Wednesday, February 27, 2008 --- I don't know how to balance blogging and a job outside of the house...I'm a failure!

I am having a bitch of a time trying to balance blogging and working outside of the house. It sucks because I was so regular with posting...now I just feel like a failure who can't manage her time. But the thing is, I'm doing laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. with whatever free time that is not taken up by sleeping and watching the few highly necessary television programs we like to watch each week. Ugh! In addition, I have a freelance website job going on -- for a certain Pilates studio in New York -- which I am very excited about -- but again, less free time for me and me-blog when I get home each day. Ah, well.

The other thing that has made me actually avoid blogging is my ongoing frustration with Blogger mistreating me and my post publishing process. I know that the best solution is to migrate to dynamic blogging (i.e. Wordpress) -- and I WILL do this! But, F*CK! I just don't have the time right now...so I avoid...because Blogger can't piss me off if I don't blog!

One thing that we have been having fun with is KITTY CAM. I got a web cam for Christmas (which works independently from a computer -- just hooks up to our home network) that allows us to watch our cats when we are not home...or when we have our backs turned and we want to see what those little f*ckers are doing when we are not looking. Plus, their Grandma really likes to check in on them from Connecticut -- just to see how fat they are or to watch them playing. I don't know why I enjoy this so much, but I do. It's like I'm producing my own Feline reality tv show! Here are some still shots from the KITTY CAM as an animated GIF -- of Noodle the Cat.



Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 --- Things have been so crazy...Crazy Fun!

I got some great loot...here's a sampling of it on our NEW table...Well, not actually new, but a great hand-me-down from my mom and her boyfriend! It just needs a little bit of repair to some of the tiles and grout, but it is perfect for our little dining area. I love it.

I got to play with this little dude (N.J.) on Monday night thanks to my friends, Lori and Michael, who made him!

On Christmas Day, we had a great time opening gifts and laughing...Here's the man saying, "Please, no paparazzi!"

And finally, I leave you with this absolutely hilarious video of my mom enjoying the free Venom mask that was included with the Spider-Man 3 DVD package. None of us could stop laughing -- she is quite a character, isn't she?


Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, December 13, 2007 --- A Tribute to Misfit Toys...Fly Your Freak Flag High!

Friday, November 30, 2007 --- Kneel before the Temple of Coldness...and get your wax worms here!

Behold! Our glorious new Temple of Coldness...If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that we recently had a refrigerator breakdown at the Butterfly Cocoon. Our kind neighbor, Teresa, took in our wayward food for temporary storage across the hall so that we wouldn't lose everything. Initially, the apartment maintenance guy, who showed up at our door to check the old monster, said he would need to replace the fan motor (I think?) in the morning to get things running again. Of course, behind closed doors, we said out loud, "Why can't they just get rid of this energy-sucking-fucker and give us a new refrigerator like Teresa has?!?"

Well, I am pleased as punch to announce that they did just that! Three nice men came in, cleared out the old, rolled in the new, and even helped put away what little non-perishable food we had left in the old dying beast. Magnets and pictures have now been replaced on the new magical fantastical Whirlpool.

I especially love the clear drawers that let me see exactly what is in there at all times. Nothing is worse than forgetting about some random vegetable purchase, only to discover some weeks later that you have a drawer full of rotten celery or cucumbers...Ick! [OK, yes, there are worse things -- like heinous rape or murder -- but, in terms of refrigerator things, you get the idea... ]

Now, I am sure there are you nosy little bitches out in Cyberland who are going to zoom in and examine the contents of our refrigerator. And, you are probably going to say, "Hey Butterfly, what's with the container of LIVE WAX WORMS?" Ewwwww.

My longtime readers will know that the worms are a special treat for our amphibian friends -- specifically, our two Australian White's tree frogs. Usually we feed all of our frogs crickets, but occasionally, I will hand feed these guys a few wax worms. I don't feed wax worms to the three Cuban tree frogs (not pictured) because those frogs are too fast and nervous to be held and fed. If you drop the worms into the tank, they will just dig themselves into the soil, never to be seen again. So, it requires holding the worm in front of a lucky frog's face to be snatched in the moment. These two frogs at left, known collectively as "the Bung Monkeys", are very happy to be held and fed. Because they are fat and slow. *heeheehee*

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 --- What Google Analytics and my Feedjit tells me about visitors...

Who would have thought that my posts about facial symmetry studies (here and here) would bring so much weird "images.google.com" traffic to my blog? Honestly, I think people must spend hours just looking for naked pictures of Amber Valletta and Amber-Valletta-look-a-likes on the internet -- because that's all they seem to be looking at when they come here from Germany, Philippines, Slovenia, Malaysia, etc.

Sure, I know where most of the real readers come from:

Hello California! Hello New York, Vermont, Illinois, Texas, Oregon, New Jersey, Washington, Indiana and Virginia (those are my top 10 reader states!) England? Hello Newcastle upon Tyne! Hello London, Pontypridd and Wembley! Canada? Hello Vancouver, Regina and Mississauga! And many others I haven't listed here. Hiya!

But then, it starts to get weird...Tell me, person in Kuwait -- did you find what you were looking for on The Butterfly Blog?? Of course, I should have known that a link to tassyPink or a passing reference to splosh porn would bring a few unexpected visitors...LOL! But tell me, why do a search for "sarah jessica parker nostrils"? "ahhhh push it push it"? "crooked smile after chin implant"? "loestrin birth control pill peculiar smell"? Really? "Dry+aching+armpits!" Ouch. "Does a butterfly have a nose"?

I must admit, that last one really intrigues me. In my opinion, questions like that are worth asking because they show a natural curiosity about the world around us. Bravo, I say! Go on, girl, with your Entomological-bad-self! However, why someone thinks I should have any "female pug dogs menstruation information" I'll never know...

What I do know is -- yep, last time I checked, I have a nose. [But, that's probably not what you meant, my Googling friend, huh? Sorry.]

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, November 1, 2007 --- My man is a slug...

Meet my man...my man is a slug. No, of course, I am not living with an actual terrestrial gastropod mollusk! But sometimes, it feels like I am. Before you misunderstand me, I am not trying to say that the man is slow...or lazy...he's not! No, he is a wonderful guy who is kind, funny, extremely handy fixing things and he has a very cute butt. However, he is very much like the slug pictured at left in one particular aspect of his daily life...

He leaves a slime trail wherever he goes! Here is some evidence that he was in the kitchen recently.

Don't see what I mean? Scroll down to the closeup picture below.

Now, do you see it? This made me laugh -- so much so that I have decided to preserve his handprint for a few-days-more-worth of chuckles -- before I whip out my Orange Clean to wipe it away with a rag for good.

There was a time that this kind of thing would have infuriated me. As I have matured, I see these things as an opportunity for increased household humor. I know he appreciates my decision to laugh instead -- which is why he is willing to be such a good helper whenever I occasionally ask. The best advice I can offer to others who find themselves frustrated by such things is: You'll both live longer healthier lives the more you laugh at and enjoy these differences. Besides, no one loves a nag.


[The slug photo was borrowed from here.]

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 --- Does this ever happen to you?

Do you ever use a product for a period of time, and then, it just kind of stops working? Like a favorite shampoo or conditioner? Well, this Degree deodorant has quit on me. It just doesn't last the whole day like it should. I begin to smell, what the man and I affectionately refer to as, "a little French". Yeah, I know that is not a terribly politically correct thing to say, but I do mean it affectionately. Really. Honestly, I tend to agree with people that Americans are a little too obsessed with deodorants, germs, etc. I don't really mind my smell, but I would like to earn it first, you know? Like if I don't shower for 2-3 days, I expect to smell a bit and that's fine. You can even sort of delight in the natural-smelling funk, I think. But a deodorant, by its very American nature, should last more than 4-5 hours in my opinion. I think it has something to do with this Invisible Formula not having as much oomph as the regular Degree. It was time for something new.


That said, on our recent trip to the grocery store, I bought some different deodorants. I saw that Degree had changed its look -- its probably the same shit in a new package -- but I am optimistically hoping that maybe they have improved the invisible formula and it will go back to working for me. I am giving them another chance to continue deodorizing my fabulous armpits because this one is "little black dress approved". Alrighty then, I ask you, how could I go wrong with that?


In the meantime, I also thought I would try out something completely different. I have seen the commercials for this Dove deodorant in which the "real women" tried it for 7 days and their underarm skin was softer, smoother when shaving and the deodorant was also not leaving any white crap on their clothes -- as evidenced by the voluntarily sporting of their current shirts inside-out for the cameras. Wow. Sounds good to me. But, another factor I consider in buying any new products (tell me if you do this too?), I have to smell-test things before I buy. Yes, you will find me in the grocery store aisle, popping off one deodorant top after another and smelling them to make sure they are not too "perfumey", or what I like to call "whoofy". I do this with shampoos, hairspray, whatever. I think it is a form of Product OCD that I do not want to be counseled for. I absolutely hate the intense baby powder smells of many deodorants. I dislike smells that are so strong that they would overpower what little perfume/cologne I may decide to wear that day. I like a nice mild scent that only smells when I choose to stick my nose in my armpit and smell it directly. (You know you do this, too. Don't lie!) So, I tried this new Dove Cool Essentials with Cucumber and Green Tea Scent, and, I am L-O-V-I-N-G, loving it! I have been smelling my armpits off and on all day and it has a perfectly mild, hardly-there scent, that smells great...oh yeah, and it has worked all day...I am not French at all! I endorse this product thus far. It remains to be seen how irresistibly soft my armpits become as a result of its ongoing use. I'll let you all know.

Now, everyone, go smell your pits! Fly that freak flag high! You know you wanna...

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 --- Hiro Nakamura screen test.



Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 --- Non Sequitur Day...The neighbors are cooking weird-smelling food and I love this T-shirt!

Yeah, my thoughts for today are a little bit disjointed because I am having a bad stomach ache and headache combo, with a side of gas. That said, my neighbors are cooking weird smelling food that is kind of making me feel sicker. In an effort to cheer myself up...I give you this picture from the very funny WWW.BUSTEDTEES.COM! Whenever you feel down, the T-shirts can give you a good dose of giggle.

Now, I'm going to excuse myself to the bathroom...

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 --- Hi, My Name is Butterfly. I am a Vicks VapoRub addict and I have been clean now for...about 16 hours!

Apparently, I am not the only abuser of Vicks VapoRub out there. However, unlike Aunt Jackie (see yesterday's comment section), I have never eaten Vicks -- I am strictly a "sebaceous nasal abuser" of the substance. As part of my recovery program, I am required to do this Public Service Announcement on the proper usage of Vicks VapoRub...



According to my jar (and the Vicks website), the DIRECTIONS FOR USE are as follows:

See important warnings under "When using this product."

* Adults and children 2 years and over:
  • Rub a thick layer on chest and throat or rub on sore, aching muscles.
  • Cover with a warm, dry cloth if desired.
  • Keep clothing loose about throat/chest to help vapors reach the nose/mouth.
  • Repeat up to three times per 24 hours or as directed by doctor.
* Children under 2 years of age: Ask a doctor.


Other Information

* Store at room temperature.

Questions? Call 1-800-873-8276.


Okay, that's all fine and good, but I still fail to see how a child under 2 years of age can:

  1. Read these directions.
  2. Call a doctor.
  3. Assuming the fucking receptionist will ever actually put the doctor on the phone, is a baby really articulate enough to ask the doctor any questions about the use of this product by someone his/her age?

Hmmmmm? Moving on.


The WARNINGS are as follows (I have made bold the particular sections of interest that relate to the forms of product-abuse engaged in by Jackie and me ):

For external use only; avoid contact with eyes.

Do not use:
  • By mouth
  • With tight bandages
  • In nostrils
  • On wounds or damaged skin

Ask a doctor before use if you have:
  • Cough that occurs with too much phlegm (mucus)
  • Persistent or chronic cough such as occurs with smoking, asthma, or emphysema

When using this product, do not:
  • Heat
  • Microwave
  • Add to hot water or any container where heating water. May cause splattering and result in burns.

Stop use and ask a doctor if:
  • Muscle aches and pains persist more than 7 days or come back
  • Cough lasts more than 7 days, comes back, or occurs with fever, rash, or persistent headache

These could be signs of a serious condition.

If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.

Keep out of reach of children. If swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.


©2007 Procter & Gamble. All Rights Reserved. All copy and claims valid only in the U.S.


I must say, I had never considered microwaving my Vicks before, but...

And, I love the fact that "All copy and claims valid only in the U.S." So, if I am in say, France, I could do ANYTHING with Vicks VapoRub (including putting some on my pooper, for freshness) because none of these warnings would apply there! Awesome.

Of course, it does not surprise me at all that I am an abuser of Vicks VapoRub -- considering Jackie's history of eating it until the age of 30 -- we come from the same maladjusted, Vicks-abusing family. I am quite sure that her older sister, aka my Mommie Dearest, was probably the one who fed it to her for the first time, as their mother probably did to her...Yes, my own mother started me on the path to my greasy-nosed nightmare.

But, there is help out there. Pick up the phone and call the 1-800-number. You'll be glad you did.


/end P.S.A.



[Disclaimer: I make no promises that I will not nasally abuse Vicks VapoRub in the future. I'm just sayin', if I have a bad cold, I may use again. I'll let my sponsor deal with it when the time comes...Thank you.]

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 6, 2007 --- Apparently, this is a good place to take a nap...

The bigger Nutmeg gets, the more things she gets into. Not only did she jump into the tub while I was taking a shower today, but she also likes to take a break in the sink periodically. In some ways, this lack of fear with regard to water is a good thing. It means I have very little trouble bathing her when necessary -- because I like to bathe me some cats. Contrary to popular cat-belief, spit does not clean everything well, especially when that spit smells like cat food...


"This carpet has a funny flavor!"

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, September 26, 2007 --- My Favorite Little Munchkin Came For A Visit This Past Weekend...Isabella!

The man's niece came with her parents this past weekend and we had a lot of fun with them. She terrorized the cats, of course. She also loved the playground in our complex right outside the front door. She's a jungle-gym-climbing-machine! I can not get over how big she has gotten -- she's almost 3 years old (November) -- and looks like an actual kid now!! It seems like she was just in diapers...


Trying to settle down from a hyper period of cat chasing...


In search of those cats...I have a rainbow string, kitties!


Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, August 30, 2007 --- What has been going on in Butterfly's cocoon?

As you all know, we put Trudy to sleep on August 13, 2007. She was cremated on August 14, 2007...and, we got her ashes back the following weekend in this pretty little box -- which is now on a shelf in our living room. It came with an engraved name plate which we affixed on the inside of the lid. We have been missing her terribly, but we are glad every day that she is no longer suffering.


As a household, we will always have a hole in our hearts for Miss Trudy. The boys were missing their sister...Peanut, especially, was walking around meowing and howling, looking for Trudy for days. We still miss her non-stop purring, her instant appearance whenever you called for her, her love of tuna water, her insatiable need to rub her cat lips on us when she wanted to be pet... We have ALL needed some cheering up...and, we had an available spot in our place to offer someone special a new home! So...


...Meet Nutmeg! It was a difficult choice, but this little bundle stood out from the crowd at PetSmart's Adoption Day as the best candidate to join our little, not-so-little family. She's very outgoing and she has a cool orange spot on her head. The boys accepted her relatively easily -- we only had them segregated for one day!


Jackson offered to give her a bath...to wash off the shelter smells...in a rather untraditional manner!


You can see that Peanut is pretty oblivious to her presence when he is sleeping with his dad...


...And, after a rough start of throwing up whenever he looked at her...from fear(!)...Noodle is now able to take a nap with her on the sacred chair...


Her first major act of mischief??? Eating through the wire on these headphones for her Daddy's XBOX 360! Surprisingly, Daddy was not that upset...probably because it gave him the perfect excuse to buy the better X2 wireless headphones from Turtle Beach...


Vive l' XBOX 360!
Merci beaucoup, ma petite Nutmeg!

Love,
Daddy XOXOXO


We also just got back from Connecticut and visiting Mommie Dearest for a Belated 4th-of-July-Birthday Celebration -- she's a Firecracker Baby! Here we are in the dark making motion trails with our super-long sparklers. You can see some of our other fun with explosives on her blog.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 --- More Facial Symmetry Studies...well, maybe Asymmetry would be a better description!

Sorry. I have not been much in the mood for blogging this week. We have been a little bit busy with stuff I will tell you all about another time.

Since the Facial Symmetry Study of Amber Valletta was enjoyed by all, I thought I would show a few more of other famous people. Many of these faces have much more asymmetry...as you will see. Watch out for Meryl Streep -- she's a beautiful lady, but not when it comes to symmetry! And Sarah Jessica Parker's Right-Side Symmetry looks like it could be her transexual brother! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.


Normal Front View


Left-Side Symmetry ------- Right-Side Symmetry


Normal Front View

Left-Side Symmetry -------------------- Right-Side Symmetry


Normal Front View

Left-Side Symmetry -------------------- Right-Side Symmetry


Normal Front View

Left-Side Symmetry ------- Right-Side Symmetry


Normal Front View

Left-Side Symmetry --------- Right-Side Symmetry


Normal Front View


Left-Side Symmetry ------------------- Right-Side Symmetry




Photo Credits:

Ray Romano Photo
Photo by Lester Cohen - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Sarah Jessica Parker nonTAN Photo
Photo by Steve Granitz - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Sarah Jessica Parker TAN Photo
Photo by James Devaney - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Tom Cruise Photo
Photo by Lester Cohen - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Jerry Seinfeld Photo
Photo by James Devaney - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Meryl Streep Photo
Photo by Steve Granitz - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, August 2, 2007 --- Childhood memory migration...from a stuttering, shy attempt at blogging in 2004.

When I first became interested in this whole blogging thing, I was strictly a reader. I tried to start a blog, but did not feel I had the stamina to keep up with it. Growing up, I never kept a journal -- beyond a few isolated entries in notebooks here and there, sometimes years apart. I did write letters to friends pretty often. I guess something of a "journal" was given away in the letters I wrote.

The other problem was a feeling of shyness. Not sure I wanted to blog, to share. It felt weird. So, I gave it up right away.

But today, I was feeling struck by the fact that my entries on this blog, while plentiful, were more often than not, fluffy? Not always. I do try to keep things funny for my own sake. I try to say something, even something silly, or just a notation of something interesting I saw elsewhere, as a time-capsule of "self"...as an exercise in regularity...in sticktoitiveness. To say, "I DO have the stamina!"

I thought back for a moment, back to my few feeble attempts at an anonymous blog. I re-read my few entries (posted and not posted) and felt almost perplexed -- "Who is this person? I wrote that?" And so, I decided to dust one of them off...because I thought it was funny, but also very telling. To those who know me really well, it speaks so innocently and simply, but peculiarly accurately, of the person I am today. What do I mean by this? I see the seeds of my current self in this childhood memory...my creativeness...my joy of feeling chills from spider-like tickling...and my selfish, demanding nature with regard to things being done "properly!"

Early childhood inventions: The Tickling Machine

As a child, I built the following engineering masterpiece:

Using several Tinker Toy sticks, I attached a rubberband to each one, knotted and fitted at the end of each stick - tight enough so that they did not slide off. This formed a loop on the end of each stick by which the individual stick could be hung. A much larger, "master" rubberband was threaded through these loops and looped through itself to tie the grouping off - into a sort of "key chain" of sticks.

I then presented my father with this bouncing windchime of sticks and rubberbands. In addition, I offered my bare 5-year-old back to him and demanded to be tickled with the instrument. My father required extensive training before he mastered the desired effect I had envisioned for the apparatus...namely, chills.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!



Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 --- Remember this video from Mothers' Day? Funny girl sure can dance!

Some of you may remember this funny video from The Daily Lizzard? -- it was a Mothers' Day surprise for Mommie Dearest posted on her blog. That Trudy sure can dance...

[Don't worry -- we didn't make her dance for the whole song -- we shot a little chunk that she tolerated pretty well and then we looped it to make it longer for the whole song ;-D ]




Labels: , , , , , , ,

Monday, July 23, 2007 --- You have got to watch this...I don't even know what to say about it.

One of my Twitter buddies had this on her blog (margalit) and I just could not resist sharing it here with my small audience...Hungry, hungry Hippo!


Labels: , , , , , ,

Thursday, July 19, 2007 --- I was always struck by the enormity of his head...

With the most recent upgrades to our area's cable service, we now have VH1 Classic -- which is really great incidentally -- because we get to see all kinds of old music documentaries and vintage videos. Periodically, I will see a Smiths' video and it will make me laugh...I have never gotten over the enormity of Morrissey's head and that extreme-high hair of his. He was like a caricature...or a bobblehead! Whenever I think of The Smiths, I see him in my mind's eye with his big head, high-styled hair, a loose plaid shirt, and drooping Levi's with substantial footwear, dancing around the stage in that lazy-crazy "I don't give a shit" way. Reminds me so much of my NYU days and all of the serious brooding types (gay and straight) that I knew.

[Photo credit: Steven Wright http://www.wrightphoto.co.uk ]


But, it also makes me think of how my mom, her friend Robert and I were all so tickled by the lyrics of one of our favorite Smith's songs:


Bigmouth Strikes Again

Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said I'd like to smash every tooth
In your head

Oh ... sweetness, sweetness, I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed

And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to her Roman nose
And her Walkman started to melt
Oh ...

Bigmouth, la ... Bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the Human race

Oh, Bigmouth, ha ha ... Bigmouth, la
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the Human race

And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to a Roman nose
And her hearing aid started to melt
Eek !

Oh, Bigmouth, la ... Bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
With the Human race
Oh ...

Bigmouth, oh ... Bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the Human race

And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to a Roman nose
And her hearing aid started to melt
Oh !

Oh, Bigmouth, oh ... Bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the Human race
Oh ...

Bigmouth, oh ... Bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the Human race
Oh ...

Bigmouth

Goodbye, and thank you! Goodbye!



[Morrissey photo: The uncropped version can be found here.]

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, July 14, 2007 --- Produce mother and child...

butterfly has sent you a clip...

butterfly's Message:
Baby Carrot learns to walk!

Artist: Terry Border
Title: "Baby Steps"

Get Clipmarks - The easiest way to email text, images and videos you find on the web. It's free!
Sent with Clipmarks

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 --- Oh...my...God...I am having a cuteness-sugar-rush!

butterfly has sent you a clip...

butterfly's Message:
I think I may get diabetes from the sweetness of this little darling that was born in Japan recently...oh God, where is Claus von Bülow when you actually NEED an insulin injection???

clipped from www.news.com.au
Puppy / Reuters
Get Clipmarks - The easiest way to email text, images and videos you find on the web. It's free!
Sent with Clipmarks

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, July 9, 2007 --- Blythe was very excited to do another photo shoot with me...

Oh, so pretty and serene. I love how she looks against my mosaic dish from Pier 1. Nice contrast to her coloring...she really pops against the fiery background...got the inspiration for my background choice from her sunglasses. Annoying reflections on her plastic skin were a challenge.

This is the shot that I used for the comment banner in my sidebar. I needed to retouch the photo so that I could get rid of her pull-string hanging down in the back. Also, I had to do a duplicate layer and flip horizontally so that I could make the background wider for the text area of my banner. I love the way it turned out. What do you all think?

Lighting was a little weird in this one, but I like the way her hair seems to glow and you can really see her green eyes. I should take some more pictures with her other eye colors (blue, pink, and orange), but the green eyes are my favorite.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, July 7, 2007 --- More than meets the eye...and other stories.

Today we saw TRANSFORMERS...AND IT WAS AWESOME! I loved it. LUV'D IT, BITCHES!

Acting was great -- totally believed that the actors were terrified and/or interacting "with" the robots (which is hard to do when nothing is there) -- and Shia LaBeouf was really funny. Effects were un-fucking-believable. Story kept me on the edge of my seat...so much so, that I refused to take a bathroom break...even though I needed to pee really, really badly. And, amazingly, I was in-major-love with the robots by the end -- as if they were actual people. I thought I would cry when it seemed BumbleBee was going to die. Optimus Prime, I love you. [swoon] Anthropomorphizing rules.

One question though...Why no female-voiced Transformers? Maybe the sequel will have some? Just a thought.


On the Fourth of July, we saw this little number (because Transformers was sold out for the whole afternoon) -- which was just fine. Why? Because this movie was Hi-lar-i-ous...HILARIOUS! Possibly...funnier than The 40-Year-Old Virgin...?? Maybe. I am not entirely sure. But, I think so. It is hard to quantify the hysteria-factor when the movies do not occur back-to-back for comparison, but I am willing to go out on a limb and say it was.

This has been a great week for movies, indeed. I think I want the DVDs of both of these babies when they come out. Yeah, they're that good.

What else? Oh yeah, we had a day of hell in the feline arena. This mother f*cking cat can NOT be made to take a pill or swallow a liquid medication OR HOLD STILL FOR ANYTHING OR ANYONE!!!! Maine Coons are known for not liking to be held and being rather wriggly...And Trudy is the worst. The worst! And the quantity of drool that accompanies ANY amount of stress is incomprehensible. We wasted 3 pills today just trying to get them down. They all became mush. We tried to hide them in Tuna...NO GO. We tried to dissolve them and syringe blast them down her throat...NO GO. We suffered several personal injuries and have lots of holes in our T-shirts that were not there before. We lost more than a milliliter of the precious liquid medication that needed to be swallowed, but instead was splashed all over the bathroom in a shower of drool and antibiotics. So glad we have several more weeks of this to look forward to...Finally, after the many failed attempts, lost patience, and the addition of sweatshirts and leather gloves, we finally got the crap liquid antibiotics and the pill down. I can hardly wait for the morning when we start again.... ;-(

Here is something exciting. the_butterfly aka my Twitter identity, is part of the Big Blue Marble Twitter Mosaic. Don't know what I am talking about? Well, this Twitter person(s) http://twitter.com/twitter_mosaic collects the little avatar pictures that everyone uses on Twitter to ID themselves -- and uses them to create intricate mosaic pictures of works of art, photographs, etc. [Add twitter_mosaic to your friends' list and you could be in the future mosaics!] You can see these mosaics at the Twitter Mosaic Blog which is at http://www.twittermosaic.com/ Anyway, I was included in the "Big Blue Marble: Negative Mosaic". It is easiest to look at it first on the mosaic blog, but then, you can also see my saved copy of the image where I have circled the occurrences of my butterfly picture -- where I could spot it so far in the mosaic (not easy!) ;-D WooHoo! See it here.

Okay, this has been one of my longest posts in a very long time. As juvenile as it was...in gushing over my Transformer-Love...and the Knocked Up versus 40-Year-Old Virgin debate...and other stories of fame...and misery...

I am now tired and must fold some fresh laundry that is about to finish in the dryer before I go to bed. So g'nite


[Photos source: Yahoo! Movies]
http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/Transformers/1808716430/photos/17/3871
http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/Knocked-Up/1809701428/photos/58/1606

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, July 5, 2007 --- Terry Border is Really Bent.

butterfly has sent you a clip...

butterfly's Message:
Some of you may have checked out one of my favorite blogs, Bent Objects, by the very talented and humorous artist, Terry Border. If you have not, you should!

That said, Terry Border has just launched a raunchier permutation of our beloved favorite. "The more graphic, black sheep cousin of Bent Objects" aka Really Bent. Below is the most recent post from the new blog, "Teabag". Hilarious fun!

[For the more sheltered folks in the crowd, who may not know what "teabagging" is, you can get a brief education at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teabagging. Needless to say, if you are a "Yute", you probably should ask your parents before looking at the Really Bent blog.]

Get Clipmarks - The easiest way to email text, images and videos you find on the web. It's free!
Sent with Clipmarks

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Sunday, July 1, 2007 --- Blind Melon Cat, you make me laugh. Thank you!

butterfly has sent you a clip...

butterfly's Message:
Remember the Bee Girl? Meet the Bee Cat...Blind Melon would be so proud!

 clipped from icanhascheezburger.com
All I can say is dat my life is pretty plain.
Get Clipmarks - The easiest way to email text, images and videos you find on the web. It's free!
Sent with Clipmarks

Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, June 28, 2007 --- Wow...Clearly, I need to use more curse words!

Online Dating

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

* hell (3x)
* bitches (1x)

How is that possible??? I could swear (pun intended) that I have said more bad words than that...surely? Maybe I have kept it clean for the youths? I don't know why. No one reads my blog anyway. [INSERT SAD VIOLIN MUSIC HERE.]

I should just curse like a sailor from now on...LET IT FLY, V! I'm going for Rated R, c**ksuckers!!! [Drat it. It is precisely that kind of self-censorship which stands in the way of seeing my rating dreams fulfilled...pffft!]

**In all honesty, I don't think Mingle2's service has thoroughly scanned my blog...there's just no way I could be that clean. ;-)

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 --- Oh, man...This site is right up our Hermanitis-Alley!

butterfly has sent you a clip...

butterfly's Message:
Bookmark this site ASAP for your daily dose of hilarious passive-aggressiveness.

Sadly, I see a lot of my own behavior in some of these notes --- I always thought my well-thought-out-zinger signs in the work bathroom were a proactive public service to an invisible brown-bomber (and other, more unmentionable bathroom crimes!) Personally, I think leaving one's waste in the toilet for others to view is rather passive-aggressive, but apparently I am the passive-aggressive one! Who'da thunk it?

Get Clipmarks - The easiest way to email text, images and videos you find on the web. It's free!
Sent with Clipmarks

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, June 25, 2007 --- Oh, those funny GFY girls!

butterfly has sent you a clip...

butterfly's Message:
Clipmarked this lol goody...Amy Winehouse makes me nervous. I expect her to be smelly and possibly have pests in that hairdo!

I think the girls over at www.gofugyourself.com will back me up on this -- which is where I clipped this from. Ugh!

Get Clipmarks - The easiest way to email text, images and videos you find on the web. It's free!
Sent with Clipmarks

Labels: , , , , , ,

Saturday, June 23, 2007 --- This ought to make you laugh!

What the hell is that thing on my head? This is my clever method for strapping two icepacks to the back of my head because I had a terrible headache at the base of my skull. After two Excedrins and the addition of my "apparatus", the pain is finally subsiding...and the amusement over how stupid I look is setting in!


[A flood of catty comments from the Peanut Gallery ensues...?]
Posted by Picasa

Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 --- The IRKING Update continues...

I can now cross one friend off of the "irking me" list. Refer to this post for more information.

Congratulations to J!!! [identity-protected] You are officially off the "irking me" list and all is forgiven :)

Check it: K, J, E, H and L

Labels: ,

Monday, May 28, 2007 --- Ahhhh Push It....Push it real good!

Ah, push it
Ah, push it

Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby

Get up on this!

Ow! Baby!
Salt and Pepa's here!

(Now wait a minute, y'all
This dance ain't for everybody
Only the sexy people
So all you fly mothers, get on out there and dance
Dance, I said!)

Salt and Pepa's here, and we're in effect
Want you to push it, babe
Coolin' by day then at night working up a sweat
C'mon girls, let's go show the guys that we know
How to become number one in a hot party show
Now push it

Ah, push it - push it good
Ah, push it - push it real good
Ah, push it - push it good
Ah, push it - p-push it real good

Hey! Ow!
Push it good!

Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby

Push it good
Push it real good
Ah, push it
Ah, push it

Yo, yo, yo, yo, baby-pop
Yeah, you come here, gimme a kiss
Better make it fast or else I'm gonna get pissed
Can't you hear the music's pumpin' hard like I wish you would?
Now push it

Push it good
Push it real good
Push it good
P-push it real good

Ah, push it
Get up on this!

Boy, you really got me going
You got me so I don't know what I'm doing

Ah, push it


Special thanks to Salt -N- Pepa and Spindarella for helping us to successfully push another post (with video) off of the page... lol

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, May 8, 2007 --- Video from the CrazyCatPeople in Vermont :)

Check these crazy critters out...so cute!



Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 --- Charles has a licking problem...and boy, is it funny!

This cute pug dog is named Charles...the rest is pretty self-explanatory! Enjoy.


Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 --- Commercials that crack me up...Loestrin 24

I am sure you have all seen the ridiculous commercial where the girl is sitting on her couch with her laptop computer asking herself, "How do you say so long to a period that is too long?" For those of you who have not seen the commercial, it is for a birth control pill called Loestrin 24 Fe.

I was talking to the Lizzard the other day about how funny this commercial is to me. Because, honestly, who sits around and randomly asks themselves these questions, gets on the internet and types that long bizarre sentence into Google, expecting to get an answer that takes you directly to a website which answers that exact question? The funny thing is...as a test...I typed the sentence into Google, figuring that since it was part of Loestrin 24's marketing campaign, that it would take me directly to their website...But guess what??? It does not!!! It takes you to the MySpace page of a girl named Mandi0459. Hilarious! Someone dropped the metatag-keyword-search-ball on that one. Their whole campaign is based on this absurd question and the question does not even lead you to the product??? Priceless.

Finally, I found the web page by doing a search for "shorter periods". Once I got to the website, I read a little bit about the Loestrin 24 pill. Fine. It can shorten long periods down to 3 days. Great. Of course, this begs the question, would shaving 2 days off of, say, a 5-day period really make that big a difference in a girl's life? I mean after 3 days...haven't you really already gone the distance? You can not endure 2 MORE DAYS to finish things up?? Really? Whatever. Maybe some therapy to get over those "dirty genital" issues would be more useful...no? Like I said, whatever.

But it gets better...there is a section on the site called Meet Cammie and her dog, Shorty. You can see the commercial, read Cammie's Story, see her apartment, look in her closet, see her neighborhood [she lives in a loft off of Avenue A!], meet her friends, her dog, find out what music she likes. Ummm, hello? What is this, "The Complete Guide of How-to-Stalk Cammie"? I am surprised that they did not provide us with a chart of her menstrual cycle so that her stalkers will know WHICH 3 DAYS not to show up for the rape...Christ.

For anyone who is interested in having only 4 periods per year, we have Seasonale. Need I say more? Ugh.

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 --- No time for anything...or maybe just no energy to do anything?


Yeah, I have nothing to say...This cat really frickin' amuses me though! We spent the weekend in NY emptying more shit out of the house (the endless project) and sleeping in CT at mom's and her man's place. So, we had a good time with the family and ate really well at night -- the days just sucked.

Other than that, not much else to say. Been doing some learning with creating secure web folders, guest FTP accounts, etc. Pretty boring.

"Shoot 'em up kitty" credit --- from kaizersoze124_

Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, March 3, 2007 --- Holy mother of Christ, what the fug is that?

Foot fetishists, behold! A truly frightening specimen on the red carpet...


This little number comes from a recent post by the dynamic duo at www.gofugyourself.com --- on my list of favorite blogs. You can see the actual post from this particular photo entry here. The ladies write scathing reviews of the fashion disasters seen out and about at award shows, red carpet premiers, on the street...wherever! If you need a very silly and amusing break from the day to day, hobble your way over to Go Fug Yourself.

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 --- Really funny blogs of note...Check these out!

As some of you may know, I like to read blogs. I don't read any and all blogs...I have my favorites that I check out on a regular basis. Every once in a while, I find a new blog of interest and add it to my favorites list for future reading.

For a number of years now, I have been an avid reader of The Sneeze. Steve writes about a variety of topics --- his kids, wife, food, pet peeves, friends, music, etc. --- if there is a funny story involved, he'll tell you about it! Some of my favorite stories are his recurring topics, such as "Steve, Don't Eat It!", in which he finds all sorts of strange or gross food products to try out and then details his findings for his readers. Another must-read is his annual "Brain Watch" in which he photographs and reports on the status of a sulfur shelf fungus that grows on a tree in his yard. This particular story has intrigue attached --- one year, someone actually stole the fungus! He is obsessed with robots and loves cereal...all in all...Steve is a very funny read.

He recently wrote a post [The Art of Getting Bent, 02/05/07] regarding another blog that I plan on adding to my favorites ASAP, Bent Objects. Steve featured pictures of some of the hilarious bent-wire sculptures that Terry Border recently made, but there are many more on the Bent Objects blog. Most of the pieces are silly-funny, but there also some, shall we say, more provocative pieces shown --- amusing satisfaction for all types :) I particularly enjoyed the lesbian humor piece, titled Useless [posted on 01/22/07]. A very witty and quirky sense of humor has he...the best kind, in my opinion. Check him out if you have some time to kill!

[Additional info: his main website is www.terryborder.com]

Labels: , , , ,

________
www.vanessaleehamlen.com - THE BUTTERFLY BLOG - Copyright ©2007 Vanessa Lee Hamlen. All rights reserved.

Would it kill ya?


What I Am Doing...


Follow the_butterfly at http://twitter.com

Twitter Balloon code developed by korelab


About Me

I am a graphic designer. I love animals and have quite a few pets. There is a frustrated DJ inside of me --- hence, my ongoing obsession with making music mixes.

Recent Posts

Archives

Musical Goodness



-- Music from Butterfly's personal library --

LORI'S LABOR: A collection of 6 unique playlists with varying intensity and mood for your listening pleasure! I created these original mixes for my friends to use during the labor and delivery of their first baby, Nicholas.

You can visit their blog here: ---> The Bridenstines!




Listen to my comical, purposefully nasal, total HAM-job submission to the 2007 Blogger Christmahanukwanzaakah Online Holiday Concert in the mini-player above!
Links and Friends

vanessa lee hamlen
WBFR - BUTTERFLY RADIO
towhead productions
lizzie sue
the Daily Lizzard
joe hinsburg
fleck family
katie haverly music
joe sorren art
the sneeze
archie mcphee toys
eric joyner robot art
nishant choksi illustration
neth creatures
grammar girl
go fug yourself
jeffrey fulvimari art
don't click it
favourite website awards
paul neave
jared tarbell flash art
liquid journey flash art
my pet skeleton
tobie giddio fashion illustration
van beater art
pure breed revolution
pixel girl
jay bibby game reviews
the mighty jimbo
be the boy
sweet blog o' mine
bent objects - sculpture blog
terry border art
anne taintor - vintage gift items
anne...straight from the hip
the naked rabbit world power foundation
i can has cheezburger
passive aggressive notes
citizen of the month
the daly blog
craxy's blog
john's adventures
guerrilla gardening
kung foodie
this is blythe
deron cohen art
life student
hug nation
march of the hugmobile
tales from the dad side
ikea hacker
easy being green
marc johns's blog - mildly amusing drawings
ideal bite - easy green living ideas
gathering in light - c. wess daniels
schmutzie's milkmoney or not, here i come
we are rantasaurus rex, hear us roar
the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks
lyrical venus
saviabella
the world's most local burger
readymade: instructions for everyday life
giant microbes
busted tees
inarticulate fumblings
i am the diva
wesley riot
melissavina
queen of spain
in palinode's palace
mustaches of the nineteenth century
sera faery NEW!
daysies.nu - the daily overdosage NEW!






EXPLICIT CONTENT ADVISORY:
DO NOT CLICK on the following links if you are under the age of 18! These blogs are not for you...

really bent
where i vent my spleen
cocky bastard
tassy pink

Contact Me

Want to contact the butterfly? Vanessa would love to hear from you! NO SPAM, PLEASE...




EMAIL the BUTTERFLY!

Twit This!

IF YOU ARE ON TWITTER: You can use this button to twit about my blog in your tweets!

HELP HINT: To send an individual post, click on the Permalink TimeStamp at the bottom of a post -- then, click my TwitThis! button here.

All We Are Twittering...

These are the twittering friends that I follow...Why don't you join us? It's fun! Plus, I'm sick of just seeing my own voice bubbles in the scrolling thingy... :)

Digg This!

Like my blog? Use the button below to submit TBB to Digg!

Search


 

Site Map

FOR THOSE WHO MAY PREFER TO SEARCH BY INDEX...



Check out TBB's SITE MAP

Credits

Image and skin styling by: the butterfly
Skin coding by: vanessa lee hamlen






www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called vlh_butterfly's photos. Make your own badge here.

Feeds

Subscribe to TBB's Posts

Subscribe to TBB's Comments


Subscribe to TBB's Posts

Subscribe to TBB's Comments


Subscribe to the_butterfly's Twitter Feed

Where Do They All Come From?