amount of cash. DO NOT BRING A LOT OF MONEY OR A CREDIT CARD. It's too easy to pick up eight tons of stuff all the while telling yourself "Oh, it's perfect and only $2.99". That stuff adds up. Remember, three floors.
That being said I picked up a few things. On the completely useless side of things, I got a set of lights that are shaped like, yup, little birds. For my aunt I got a few purple kitchen items (she loves purple the way I like orange). I got a few things for my folks but I'm not telling what because she reads this. The set of flatware will come in handy since my old stuff is so old and beat up the spoons are practicaly serrated. And last, but not least, the item that caused the most problems, a giant but shallow underbed drawer. I'm not even sure it'll fit. It is currently at Gingers boyfriends house awaiting transport here. It didn't really fit all that well in Gingers car. And she stayed out in the burbs. I took a Metra train back.
So I'm sitting here enjoying my pretty little birdy lights. And planning my next trip to Ikea, as I priced and got a first hand look at the two furniture items I've been interested in. You got that Mom?

---Little Bird now needs to recover, from the burbs

Memories

I woke up today remembering a morning in the last town I lived in. It was early summer. And early morning. There was that haze in the morning that promises the day will by noon be a green leafy sauna. I was on a health kick and had decided to walk around the park. I did this 3 or 4 times a week for about a month. It wasn't summer in its full glory, the leaves were still light and bright, not the deep lush green of true summer. I had already walked past the mounted police stables, but hadn't yet reached the zoo. It was hot, but not that shirt stuck to your back, clammy hot.
It's that memory I think of when I think of summer. Of what the perfect day feels like. I'm waiting anxiously for weather like that again. For the opertunity to go for a walk in the park. To walk by the lake, to sit under the trees. To not need to wear three layers of fleece plus a down coat. To walk to the florist and get fresh flowers that won't freeze before I get them home. I want to have house guests over and be able to take them to all the great outdoor sights this place has to offer. To not have this awful, weird winter cold and flu crap. I think I'm ready for spring. I just hope I have that afternoon free to go to the park.


---Little Bird is ready for spring fever

Monsoon

This has been an eventful week or so for me. I had a house guest over that I've known since grade school. We're talking 28 years here. We had a blast, breakfasts, beer, roller derby, more beer, sushi, beer again and the phone call from hell. You know the phrase "Into each life a little rain must fall"? Or something like that. Well, I think I now fully understand that. I got an 8:20 a.m. phone call from my stepmother. This woman has not called or willingly spoken to me in 12 years. In a nutshell she wants to stop paying my life insurance and me to take over the payments. AND she wants me to keep her and my father and her as the beneficiaries. Then she talked to me for 2 hours about nothing. I don't like this woman and this woman doesn't like me. She systematicly cut my father off from every woman in his family. His mother, his sisters, and me his daughter. She insulted me several times. She insulted my mother. She patted herself on the back and basicly I wanted to hurl. Then I told her that the last time she recieved a communication from me I meant what I said. That I was tired of being insluted every time she communicated with me. That she had hung up on me everytime I had ever called since I was 21. My childhood friend told me she was proud of me. I think I got caught in a monsoon. I was physically exhausted by the time I got off the phone.

I did find out that I can cash out that insurance package and then I could maybe get a few things out of the way.

--Little Bird is keeping an eye out for lighting at this point

Recycled Books

ECO-LOGICAL

Are you like me, one of the many who bring their canvas bags to the grocery store? Do you feel bad when you forget it/them? The only part of it that makes me feel bad is that then I have to carry my purchases home in the bags provided by the store. And those bags don't have long enough handles to go over my shoulder. I walk to the store folks. Not all that far, but when plastic handles are cutting into your hands it's far enough.
On the flip side of this is the fact that I use grocery bags as trash bags. I run out frequently. It's kind of a catch-22. I'm not using canvas bags for the eco-friendly aspect. I'm using them because they are convienient for me. They are more comfortable. I don't compost because I live in an apartment building, and that is the same reason I don't recycle. I'm told we have a program in the building, but I haven't figured out where or how. Also, I have NEVER seen a recycling truck come by the building. I HAVE seen the garbage trucks.

BOOKS

Someone in my building leaves books in the laundry room. Several at a time, ostensibly to pass them on to others so they can read them without having to buy them. I love this person. However, I cannot bring myself to part with a book once I have read it. I love to re-read books. And I like to know that when I get the urge to do so, I know exactly where that book is. That being said, I need bookshelves. Lots of them.

---Little Bird gets the book worm (or IS the book worm)

Nothing In Particular

WoooHooo!! Heatwave! It's 50 degrees!! The heater is off, my window is open, it feels awesome. Yes, it actually is a little too cold for it, but it's just too nice not to.
Today is my day to do nothing. And by nothing I mean nothing. I've been reading, watching TV, and spending time on the interwebs. Specificly icanhascheeezburger. The site that has somehow become a community. Later today I'll be doing more nothing and maybe a nice relaxing bath to recover from all that nothing. Tomarrow I'll go run errands. Not today. Of course, it's pretty bad when you realize that you've opted to spend the day watching Harry Potter, for the umpteenth time.
Typing this is getting in the way of my nothing-doing so, ta ta!

--Little Bird is more than ready for spring

Clarification

Ummmmm.... when I said the thing about the native americans, I meant what we did to them. How we treated them. Not exactly our best side. We, as a country seem to do this to anyone who doesn't agree 100% with us. Just read your history. You'll see.

--Little Bird is striving for clarity