Julie Pippert: Using My Words

This is part of the Monday Mission. We're to leave a voice mail. Check out Painted Maypole's spot for more... "Hi...umm...Mitch? It's Julie, Julie from high school. I doubt you remember me; we only knew each other for about five minutes. You mowed our lawn a few times, dated my friend's sister, and were in my AP English class senior year. That's why I'm calling---about what you did in the English class. It made a lasting impression, really made a difference in my life. That probably sounds dramatic but it's true. You see, I'd spent a lot of years being the kid who fell through the cracks in school. I think by high school I'd gotten tired of being the good enough and compliant student. Senior year, I was one inch from dropping out, and I probably would have if I'd had the guts or I thought my parents would let me get away with it. Instead, I just created a lot of unnecessary sturm and drang for myself, and cut school so much that by the end ...

Today's post inspired by the Monday Mission . Dear Life, I have a few words of thanks for you today. It's been a real rush of life the last few weeks and well, I'm not sure I've paused to be grateful for enough. In fact, I'm not sure I've been able to process it all yet. But if I could, I'd like to take that moment now to process, be grateful and offer up my thanks for a few things: 1. AT&T Thanks to AT&T I've had no phone since Thursday. And they "think" they can get my service fixed by tonight. But it's not just down, it's crossed wires. This means that starting sometime late last week, my neighbors a few houses down began getting my calls and I began getting theirs. We hadn't actually gotten to know one another before Saturday, but now we know each other pretty well, I'd say. It also means that people who wanted to reach me actually had to come to my house and talk to me in person. I had more company on Sunday than I ...

1. Christmas Insanity The first nod goes to the American Psychological Association, who I believe are actually the ones behind the whole Christmas Madness Syndrome. I mean really, who stands to gain the most from holiday madness, which, by the way, ensues regardless of amount of spending? That's right: shrinks. In fact, I notice an inverse correlation between holiday sales and level of insanity. 2. Christianity is not for greased pigs I'd also like to nod towards the Christian Church, all denominations, for losing complete control over the holiday they instituted. Despite legislation from the US Congress (which graciously and magnanimously allows the whole world to value Christianity and Christmas), once again, the holiday has run amuck. I'm impressed that the Church is able to control Congress (talk about herding cats) but distressed that they've lost the handle on the holiday overall. 3. Think of Albert, but let's not cry, I know he'd not want it that way A...

My Monday Mission is to be creative with Photoshop. I imagine creative in this case is rightly interpreted to mean funny and clever, but I'm sticking with the traditional and open interpretation. I've been working on a black and white series for our master bedroom. Below are two prints from it. Originally they were full color, but when I began looking at the image, I saw the sharp contrasts, shadows and light. I adjusted it to black and white, worked a bit on the brightness and contrast, and ended up with an image I really liked. I'll mat and frame it, probably ending up at a final size of about 16x20. A while back Stephanie asked me about my art and photography. Sadly, it's fallen to the wayside. Factors: time, both my digital cameras needed repair, and then I was robbed in Boston. As of last week, I have a digital camera again. Thankfully. The photos are from our recent trip back up to Boston. It seems like another life, the days that we lived there. Before kids, th...

My Monday Mission today is to help a friend, step by step. As you may (or may not) know, Stephanie (aka LawyerMama ) has been hoping her celebrity crush Wil Wheaton will leave a comment on her blog. He did this for our friend Jenny, once. I have decided to throw my hat into the ring and help Stephanie achieve her goal, because that is what friends do, right? They help friends stalk celebrities. We're hoping more friends will join in. But you can leave your bag of duct tape, cutout magazine letters, Richard Nixon mask, and dime store cotton gloves at home. It's not that kind of stalking. (Wait, is that the Stalker Kit or the Bank Robbery kit? Hang on, let me check the labels...oh, oops! Bank Robbery! It's so easy to get those felonies confused. The Stalker Kit bag is the one you get at the military supply store. Right: empty plastic jug, canteen of water, MREs, bag of Twizzlers, and binoculars. Not even one supply in common. Sorry for the confusion. I'm still operatin...

Who's that alleged health nut stalking out of McDonalds this morning? Could it be the Good Girl of Blogging being Oh-So-Bad? Indeed it is. Independent sources confirm that celeb-wannabe blogger Julie Pippert of Using My Words was seen clutching a non-diet soda and a bag containing not one but two Bacon, Egg and Cheese McGriddles plus hash browns! Todd Talmadge, morning shift manager at the Space City McDonalds, confirmed that the blogger formerly known as the Ravin' Picture Maven purchased two McGriddles and a full calorie Coca-Cola. "She always asks for Pepsi products like we're some sort of low class joint, KFC or something. Sometimes she gets the Deluxe breakfast---that's the hotcakes, sausage, egg and hash brown---but usually she gets the McGriddles. She always wants extra ketchup. I think she puts some on her eggs," Talmadge said, grimacing in disgust. Blogger Pippert smiled for the cameras as she exited the local fast food restaurant. When asked about th...