One of my alltime favorite characters is Kogepan. He was introduced to me by Eugene a few years ago. He is the most pathetic little creature Sanrio has ever created and you can read his sad story here.

Born a healthy piece of red bean bun, he was accidentally burnt when he fell into the back of the oven and has lived an unhappy life ever since. He smokes, gets drunk on milk beer, runs away from home, and spends his days being jealous of all the other happy 'creamy white' breads. Hmm. I know how he feels.

I'm so depressed today. Its still 20 degrees. I've been stuck in the house all day and hating it. I think this is my most miserable Winter yet. I have no desire to do anything, but am so unhappy indoors. I don't even want to watch TV! My only savior is this ice cream. With each spoonful I feel relaxed and happy. So icy cold and sweet! Then, when finished, the depression comes back.

Wish I could be in Miami on the beach in the warm sunshine. Sand between my toes, the sounds of waves crashing and gulls laughing.

Oh well...time for another scoop I guess :(

I LOVE YOU WILLIAM!

Finally I found it! Woohoooooo! SHE BANGS!! I love the look on his face when Simon finally tells him to stop. Like a little kid who got in trouble. This guy is the best ever. Enjoy!

My Dentist Hates Me

My dentist must hate me. He's actually David's dentist. Correction-David's FAVORITE dentist. To him Dr. M@nsky can do no wrong. He is the Dentist Almighty.

As a wedding gift (odd, I know) he offered to give David's new wife a free cleaning. So I went. It was fine. But as I was checking out at the receptionists desk I felt obligated to make another appointment, knowing full well that he is not covered under my insurance plan. So I went, because apparently the first visit is covered by any dentist, but subsequent visits are not. So for weeks now, actually, months, I've been putting off my 2nd app't because I feel too bad to cancel. I book the date, and 1 day before I cancel and reschedule. This has happened maybe 3 or 4 times.

My phone just rang, I saw on the caller ID that its them. I didn't pick up. I'm scared. My heart is beating fast, and I feel horrible. I feel that for some odd reason I owe it to him to show up at least one more time. I mean, this guy gave me a free cleaning!

I think I will just call after hours and cancel and be done with it. I'm such a whimp.

Celvyn is that you??

Watched American Idol last night. I don't know if I could laugh any harder than when that Chinese boy sang "She Bangs". You all know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately I couldn't find a pic of him, but I do have this one of Celvyn! woohoo Celvyn, you will just have to try harder next time. And what about that midget! YOU GO GIRL!

I can't understand why people would wait in line for 3 straight days if they have absolutely no talent. But I guess we're lucky they do, b/c it made for quite a fun night.

=

David & Simone in 5-10 years??

Reading Rachel's blog about her 'alterna self' I decided to do a little research on my own. As I suspected, there were no other Simone Launerts' in the world. Thank god. But, there is another Simone and David. And you won't BELIEVE what I found...

Simone & David have been married since 1999 (ok, they beat us there) but, look at the similarities:

The first and perhaps most coincidental...THEY LIVE IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA!!!!While David and I do not live in Sydney, I was born there!!

Second, Simone likes plants and animals. OMIGOD!! I LOVE plants and animals.

Third, David is a Graphic Artist!! OMIGOD, now this is getting really spooky!

And just look at the pictures of this lovely couple. Are these our long, lost twins?

Here is a picture of the house I am going to win. Don't bother entering, it is mine. But I thought I'd share it with you. You will be able to visit us during the Summer. Bookings start in March. Thank You : )

So I don't think it got above or below 20 degrees all weekend. Because of this the hubby and I stayed in from Friday evening until today, save for 2 trips to the grocery store a block away for food.

Sat night we made a very tasty Rosemary + Lemon whole chicken w/ a side of mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus. Very easy to make, just stuff chicken with whole rosemary sprigs, chopped whole lemon, garlic. Rub whole chicken w/ olive oil and salt/pepper. Stick some extra rosemary sprigs on top/btwn legs. Bake for 15 min on 475, then about an hr or so on 350. Voila! Now I never heard about the 'truths' of asparagus until recently and I can confirm them to be true! Eww!

We saw a varitey of movies/shows on our 3 days hibernation...

Friday night-Crimson Tide-AWESOME MOVIE!! How did I never see this before now?? Denzel should've won something for his fantastic performance. Gene Hackman was also excellent, but then again-when isn't he? Well, Heist but I won't even go into that ridiculous movie.

Sat was a non-stop Style Network/Fine Living Channel fest. Damn I love those stations. Its so nice to sit there and imagine you are rich and beautiful all day. David hates it so he hides in the bedroom and reads. No prob there-more couch room for me! Woohoo.

Sun-Hunt For Red October. YESSHHHH! Sean Connery-need I say more? I don't care how old he is, he's got what it takes! Not nearly as good as Crimson Tide, but still enjoyable. I can't help but wonder if we chose these 2 movies about being cooped up in submarines on purpose since we live in a similar situation. Hmmm.

Last night watched some Golden Globes-nice red carpet action (Uma was hot!) but the show was boring. Put on Bend It Like Beckham. Funny movie, but could've done w/out the love story.

I still can't get Brini out of my mind though. Haunts me...

WHAT THE...

So I settled down for a nice Friday evening on the couch with one of my fav stations The Style Network when this came on. What in god's name is this??? Is this somebodys idea of a sick joke? Is this a revenge on Martha?

Described as part Donna Reed, part Marlo Thomas...uh, they left out the PART PENIS!

It was so creepy. So disturbing. So unsettling that I had to immediately run to my computer to investigate. Is anybody familiar with this....this....thing? Rachel??

Apparently she (?) started here on Public Access in Manhattan and has blossomed (?) into something bigger. YIKES!!

We went to Chinatown last night to celebrate Chinese New Year. I can't remember the name of the place we went to, but we've been before and they serve amazing Dungeoness Crab. Not sure what the Dungeoness part of it means. I think it may mean 'really big crab in really really tasty sauce'. The place is on East Bwy, very close to Canal, and has tanks in the window with the biggest crabs you've ever done seen! Our waiter was great and even invited us to try Monkey wine. Made in Germany of all places. Tasted like Boone's.

Anyhoo, the place was filled with white people. As were the streets. So the question is, where do all the Chinese go on New Years Day? Is there some secret place that serves food that is so amazing that they don't want to share it with us W folk? Or does everyone just stay home with the family? What gives?

Eugene emailed me to tell me Rachel's blog is pretty. It is. And took this to mean mine is not. It isn't. Now I am sad. Any suggestions? Do colored fonts help at all?

Happy Friday all. Its cold, I'm tired of it, and I wish I could hide in my tiny apt until April.

Happy Chinese New Year!!

I love Chinese and I LOVE monkeys!!!

Wishing everyone health, peace and happiness!!!!

David sent me this funny link. I must say I did pretty well, 11 out of 18! I really think so...

A co-worker burned me a great Soca CD-Soca Gold 2002. I've been listening all day and found myself laughing out loud at some of the songs...

Uneasy-Red Plastic Bag

"I'm feeling uneasy in da pants, whenever we bounce up, dis thing it does flare up...right below me belt-dats is where its felt"

Bitin Incex-Ronnie Mc

"as soon as you take off your clothes, n your body exposed- feelin nice n sexy, the bitin' startin immediately"

Then there's the perennial favorite

2 Sapodilla and a 12 Inch Banana

Gotta love the Trinis! I can't wait to go back again.

So a certain person (she-who-must-not-be-named) just got a hold of a HUGE ASS 1 bdrm spacious apt in lower Manhattan for $500 a month!!! WTF?? Why does it seem everyone else get these great deals and not me? All I want is more closets and a kitchen that is not smack-dab in the middle my living room. Is that so much to ask for?

If anyone hears of a place that fits my description please go ahead and sign the lease in my name. I'll take it.

And to top things off now I have this HUGE couch leaning up against the wall in my living rm/kitchen area. Great fun for the cats as they are now playing King of The Mountain, but now I have even less room. Anyone want this damn thing?

So we're keeping Matthew's nice blue couch. Anyone want our old (but still some life left) couch? To refresh your memories, we got it originally from Macy's, its a drab greenish/khaki color, VERY deep and VERY comfortable. Would be nice if it was slipcovered. It really deserves a nice new home with a loving parent. Are you up to the challenge?

Lemme know...

Looks like we have a new couch! Matthew moved today and his couch didn't fit (woohoo), so we are the proud owners of a new (although used, but still nicer than ours) couch. We are trying to figure out if it really works in our place. We will be getting rid of one or the other so if you're interested lemme know asap.

I am at work today and hating it. My company seems to think today is meaningless, yet Presidents Day of all days is worthy of having the day off?? Ridiculous.

Fill in the caption...

What is the deal with the number 13???

I rode the elevator down and like all awkward elevator rides I stared straight ahead and noticed there was no floor 13. WHAT IS THE FRIGGIN' DEAL WITH THIS! Do people really not buy/rent on floor 13? Technically floor 14 IS on floor 13. Are we really fooling ourselves into thinking floor 13 doesn't exist? Are we so stupid and supersticious that we really wouldn't want to live on a floor that has an elevator button for 13? Argh!!

And why do people feel they MUST push a button when first walking into an elevator? If floor 1 is lit up, just stand back and relax. Don't push it again. YOU FOOLS!!

Happy Friday :)

PHENOMENAL!!!!

We saw WICKED last night. It is just so completely satisfiying and I will DEFINITELY see it again. It was truly amazing. The 2 witches gave incredible performances and I can't decide witch one I like best :)

The stage was so well done. The costumes, the story, the jokes-it was all just so perfect and I know this will be around for a long, long time. I think its just one of those legandary musicals. The only thing I didn't love was the music. It was all good n fine, but just not memorable. Not for me anyway-I'm hearing the CD's are selling like hotcakes! (Do hotcakes really sell like that?)

We were also lucky enough to see Taye Diggs perform (he's only there until Jan 19 or something like that). On top of being SO HOT, he is a real talent on stage. Catch him if you can.

Everyone should really go see this (good seats please). Its even worth it to come to NYC for a little vacation to see this! I have a discount for like 20% off of tickets. If anyone is interested email me.

So we bought this wonderful new down comforter at Macy*s last night. It was on sale for $89.99 and I must say it was quite a bargain. 525 fill power, baffled box stitching and 320 thread count! Oh my!

Speaking of Wizard of Oz, we're off to see WICKED tonight. I'm SO freakin' excited! My review tomorrow...

-Simone (still Starbucks free and lovin' life!!)

And where the $#&@% are my comments??!!!

I needed a lil' break from worky so I decided to check out my old haunt message board of MBIW. Almost immediately I was transported back a yr and felt the stress and angst of being a bride, a BI bride to be exact. Thank whoever that's over. I broke out in a cold sweat, hands were shaking, and memories of printing invitations every night for an entire month in a 20 degree office till midnight came rushing back. As wonderful as it was (or so people tell me, I don't remember much) I would NEVER EVER NEVER do it again. Then I logged off and now I feel OH so much better.

In honor of the Event of 2003 I am posting this lovely picture taken by our photog Daisy.

~Starbucks free Simone.

please excuse my crappy scanning job (eugkuo)

Ooooh, I'm star!! An angry star, but a star nonetheless...cbp

WHERE IN THE WORLD SHOULD SIMONE GO??

I'm thinking about this yr and all the nice fresh new vacation days I now have. Any ideas on where we should go? We currently have a nice amount of miles on Delta too (I have 52,000- David 35,00).

Continental US flights use 25,000, so we could take 2 of those. Or maybe a 50,000 to Europe. Or lets not forget the 35,000 needed for Hawaii. Any ideas?

Thanks guys!

Its 008 of 007 on the AMC Movie Channel this week!! Tonight is one of my fav's-Dr. No. Although anything with Sean Connery is good. YESHHH!

You can take a quiz to see what kind of Bond girl you are here.

Come on boys, you know you've wondered. Unfortunately I'm Jinx-'a female James Bond of sorts'. Hmmm.

I'd like to welcome my nephew Brandon Jay Launerts to my blog as one of the few privileged readers! Welcome Brandon!! I have also told Brandon that I will help him open a blog of his own if he so chooses. You can do it Brandon! Be one of us!! :)

SO CUTE!!! But $250 for a 4 gig? They MUST be joking. Oh well nephews, you'll have to wait till next yr for in iPod. Sawwy!

David bought me earrings from Tiffanys for Christmas. I didn't love them so I exchanged them for these lovelies. But now I'm not so sure about them either. Please comment with yay or nay. Thanks :)

As a gift to Eugene (Merry Christmas) I have added comments to my blog. Thank you Eugene. Please don't be too abusive and remember to leave space for the millions of other readers!!

Its my favorite time of year!! All calendars at B&N are 50% off. Woohooo!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE (Eugene)!!! Will this be the year of the Simone baby??


Our friend Eric's Mom died New Years Day. Very sad. Only 61. She had a naturally occuring form of Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (CJD). Similar to Mad Cow. No cure. Yet. Whats really scary is Eric has a 15% chance of also having this disease. Funeral was very moving as many spoke of what an impact this woman had on their lives. I think it was the Rabbi who spoke of his last meeting with her. He was telling her how people will remember her always. She said 'really'? He told her that like the name 'Cher', the name 'Maxine' is all you need to hear and will forever be engraved in peoples memories as someone who has done so much for the community. Very touching. And also gave us a much needed laugh.


What was extremely annoying were the photographers who insisted on snapping away at the burial. What on earth do people need to see these for? The photo essay on Newsday.com is ridiculous. Why do we (not me) need to see people in anguish for? TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! And NO, I do not read Newsday on a regular basis. I swear, people in LI have nothing to talk about except their latest purchases at Marshall's and whats on sale at Wauldbaums. Please shoot me if I ever decide to move to that god forsaken place!