The “Never Have I Ever” Meme

March 14, 2014March 15, 2014 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

This week has been a slow slog for me. If you rob me of an hour of sleep, this is what you get: a woman with a tired brain who is incapable of creating much of anything.

Then while reading Knocked over by a feather & Fish of Gold I saw their versions of this meme, and I remembered the Never Have I Ever Drinking Game. Suddenly, doing this meme seemed like the perfect subject for a TGIF post.

Happy weekend, everyone. Enjoy!

Never have I ever ridden on a motorcycle.
Never have I ever grabbed eggs from a hen’s nest.
Never have I ever owned a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.
Never have I ever watched an episode of American Idol or The Voice.
Never have I ever regretted having this house built.
Never have I ever smoked pot purchased legally in Colorado.
Never have I ever worried about whether someone thinks that I’m bossy.
Never have I ever knitted a sweater.
Never have I ever thrown a TV out a window.
Never have I ever inconvenienced other people with my luggage on an airplane.
Never have I ever ordered a Long Island Iced Tea.
Never have I ever run or walked a marathon of any length.

Tattoos, Doodles & Unfinished Projects

August 23, 2013October 12, 2018 / Ally Bean / 15 Comments

A most peculiar week, this one. Blue moon and all. Must have had something to do with it.

~ • ~

A friend is thinking about getting a tat. 3 of her 4 children have at least one tattoo, and she feels like an old fogey without one. She wants something meaningful with a bit of color, but not gaudy. Nothing wordy. Wordy ones, we agree, are too much like work. Who wants to read themselves?

I’m of the tats need to be organic and flowing school of thought. She’s of the tats need to include all family members, somehow, school of thought. Will let you know what she decides on… if she ever does.

~ • ~

Besides contemplating theoretical body art, this week I’ve watched Dr. Who. Did you know that I was a Whovian? Well, now you do.

I’m on the 10th Doctor with Donna Noble as his companion. I’ve read that she comes to some lousy end, so I’m finding this season to be rather bittersweet. She’s one of my favorite companions; I do so love her attitude and spunk. Noisy woman with a heart. Doesn’t travel light, that one.

Oddly enough, watching Dr. Who this week has me doodling. I don’t know why, but every time I sit down to watch an episode, I pick up pen/pencil + paper and commence doodling. Lots of swirls and flowers– and boxy faces composed of rectangles, triangles, stars.

Perhaps I’m creating a tattoo for myself and don’t even know it? Or maybe I’m more lost in thought than usual. Regardless, I’m happy listening to/glancing at the Doctor and Donna. And doodling. Must. Draw. Doodles.

~ • ~

Sometimes I’m amazed by how I decide to do something productive [like paint the bottom pedestal part of our kitchen table] and how the weather decides to be uncooperative [like hazy/rainy/stormy/humid all fricking week].

This is a project, if it is to be done properly, that requires lots of sunlight and low humidity and a very happy me. Yet not one day this blue moon week have I been able to work on my project. Do we not all believe that effort should be rewarded? Am I not trying here?

They tell us that the weather isn’t personal, but this week it has seemed personal. That I’m being thwarted for no good reason whatsoever. That all my plans have fallen to dust and I’ve been left alone to work around the mess that unfulfilled plans create.

But as we all know: you live, you learn. Which, from what I can tell, means that some weeks you live with a huge unfinished project smack dab in the middle of your kitchen. And you learn to not whine about it.

Call Me!

June 5, 2013 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

This June my desk calendar’s picture is an old advertisement for a 1959 Princess Telephone. The phone is that unique shade of turquoise that was so popular in the 1950s. Tres chic!

I have no personal recollection of Princess Telephones [Model 702]. We didn’t have one in our home. Instead, we had a basic white rotary dial Desk Telephone [Model 500] in the kitchen + a yellow Trimline Telephone [Model 220] in my upstairs bedroom.

Yes, we were early adopters with two phones in our small house. Try not to be jealous.

Even though the following short TV commercial is from the 1950s, I can’t help feeling that I, too, was just as much of a princess as this girl. I mean, I had a “personal extension phone” in my upstairs bedroom.

On the other hand, I didn’t have a dressing table adorned with bottles of nail polish and a French poodle figurine… nor was I ever inclined to wear bobby socks with a skirt… nor, after years of painful orthodontia, were my teeth as crooked as the girl’s teeth in this commercial…

But other than that, I was just like her. Yakking on the phone. Up in my bedroom. In my own little teenage world. 😉

• • •

So how about you?

Did you have a Princess Telephone? Or a Trimline Telephone?

Or some other sort of phone entirely?

• • •

[For photos and descriptions of models mentioned above please go here: Western Electric ~ A look at the evolution of the Dial Telephone.]

[FYI – Phone numbers used to be recited with words at the beginning. Here’s a chart to help you remember, or understand, what those words meant: Ma Bell’s Officially Recommended Exchange Names.]

In Which I Staycate & You Questionate

May 21, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 11 Comments

This week Zen-Den and I are taking a staycation.

We are planning on doing projects around the house [paint stair railings + bannister] and around the yard [replace perennials that didn’t survive the winter]. Plus we hope to go out to eat a few times… maybe go to the zoo… perhaps check-out the deals at an outlet mall… see a movie.

You know, do stuff.

So this week instead of writing about anything in particular, I thought that like Carol Burnett I’d turn up the house lights and take questions from the audience. Then next week, on a subsequent post, I’ll answer your questions making sure to let the world know who asked me each question.

Deal? Okay then, let’s get things started in here.

Just remember that the success or failure of my next post rests on you, my gentle readers. I’m counting on you to questionate like a pro! Please leave your questions in the comments below. And thank you in advance for your kind attention to this matter.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Updated late in the afternoon to include…

HEY! Look at this:

“Carol Burnett, who became famous for playing a variety of characters in sketch comedy routines on her namesake television show, was named the winner of the nation’s top humor prize on Tuesday.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Burnett will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington. “

AND WHO POSTED ABOUT CAROL BURNETT TODAY BEFORE THIS PRIZE WAS ANNOUNCED? Could it be me? Why yes it was. Is that a trippy coincidence or what?

[Source article here.]