Forever is composed of nows. – Emily Dickinson

Tomorrow, I get to spend the day with my beloved girls, most of the Kentucky branch of the Monkey Mafia. One of my Mafia Sisters is having a baby and we are heading to her hometown for a big ol’ Kentucky style baby shower. (which differs in no way from anywhere else, except it’s in KY and we have accents and say stuff like y’all and ol’).

I can’t wait. I haven’t seen them since July when we went to the 100 Monkeys show in Nashville.So in honor of our friendship, today’s accessory of the day is my Monkey Mafia bracelet.

accessory of the day is my Monkey Mafia bracelet (the white one)

As you can see, I learned how to do some editing with my phone today LOL. It was fun to tweak the pic until it had a cool rock and roll vibe.

Just in case there are a few people out there that think that this picture has anything to do with a. any of the band members of 100 Monkeys or b. the band as a whole, that is a big fat no.

My friends and I were brought together by 100 Monkeys but stay together because we actually love each other bunches. I know that if something happens and I need a friend, they are always there and if they need someone, I’ll be there too. That’s why this bracelet is so important to me, not because of the band, but because of the great friendship it symbolizes.

The amazing thing as that we are all different and come from completely different backgrounds, but when we get together, the giggle meter breaks! Nashville was a riot, but our first trip together to Birmingham in December 2010 will always be my favorite trip, no matter how many we eventually go on.

Birmingham 12-27-2010

This was my very first 100 Monkeys show, and I was freaked out because we actually got to speak to them and get our picture taken. I don’t think it could have been a better trip, except I would have loved it if it were about 40 degrees warmer and I had at least had a good night’s sleep within the week before. (Insomnia sucks).

I love my girls and hope that we always hang together like we did that first trip. Lots of laughter, lots of antics, but the backbone to it all was just plain ol’ friendship.

Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant. ~ Socrates

Tonight I tried a new restaurant in a nearby town. It’s been around about six months or so, and is primarily a BBQ place. I love BBQ and this smoked stuff was insanely good, I didn’t even bother with sauce, $6.95 for meat, two sides and texas toast. My only complaint, the side portions were too tiny!

I also snagged dessert in the form of peach cobbler.

The portion was small (about 1/2 cup)

but it was just like my mom's!

Love and Smooches,

Mel

First, my accessory of the day.

don't argue, I don't leave the house without coffee!

While most people wouldn’t consider this an accessory, it’s bold, it gets attention and it makes me a whole lot nicer.

If you break open a song, you’ll find the eggs of other songs.~Tom Waits

I love Tom Waits. I can remember being only 3 years old or so and running around singing Ice Cream Man. It’s still one of my favorites today.

It’s possible that a lot of people don’t know who Tom Waits is. He’s an actor, musician, author, artist, poet and man. His talent is enormous and his dedication to all forms of art is inspiring.

He’s someone whos music has been part of my life from the time I was born and up to and including today. He recently released the album “Bad As Me”. I have not been able to pick a favorite song from that album. Each one speaks to a different emotion and place inside me.

The quote I posted from him reminds me every day that inspiration comes from others. Other authors, other musicians, other artists inspire those of us who create.

However, inspirtation can also come from people who touch our lives. People who we least expect to have an impact can inspire you to become someone greater, nicer or just more patient and kind.

Today, during lunch, I found out that someone I know passed away. It’s one of those instances where they’d had a difficult life and difficult time, but still touched my life in a positive way.

I hope this person is in a better place and has found peace. Life can be so hard, it’s my only hope that those with the hardest of lives, earn the sweetest spot in the afterlife. This person would be front row at a rock concert, hair whipping while dancing and singing along to every song.

Rock On my friend, wherever you may be.

Love and Smooches,

Mel

red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting

I didn’t wear it though, I totally ate it! My mom’s birthday was yesterday and I saved my cupcake for today. I wanted to take it to work with me, but since I didn’t buy the handy dandy little cupcake keeper I saw at Wal-Mart last weekend, I didn’t have a way to take it without smearing all of the frosting off it.

So I have to choose today’s accessory. Even though this was on my list yesterday, I have to show it again. Here’s me rocking my Nicolina Royale pieces today:

I even wore red..just to make the awesomeness stand out!

But for real, I couldn’t decide between my shoes or socks as accessory of the day.

the shoes are awesome and have glittery silver stripes, but the socks are argyle and are just awesome!

So that’s my accessory of the day. My foot.

I was doubting I was going to be able to write a post tonight because it seems that my internet service provider has gotten into the “no internet when it rains” mode again. Right now it’s working (crossing toes cause my fingers are busy). I got to hear this:

These guys are going to be my next music purchase. I am in love with the sound and the innovative nature of the music. I’ll admit it, I listened because of a certain actor/monkey, but now I’m hooked. Luckily we seem to have a similar taste in music apparently.

Anywho…I’ve been in an okay mood considering I’m working with html all day right now. I know that last night’s post was a downer, but sometimes you just gotta whine, cry and let it all out. Then you can move on to more pleasant things, like reading new books, writing quality stories and most of all, listening to quality music.

The past two days on lunch, I’ve had my kindle and read Death by Sarcasm by Dani Amore. It was a free Kindle book and it’s pretty hilarious.

A stand up comedian in a family of funny people gets murdered. His funny niece who happens to be a private investigator is hired by his group of comedian friends to find the killer. I’m 84% through the book and have laughed quite often. (One thing I love about my Kindle is that it tells you how close you are to finished on the cover, so you can tell people I guess.)

I’ve also been listening to 100 Monkeys a lot. I know, that’s not a big surprise to people that know me, but I’ve been listening to them like I did in the summer of 2010 when I first found out about them.

After my great escape from the monkeyverse I went through a period that I couldn’t listen to them much. I would listen to a couple songs and then fill my playlist with other artists.

Since pulling away from the toxic people that were eating away at my limited supply of nice, I have found that the music is calling to me again. So in today’s post I want to thank 100 Monkeys for making the music that fills me with such joy.

So there. I finally posted about 100 Monkeys. It’s what everyone has been waiting for right?

Just some fan art to round out the day

Love and Smooches,

Mel

One thing is that the person thinks I’m a bitch. This is not really stunning news.

I even have the "uniform"

it lets you know coming and going

I also own this:

I love this sign. Wish I could have it in my cubicle at work!

Being called a bitch is no big deal for me. Usually it means I’m doing something that is either a. the right thing or b. beneficial to me. What hurt was someone I love uttering the words “I know.”  I’m slowly dealing with it and moving forward. sometimes it’s just not worth the heartache to fight. If that’s how the person feels, then they have that right.

Letting go of people I love is not easy for me, but unfortunately I’ve had to do it time and time again. It doesn’t get easier and it isn’t something I want to do, but I am smart enough to know when to shut the door to the heart, lock it and weld it shut.

On a happier and less whiny note, I’m going to begin something called “Accessory of the Day”. I’m hoping that by promising to post you guys something I love about my choice of clothing and accessories each day, I will be inspired to be more creative and less blase about my appearance. Today I had picked my necklace as the Accessory of the Day:

black crystal fleur de lis..I love fleur de lis, so this is the perfect necklace for me.

But then I received my order from http://www.nicolinaroyale.com/

I ordered the chain lanyard and the fleur de lis, but the peace sign was a bonus! Thanks to my fave designer for the special gift!

Nicolina has so many wonderful designs that I’m sure you can find at least one you can’t live without!

This concludes todays whinefest and accessory lesson!

Love and Smooches,

Mel

I’ve touched upon my fashion sense in another post, but today this was just a perfect topic. First I wore these:

so what if I'm wearing striped socks with my dress shoes?

I did get a few comments on these. I just said they were cool and left it at that.

I did wear a new shirt today. Very sparkly and comfy:

makes my necklace look FAB!

The neckline on this was like a catchers mitt for crumbs though. Everything I ate, I could show you details about by the end of the day.

I have at various times in my life been a fashion victim. I have a serious addiction to plaid. I have 5 plaid shirts, 4 pairs of plaid pajama pants and even a pair of plaid shoes. I would love to have plaid socks, but can’t find any, so I’ll settle for argyle, stripes and polka dots.

Today I got an email from e-bay with fashion recommendations and in the top row was “plaid button front shirts”. I’ve never shopped for clothes on e-bay so now I’m wondering….HOW DID THEY KNOW?!

Because I’m what I kindly refer to as chubby, I don’t really have much fun shopping, but I adore accessories. I can’t be bothered to wear them most days, but I love earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings. Nicolina Royale rocks my world when it comes to jewelry and you can shop her stuff here…http://www.nicolinaroyale.com/

Today, I didn’t feel like making the effort to get my earring in, but it’s really ok considering I knew I’d be rocking these today:

seriously kick ass earbuds, great sound and they are so cute!

While I don’t have the funds or the desire to wear designer clothes , I do still like to wear things that are comfortable and fun. If you have the money and the inclination to spend tons of time in the stores shopping, have at it. I’ll just grab 5 pairs of Wal-Mart khakis some fun jewelry and shoes and a few t-shirts and rock my own kind of fabulous!

Love and Smooches

Mel

I’ve touched on the writing fan-fiction and even writing original fiction. I’ve also touched on the making of artwork, but never really expanded on that.

I love photo editing. Especially when it’s something that speaks to me. I’m in the middle of a project with mirrors. It’s not going quickly, but I do have one piece that I’ve shared as a WIP (work in progress)

stock photo from sxc.hu. edited by me

This is by no means anywhere close to finished. I do have much more in mind for this, but I love the effects so far.

I also have been making t-shirts off and on. Mostly off because my iron died last year, but in the past week I’ve made five t-shirts for adults and 3 onesies for the babies in my life.

Two of the onesies I can’t show here, they are gifts, but I just finished this for Ian, youngest son of my friend Star.

Star found out she was pregnant with Ian while in Monkey Boot Camp.

Star still came in 2nd in the Monkey Boot Camp contest and won this

I had to use a different kind of transfer sheet for this t because they were sold out of the kind I usually buy and I am REALLY not satisfied. I may have to make Star another one later.

I also made a couple of sleep shirts, one for me and the other is on it’s way to my friend Laura. She’s like my next door neighbor, best friend and sister all wrapped into one great package.

I get absorbed in these projects and spend hours in front of my computer, ignore my family and friends and just generally work myself into exhaustion, but for me the payoff is the smile on a friends face and the satisfaction of a job well done.

It’s also where I find the peace that eludes me in my day to day life. When I’m working on these kinds of projects, I set the rules and I make the decisions. I get to free myself of inhibitions and let my creativity be unfettered by the rules of anyone else.

I may from time to time post things on here I have made. If you like them or are interested in me doing work for you, just drop me a line. My inbox is always open!

Love and Smooches,

Mel

Every day someone in your life will do something to try to discourage you from a path you are on. It’s usually not meant to be hateful, hurtful, but be a loving gesture meant to save your from heartache.

Being saved from heartache would be nice, but through heartache comes knowledge. So while there are times that I would love for someone to come and save me from my own stupidity, I know in hindsight I would not be the person I am today without the moronic decisions of my past.

I went out for breakfast this morning, just because I was feeling the need for some people watching and I wanted to settle in and read the intro to Books Of Blood.

some Heinz 57 for my steak (insert laughter here)

Clive Barker for my brain

We’re all our own graveyards I believe; we squat amongst the tombs of the people we were. If we’re healthy, every day is a celebration, a Day of the Dead, in which we give thanks for the lives that we lived, and if we are neurotic we brood and mourn and wish that the past was still present. ~Clive Barker in the introduction.

After I read that, I couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the book. It really made me dig down and think of the past lives I’ve lived.

On the day of our birth, we all become something to someone else and continue to become new things to new people throughout our lives.

At first you are your parents child and possibly someones sibling. Then you become a friend, competitor, co-worker, employee, boss, subordinate, lover, husband/wife/life partner, and finally you come full circle and become to your parents what they were to you, a guiding force to help them accept and move gracefully into the next chapter of their lives.

All of us have different experiences as we live our lives. Sometimes there is pain and heartache and sometimes laughter and love, but one thing is for certain as that as we pass through each phase of our lives, our former selves have to be buried before we can move on to the next self.

Enough of the deep stuff…

Last night, I asked for everyone’s opinion as to whether I should continue this blog. I was a bit in awe at the positive and resounding YES that I received, so I will be continuing for another 30 days..then we’ll see what happens from there. (baby steps)

I got a new monkey for my collection today.

he's supposed to poop out candy

but since I can't figure out how to get his "candy door" (aka butthole) open

I just got to the candy the easy way

Today I also got this

3 guys with an amazing gift for music. http://mechanicalpeople.com/

Besides the fact they decided to put my favorite MP song on this one, the whole thing is just wonderful. If you’ve never heard their music, go to mechanicalpeople.com and check them out.

Summary:

Breakfast is good, people are sometimes mean when they are trying to be nice, Clive Barker is a genius, sometimes monkeys don’t shit candy when you want them to, and Mechanical People make kick ass music.

Love and Smooches,

Mel

I honestly do want everyone’s input either pro or con on this, so leave me a comment, drop me a line on twitter or facebook or even email me to let me know what you think.

YIKES!!!! That is a horrible video LOL! This song has been running through my overstuffed head all afternoon. It was a long dental hygiene filled day. I’m trying to jazz up our Dental Health portion of the website at work and some stuff is just dead boring to read about!

Tee-Gee-Eye-Eff!!!!

Cheers

Vols. 1-3 of Clive Barkers Books of Blood came in today, so I plan on finishing up The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and starting on that. I also have a ton in my Kindle that I need to start perusing. I’m such a book geek, but I really can’t wait until I can dive back into BOB. I’ve already read them (all 6), but re-reading is so much more fun!

I’m hearing rumors that we may get snow here, so now I have those books, I can settle in and it can snow all day and I won’t care.

So happy weekend..I’m making this a short and sweet post tonight. Have fun and be safe whatever your weekend brings.

Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.  ~Bill Watterson

Love and Smooches,

Mel

Honestly, when I wrote the title, this came to mind. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies and I love this song to distraction.  I’m sure that most of you guys are assuming I’m talking about 100 Monkeys, and while I do love their music and they are really great, I’m actually talking about my collection of monkeys.

I have monkeys that sing and dance, who blow kisses and say I love you, that scream and you can use them as a sling-shot and then of course I have all 5 of the 100 Monkeys monkeys. I have one regular sock monkey, one pink sock monkey two Santa monkeys (one green and one regular brown) I have a mini sock monkey hanging from the mirror in my car.

I have shirts with monkeys I have pj’s with monkeys and I had a pair of socks with monkeys, but accidentally got them in the wrong size and had to give them to a friend of mine. I have monkey slipper socks that my bff gave me for Christmas in 2010. I have a monkey snuggie and a rock and roll monkey blanket.

What catches people’s eye at work is this:

a bit of monkey inspiration and art.

then they see these guys:

monkey menage

and this:

not allowed to take this to meetings anymore

because he distracts people with his jumping jacks

My love of monkeys started long before any of the band members were born (except UL) and has been a life long love, second only to my son.

There’s not really a point to this post, except to show off part of my monkey collection and to let you in on a secret…Monkey luvin is fine, but luvin monkeys is an art form.

Monkey luvin and smooches

Mel

Recently I started following a great blog (http://pooppeepuke.com/) and seeing all the places Shan has been has made me realize, I haven’t even seen most of the United States. I live vicariously through her photos and descriptions, even when she’s just walking with Freckles and Princess A, it’s fascinating to me because I’ve never been to NYC.

I’ve been very few places. I did make a trip to Birmingham in December of 2010, but other than that it’s been only the surrounding states and only a few of those.

My top 10 cities

So here’s the deal. I’m going to do this, some way, some how. I don’t have a solid plan at this point, but at least the above 10 cities will be crossed off the list before my life is gone!

Where do you want to go?

Love and Smooches

Mel