I have skated, which was very therapeutic. I walked out feeling damn good. Now I am at work dealing with paperwork and seething with suppressed anger and a little self-loathing to top it off.

Wow, those are cool.

So I had a ridiculous good omen or something in iParty -- I had been looking and looking for placecards, and had basically figured they didn't have any, when my cell phone rang. So I put everything down to check the phone, and it was an unknown number, so I didn't even answer it, but I looked up, and there were the placecards! Yay.

Oh no, Scrappy! You should have zero self-loathing, due to how awesome you are.

Tardy the Man Pony, and other crappy vintage toys that never existed

The artwork of Randy Regier channels the dime store toy aisles and the flashy comic book advertisements of the 1950s and 1960s. His toys promise rip-roaring thrills on their colorful packages...and deliver confusion, horror, and crushing disappointment once de-boxed.

Let's take a look at some of Randy's unabashedly rip-off playthings like John Manshaft the misleading action figure — he comes with hand-painted socks! — and the gasoline-fueled "electric Sun."

Regier's toys are filled with various forms of snake oil sleight of hand. A box that screams ELECTRIC TRAIN SET contains small print denoting it's actually an ELECTRIC man waiting for a TRAIN SET — the locomotive is nowhere to be found.

His John Manshaft line boasts exciting box art of the hero in space and medieval times, but most boxes only contain a single forlorn, bug-eyed action figure in his underwear (Manufacturer Gypco Toys covertly informs the consumer to "cut out box lid for clothes and accessories.") Still other doodads are plain unsettling — look no further than the prancing abomination Tardy the Man Pony. Here's a sampling of Regier's many demented playthings.

I am in the backyard with cookies and a good book. No self-loathing here. It also helps that I got the car inspected yesterday (less than a month late!) and also did the grocery shopping run. And I have clean laundry!

So I got home yesterday to find a fedex envelope containing a fat gift certificate for the Claremont spa, from one of my brothers. Isn't that nice?

Now I'm hanging with mom, where I discovered they have 7 bottles of fabric softener, and no laundry detergent.

I am no good at this schedule stuff. I want to sleep in on Saturday! I want to lounge, not be tied to my son every second so things get done. grrr.

yeah, so I overslept and a Sat schedule does not exist yet, but I did make a few things be a priority.

1) mr. ralph stanley got to the vet so I can no get him listed with a rescue agency and up on pet finder.
2) we cleaned mac's room TOGETHER and pulled out his winter clothes.
3) mac vacuumed his bedroom and 1 living room.
4) I emptied dishwasher.

now he has 2 friends over for playdate and I am supposed to be doing something productive. not sure what I will do. I want to nap.

You are allowed to be tired, msbelle. You are having a tiring life right now!

Somebody just played "Quey" on me in Words with Friends for 108 points. And I'm still beating them.

mr. stanley is heat worm negative and now up to date on shots with documentation, so there is that. I am going to pick him up and find out how old they think he is.

Tardy the Man Pony, and other crappy vintage toys that never existed

I love the triskadecaplane air races toy complete with gurney for the pilot and medic and priest figures!