What's Your Morbid IQ?

A while ago I mentioned that the return of Morbid Monday would find all y'all needing to participate. Cuz what's better than an interactive Morbid Monday post?

Unfortunately, my SUPER FANTASTIC INTERACTIVE MORBID MONDAY post is NOT cooperating right now. I am having major technical issues. Which I'm working hard to fix.

But because I was SOOOOOO looking forward to all y'all taking part in an MM post, I decided to go with Plan B. Cuz all good Morbid Monday posters have a Plan B, don't they??? (Ok, I MAY be the ONLY Morid Monday poster but that's not important right now)

So today, while I work on fixing the REAL MM interactive post, I give you:

NAME THAT MORBID PICTURE!!

Yep, I'm tasking each of you with trying to figure out what's pictured in the 5 photos below.

Which may seem simple.

A bit TOO simple for some of you with rather morbid-esque minds.

But don't be too quick to guess. Cuz not everything IS is as it appears to be.

Some of them may LOOK like something else, something your mind is quick to see.

But trust me when I say, you MIGHT have to think again.

Then again, you might not.

Guess I won't know til you leave me a comment WOWing me (or not!) with your high MORBID IQ!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Tomorrow, I will SHOW/TELL you what each of these actually is.

And you just MIGHT be surprised.

Or not.

(Depends how many twisted thinkers there are out there! I suspect a lot!)

Can't wait to see if anyone out there gets all five correct!!
(AND NO CHEATING!!)

Does YOUR Wiener Have Protection????

I am almost 100% convinced my wieners need custom made, doggy body armour.

I mean, come on...
One never knows when a wiener might be called on to defend his Wienerdom.

Or...

Play the part of a randy armadillo in a local production of ARMADILLOS GONE WILD.

Best to be prepared, I think.

It's Friday Baby...What Better Day To Frag???

It’s Friday which means it’s time to get Fragalicious. Or Fragtastic. Or even Fragmazing. Ok, that last one doesn't work but you get the point, right? Mrs. 4444 from Half Past Kissin’ Time wants us to get fragmented so fragmented I will be. (I’m nothing if not agreeable!)

*I’ve decided, yet again, that eating anything fast, should eliminate its caloric impact on my thighs. Cuz there is NO WAY POSSIBLE that the 6 peanut butter crackers I ate in less than 2 minutes should be allowed to attach themselves to my legs. Or my ass. Or to help establish that ever elusive muffin top I live in fear of. Nope, if I eat it fast enough to choke on it or to feel sick immediately after, it should count as a “free food.”

*Why is it ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to stop yawning or peeing once either have started? Does anyone else suffer the “Oh shit, I just broke the seal” pee habit I suffer from? It’s crazy. I can go HOURS and HOURS without running to the loo but the second I go once, all bets are off. It’s like my bladder thinks, “Shit, you already woke me up so you might as well get your moneys worth!” And yawning? Drives. Me. Insane. I think I yawned about 50 times yesterday. All within a ridiculously short amount of time. Cuz obviously, I woke the yawning gnome that lives in my head and whose sole responsibility it is to crank open the draw bridge thingy that controls my jaw. Yep, I woke him up. And he says hi.

*Someone in my office spent the better part of 6 hours clearing their throat. REPEATEDLY. Over and freakin’ over. Until I was ready to shove a urinal cake down their throat. Which I have no idea if my office even has. Hell, I’m not even sure we HAVE urinals in my office. But if we did, boy would that cake of urine have come in handy.

*I managed to get my office chair stuck under my desk three separate times on Tuesday. Which seems funny until you are the one trapped in your office chair like a rat on a sinking ship. Seems that my L-shaped desk is not quite high enough to accommodate my rather large, rather important looking office chair. Which you’d think after HALLIE TRAPPING #1 I’d have figured out. But no. I went and CAUGHT MYSELF A LIVE ONE (ie me, stuck in the chair) two more times before I learned. Yep, nothing says I’M A PROFESSIONAL like a grown woman floundering in her office chair like a marlin in the death throes of capture. And yes, several people witnessed this.

*I had the rarely seen, almost never talked about in public, live with it in shame cuz it's too embarrassing to mention, ARMPIT HEART ATTACK yesterday. Yep, my armpit suffered a displaced cardial infarction and died a little bit yesterday morning. And it wasn't pretty. Don't be surprised if you've never heard about this disorder. Cuz it's rare. Really rare. Sooooo rare that most people (doctors included) pretend it doesn't exist. But I know better. And I'm the daughter of a heart transplant recipient. Who better to know than me? Now all I need is a good armpit heart attack specialist. Anyone seen the yellow pages???

It's Been An Amazing Ride....

Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.

- Hank Rosso

It has been my supreme privilege and honor to manage and coordinate this fundraiser/raffle to raise awareness about organ donation. From day one of planning, it has been nothing but a labor of love.

I was blessed with the gift of time to be with my father because of one family's selfless decision. This fundraiser was my small yet powerful way to say thank you for my Dad's new birthday. I felt compelled to not only raise awareness but also to raise funds to support the cause.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be so successful. I HOPED that people would participate but not for a moment did I think I would be so inundated with offers of help. I am in awe of people's general willingness to give...be it money, an item for the raffle or just a helping hand.

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.

If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.

If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune

.If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

- Chinese proverb

You are ALL directly responsible for my success. Without your assistance and continued support I would have failed at my mission.

I learned so much about what it takes to humbly ask for a hand out when people already feel tapped. It's amazing how generous people can be even when they feel that giving is the last thing they should be doing.

Organ donation is something that I pray most people will never be confronted with. Having traveled down that path with my father, trust me when I say, it's a bumpy road. It's fraught with emotion and heavy with sadness yet laden with hope. It is and always will be a roller coaster ride of joy and pain.

Yet that roller coaster ride occurs because people thankfully recognize that giving the gift of life is ultimately the greatest gift of all. It is my sincere hope that the money WE raised will be used to continue to educate and encourage people to consider their options.

Life is an echo -- what you send out comes back.

- Unknown

Please take the time to learn why organ donation is so important.

It DOES save lives....just ask my father.

"DON'T TAKE YOUR ORGANS TO HEAVEN....HEAVEN KNOWS WE NEED THEM HERE"

God Bless each and every one of you that made a donation.

I honestly thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And for those of you that didn't get a chance? No problem! My fundraiser will remain open until 12/11/09. Hop on over and give what you can. Every single dollar counts.

Oh, and before I go....(DRUM ROLL PLEASE).....Amy Flowers will be taking ownership of the gorgeous, handmade quilt. Congratulations Amy! Hope you love it!

Point & Shoot!

When Connor gets hold of the camera, you never know what you'll get.
Apparently this monkey mural (located in the local corner store) spoke to him. I like to believe he took it cuz he knows his mom LOVES sock monkeys. And although these are obviously NOT sock monkeys, they are still sock monkey like!

Connor must have decided that his pottery creation needed to be acknowledged.
From more than one camera angle. His dragon pot is truly unique.
I LOVE that he took this pic. Cuz y'all know I love me some wiener toes....which smell like Fritos. Too bad this blog isn't scratch and sniff.
It KILLS me that Fenway looks at Connor when HE takes a pic.

She OBVIOUSLY likes him more.
Wiener dogs like to be "IN" stuff. They are massive burrowers. Connor caught Fen mid burrow. (she goes in head first, but then spins around)
Connor is weird. Chauncey is weird. Which is why they hang out a lot. I THINK this is a pic of Chauncey totally encased, like a snausage, in Connor's athletic pants. Is it just me or does Chauncey look like a skunky caterpillar? Wonder if this was Connor's idea or Chauncey's. With those two, one never knows.

Yet another FINE example of a wiener loving the "IN" thing.

As odd as my kiddo can be, he can also be an awesome kiddo...as evidenced by his selection as a Freshmen class mentor. Only upper classmen that have applied can be considered and only those approved by a committee of teachers get accepted. Connor was chosen and we couldn't be prouder of him. He is now the guardian of 3 mentees...2 girls and 1 boy. He is also the proud owner of one INTENSELY orange Mentor tshirt. :)

His role as mentor is CLEARLY written on the above banner. "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION FOR MY FRESHMAN." He will act as a resource and point of contact for his trio of 9th graders and will meet with them throughout the year. He is also, in his role as mentor, returning to school early this year as mentors attend school today with the Freshmen. Upper classmen don't actually start classes til Thursday. Connor already spent 3 hours at the high school yesterday prepping for todays Freshman class arrival. Makes my mom heart proud to see him representing the Junior class in such a positive way.

~~~

Drew the second to last winning number/name last night and came up with another Nancy!! Yep, Nancy Lee Buckley will be receiving a prize pacakage in the mail very soon!! Congrats Nancy! You won the second to last raffle prize!!

Which means, the above pic, represents the VERY LAST RAFFLE PRIZE. I can NOT believe that I have already given away 24 amazingly wonderful packages and that this stunningly beautiful handmade custom quilt will be the very last one.

~~

The quilt is called “Thimbleberries Village.” It is made from 100% cotton fabrics and will be custom machine quilted. Approximate measurements are 80” x 102.” JL, a long time family friend, one my whole family adores, has donated this gorgeous item. She is an incredibly talented and gifted quilter. She owns her own company and oversees national quilting conferences. She is HUGE in the quilting industry. This quilt retails for $800!!! Can you imagine winning this???? I can not thank her enough for offering to be part of this raffle. Her generosity will never be forgotten.

~~

Whomever is blessed to win this item must be patient as the quilt will be made for them. Which means it will not arrive on their doorstop for several weeks (at least). Can't imagine the lucky recipient will mind the wait.

After all, look what they are getting!!!

~~

I can NOT wait to see who gets this.

I truly hope the person will appreciate how special this quilt is and how much care went into the making of it.

What an awesome way to end my fundraiser/raffle.

Don't you agree?

Are YOU Looking At ME?????

This is the result I was looking for.

Simple request:

"Fenway, look at me."

Seems easy, right?

Wrong.

Not when it comes to little miss "I'll look at you IF I want to and ONLY if I want to."

Cuz this is what I got instead.

And some of this.

And a ton of this.

Damn wiener diva even managed to NOT look at me when I thought she WAS looking at me.

But by and large, this one cracks me up the most.

Cuz you KNOW she was totally NOT trying to make eye contact.

Doesn't she look like she's thinking, "Oh shit! She sees me looking!!"

Nothing like a guilty looking wiener to make me smile.
~~~
Nancy Barry is the proud owner of yesterdays raffle prize.

Which I HOPE makes her happy.

And makes her smile. :)

Which I ALSO hope is how the person that wins tomorrows prize feels!

Cuz, (say it with me) the stuff is awesome!

Robert Bretz from Paint All Night Studios donated a set of signed and numbered prints that I simply adore. Robert has generously donated the very last copy (100/100) of each print to make it a cohesive set. I split the 10 prints into two sets of five. The prints literally made me smile which is the goal of the artist. "Our simple goal is to create art that will put a smile on your face." Mission accomplished! If you win this prize package, you will LOVE the 5 prints you will receive. I promise. :)

This gorgeous necklaces came all the way from the Isle of Man, which for those of you not up on your geography, lies between the United Kingdom and Ireland. Anni from Tulamyra has the most beautiful jewelry for sale. I encourage you to check out her shop and ask her to create something special for you...that is, if you don't fall in love with her stuff as is!!

My BFF Kimmy donated the softest damn blanket I have ever felt to my raffle. It's from Brookstone. And it's amazing. Kimmy has one at her house that I steal when I visit. I love it. A lot. Which she knows. Yet she won't give me hers. The one she picked for the raffle is light blue. And now I want that one too. But I can't have it. Damn.

Tomorrow, when I announce the winner's name, I will also highlight THE VERY LAST RAFFLE PRIZE PACKAGE! Can you believe it??? Seems like just yesterday I started down this crazy path. And now, here I am, at the end. For those of you paying attention to what prizes have already been given away, you can probably guess which one is left. It's a big one!

No Morbidness Here..But Next Monday, WATCH OUT!!

Since MORBID MONDAY will be back with a vengeance next week, thought I'd take this one LAST morbidless opportunity to share my awesome weekend.

We spent Sunday in New Hampshire having my mother-in-law's dream family photos taken. On the beach. All 13 Twomey family members. All wearing white shirts. And most wearing khaki bottoms.

It was quite the experience and we DEFINITELY provided entertainment for the people already lounging on the beach. The photographer took MULTIPLE pics of the entire group in several different locations but he also took smaller group pics of the individual family units.

This pic is of the 4 of us and was taken my CJ's girlfriend Danielle. I stole it from Danielle's Facebook page. (hopefully she's ok with that!) I plan to share the real photos once I get them....IF I like them!! :)

Saturday, after months of waiting, I got to meet one of my blogger friends IN PERSON!! And I can't tell you how amazing the experience was. Not only did I get to meet Vegas Princess but I also got to meet her awesome husband and her wonderful parents. We spent 8 hours together and I can honestly tell you that there wasn't an awkward moment. No lack of conversation. No pregnant pauses. No "Oh God, WHAT DID WE GET OURSELVES INTO?" AS a matter of fact, I don't think we ever ran out of things to say to one another. It was simply a wonderful day.

Don't I LOOK happy in the above pic? VP was very happy too....which y'all will just have to take my word on. Cuz VP and Mr. VP do NOT post pics of themselves on the net. Which I totally respect. And promised not to do. But only after VP agreed to let me smile out her face and put the pic up anyway!! Thankfully, she said yes, but I suspect that was before she knew how much I SUCK at making smiley faces!!

I did a slightly better job drawing faces on the pic of the happy couple but I still won't be seeking employment in the SMILEY FACE FIELD!!

We are already making plans to visit them in Vegas next year which makes me very happy. Seeing them again can't come soon enough!!

Thank you VP and Co. for making my Saturday truly awesome.
~~~

Ran my handy dandy number generator late last night and came up with Heidi K. as the winner of yesterdays prize package. Which is a really good thing. Cuz Heidi lives sort of close to me. Which means ONE LESS PACKAGE TO SHIP!!! Yeehaw!!! Shipping has been an "interesting" thing to deal with so anytime I draw a "local" winner, I do a happy jig! Yep, I do. Who knew there EVEN WAS a "Yeah, I don't have to pay to ship another box" dance? :)

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Tomorrows winner gets some pretty decent stuff.

Catherine Otto donated this awesome piece of art. It says, "The key to growing love is in heart." Could there be anything more perfect for this raffle? Catherine says that she's intimidated by perfection and that warmth comes from imperfection. She likes old, rusty, peeling, stained and imperfect pieces...just like her! (Her words, don't you love it??) This framed beauty is really large...my photo of it doesn't do it justice. It's 2 feet tall and 1 1/2 feet wide!

Dee Thompson, one of my great blogger friends, donated a signed copy of her HOT OF THE PRESSES book, Adopting Alesia. It is the story of her 2 year journey to adopt her daughter Alesia from Russia. It's a heart warming story of determination in the face of adversity. Dee and Alesia were MEANT to be a family and their story is incredibly inspirational. You can get your own copy here: Barnes & Noble.

Melissa over at Remembering June Jewelry Design donated one of her favorite pieces for my raffle. It is beautiful. Melissa is new to selling on the Internet and loves making jewelery. If you need something with certain colors she would be happy to put something together for you. Melissa works mostly with gemstones and shells but can work with wood or glass if requested. Custom orders are always welcome!!
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Only 2 more prize packages left!

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Come back tomorrow to see who won this one and what's up next!

21 Down....4 To Go!!

Tomorrows prize package is one of only FOUR prize packages left! ONLY FOUR MORE!! Time DOES fly when you're having fun!! :)

Well, I finally did it. I messed up a prize package. Cuz I listed this gorgeous necklace a few weeks ago as a prize but accidentally put a different necklace into the box when I shipped it. That necklace was equally gorgeous but I HATE MESSING UP!! So this necklace is once again up for grabs. Dori from The Heart Shop donated this eclectic-chained neck piece. The focal point is a sparkly rhinestone dotted heart with gold filled and rugged oxidized sterling chains. The heart is accompanied by several Swarovski crystals and is roughly 16" with extra chain for lengthening.

Deb W, one of my most favorite blogger, donated this beautiful assortment of paper products....all handmade in Sweden. There is a blank journal, several GORGEOUS postcards (which are so nice they could be framed) and some mini memory books. The items are so pretty its almost a shame to use them.

Linda, blogger extraordinaire, donated a $50 VISA gift card. You can use it to buy whatever you'd like!! Pretty cool. huh? Linda was one of the very first people to offer up a prize for the raffle. THANK YOU LINDA!!

Sue from AS CAPE COD TURNS, one of the few bloggers I have met IN REAL LIFE donated this simple, yet stunning trio of photos. Sue found all these heart shaped rocks here in Maine and thought that given why I'm holding this fundraiser, they would be damn near perfect as raffle prizes. And she's right. Sue matted them on some sort of foam board which makes them look extra amazing.

My BFF's mommy won yesterdays prize package!! Yep, Claire is the lucky recipient of all that good stuff. And I couldn't be happier. :)

Weekends Are For Winners!

Click on the pic to enlarge.

If you laugh out loud, pat yourself on the back cuz YOU ROCK!

If you don't, kick yourself in the ass cuz SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH YOU!!

~~~

Tomorrow's prize package is just waiting to find someone to take custody of it. All the items are unique and interesting!

Jen Audette sells these unique Scentsy warmers that use a 25-watt bulb to melt wax slowly, maximizing the fragrance time. With no flame, soot or wick, the Scentsy system is a safe way to enjoy more than 80 Scentsy fragrances. The wax lasts up to 80 hours, you can change between scents as often as you like, it's made of petroleum wax which is the safest wax out there and at its maximum temperature the wax will not burn your children or your pets.
Jen has graciously donated a $25 gift certificate to her SCENTSY website and will ship anywhere in the country. Julia donated these handmade mugs and a pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee to go with them. The mugs are awesome. Head over to her ETSY shop and check out all the goodies she has for sale!

Kelly from The Glass Dragonfly donated this adorable sterling silver pendant from a company called Little Jewel. It is quite possibly the cutest little charm I have ever seen.

Marcy from AblesAntics MADE this prayer shawl just for my raffle. I wrapped it around my shoulders and can already imagine cold winter nights huddled by the fire. The shawl is over 4 feet long and almost 2 feet wide and is bordered with fringe. It's so cozy!!

~~~

Btw...Mr Bogart in P Town? You now own a shit load of new camping equipment. Congrats!