Don't Fence Me In

Is this a blog of personal reflections? Is it a pop-culture blog? Is it philosophical? Is it funny? Is it interesting? Is it just confused?

Perhaps at times it is all of these things, but I am OK with that. Cohesiveness has its place (scrapbooking, powerpoint presentations, runway shows, "real"/professional blogs...etc.), and it ain't here. 

So don't put Madgespace in a box. It is, in its very essence, a hodge podge. 

See, now that made me think of Modge Podge, the crafting goo. A professional blogger may let that thought pass and move onto a meaningful subject, but not me.

Modge Podge adheres photographs onto objects and makes them glossy. My family went through about a year-long obsession with the stuff. 

It's actually "Mod Podge", but for some reason we always refered to it as Modge Podge. Proper pronunciation is not a Padden/Kay family strong suit. We say "pin" when we mean "pen" and we overemphasize the "oh" sound in words like bowling, swollen and gorgonzola. My college friends call it the "Kenmore accent."

Anyway, Modge Podge dominated the birthday present scene for a good while in our house. Cut up some photos, schlop them onto the side of an old picture frame, candle holder, or slab of wood from the garage, smear on a heavy coat of Modge Podge and viola- you've got yourself a homemade, heartfelt, gift. 

Next topic: Flossing and Life-Span

I just found out that people who floss daily live longer lives than non-flossers. Ever since my parasitic crisis, I've been determined to be a HEALTHY person. I want to live a long time and have soft, radiant skin, strong bones and a lot of great grandchildren. When I'm 80 I want to wake up in the morning with joyful energy. If flossing is one step toward that future, then hand over the floss!

Ihre Gesundheit, 

Madge

Blogging vs. the Real World

If you think this is ridiculous...

Then check out this...

Easter was magnificent. I slept in, ate a lot of mangoes, hung out with the fam and jump roped in the family room while watching a "Rob&Big" marathon on TV. What more could ya ask for?

OMG- So, earlier tonight at the airport I was going through security and they had to pull aside my carry on bag for further investigation. Instantly I KNEW it was because I had a half-full tub of almond butter in there that probably counted as a "liquid" or perhaps a "gel." They ended up letting me keep it (thank god), BUT, in his search for the delicious contraband, the man unzipped the small, top pouch where all my dirty gunders from the weekend were stuffed! 

As if it wasn't humiliating enough, he had the nerve to chuckle and say "Those are all clean, right?" 

Ha. Ha. Ha. 

I managed to choke out a fake laugh and say, "oh yeah, of course" despite being mortified! I mean, is there not some sort of FAA rule prohibiting such invasive questions? Aren't security personal supposed to be serious and humorless?

Ok, move over Octo-Mom! The hot story everyone's talkin' about is now the rescue of a US navy captain from Somali pirates. 

The pirates, combined with the mother/daughter Peep costumes, gave me an blog idea: 

costumes vs. the real thing

Pirate:

Jack-o'-lantern:

Maid:

King Tut:

Bunny:

Grapes:

Cow:

I graduate in about 3 weeks. I am about to be a COLLEGE GRADUATE. In the words of Ab Nelson, how very bizarre. 

Peace, 

Madge

P.S. I turned in a stool sample to the lab today. I am not confident in the "product" that I "produced," and I fear it will return negative.

P.P.S. Speaking of The Real World, for anyone who watched this season (Brooklyn), how great is it that Ryan and Baya are dating? SO GREAT! Too bad he's back in Iraq. He and Chet are the sole reason this season was watchable. 

Superfood, Super Deal!

Hello, 

Love, 

Madge

SUN-day!

                           

The first day of real, warm, sunshine always makes me realize how miserable I've been all winter. During the last 5 months, anytime that I thought I was happy I was just kidding myself. I was faking it. Because this, my friends, is true happiness. FIFTY FIVE degrees, Manito Park, windows down in the mini-van, blue skies....BLISS.

Not only does the sun make me a happier person, but it makes me a more productive person too. Yesterday I clipped my fingernails- who does that???? Certainly not the winter version of myself. I even removed the nasty remnants of dark purple nail polish. With half of a bent bobbypin I scraped out the rotted gunk from under each nail. Who knows what kind of dirt, bacteria, parasite eggs, and boogers had been festering there all winter.

Then, after all that work, I still had the energy to throw in a load of laundry! 

If this weather keeps up, I might just start my own catering business, or complete a 1000 piece puzzle, or vacuum. 

Good day to ya, 

Madge

Ayo Technology

Today I used Twitter to read about what John Mayer, Martha Foley, Juliana DaPandi (yes, she will always be DaPandi to me!!! Sorry Mr. Rancic), Anna Kay, Jody Norwood, Rob Dyrdek, Taylor Swift and many others are up to. 

Mayer's on a cruise. Martha's just finished her homework. Anna walked Oggie. Jody went on a 6-mile run in her new running shoes. Rob Dyrdek was hanging out with the cast of his upcoming movie. Taylor Swift went to her brother's induction into his high school's honor society. 

Pretty amazing that I learned all that from one lil' website. 

Next, I looked at some pictures a guy named Ahmed put up on Facebook. He worked at the hostel we stayed at in Cairo. 

Also on Facebook I viewed every picture that Barbie and I were tagged in together since Freshman year. Memory Lane!

This morning I Skyped with Char and Francie and Bobby with our webcams. They were in Scotland and Ireland, I was in Spookaloo. I could see them, they could see me. I showed F & B the box that my new anti-parasite herbs came in. They had a good laugh. 

Pretty soon (when I win the lottery) I am going to purchase a digital audio recorder so I can post interviews with various people on my blog. THAT will be groovy. 

My point is: TECHNOLOGY IS WONDERFUL. 

Then why do I get these urges to unplug my life and move into the forest? I dream about a quaint log cabin, next to a river and surrounded by humongous evergreens. Ohhhh the peacefulness!! The rushing sound of the river, a good book, candles, salmon cooked on a campfire, pungent pine needles everywhere! Maybe Walden was onto something. 

I think I will do it at some point in my life. Except I will probably take my laptop and allow myself to use it one day a week. Or whenever I want to, but just not excessively. It would be a GREAT thing to blog about. Haaaaaha. 

Slàinte, 

Margaret

Rub-a-dub-dub, Thanks For the Snug, Yaaaaaaay God!

Tweedley deedley deet. Tweedley deedley deet,

Madge

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Here are some of Mother Nina's favorite things:

Greenlake/Alki/Discovery Park:

Books:

Net Flix:

Tamari Almonds:

Brach's Candy Corn:

Warm wash cloth on the face:

HAVE A FAB DAY!

Love, 

Madge

Belated!

HAPPY BELATED 26th Birthday Char and Francie!

Yesterday I had the honor of skyping with two of the greatest birthday-gals on the planet, Char and Francie. They were enjoying their bdays in Edinburgh- going out to a cute Thai restaurant and staying up until 3:00 AM to watch Gonzaga win (also, Ireland won the Six Nations Grand Slam rugby tourney! Quite a big deal- first time in about 60 years or something like that). 

In honor of my sistas, here are some of their favorite things:

CHAR

Ice Cream/Gilato/Frozen Yogurt/Ice Cream Bars

Cows

The Eagles

Earrings 

SALTED popcorn and Salt & Vinegar Rice Cakes

Americas Next Top Model Marathons

FRANCIE

Cheese of all kinds (often melted)

Coffee!!

Booter

Crosswords

Carmex

Home & Away (Australian soap opera)

AND, the story doesn't end there, folks! It happened to also me MY half birthday yesterday! My dear parents surprised me with an amazing carepackage, which I plan to blog about later. 

Now I have to go to class!

LOVE, madge

The Secret's Out

One of my coworkers, Morgan, is reading "The Secret." As you probably already know, the book talks about the phenomenon of sending positive energy into the universe and receiving it back from the universe. For example, if you think to yourself "I am going to ace my math test", then you will do just that. If you think it, it will happen. Sound crazy? Well, I thought so too at first, but OPRAH says it works. So there ya go. 

ANNNNNNNNNNNYway, this morning at work Morgan wrote herself a check (well, not a real check...a fake one made out of a rectangular cut of paper and with the usual check features penned in- name/address, "pay to the order of:", memo, date, signature...etc) of how much money she wants to have. The book says if she looks at the check everyday, believing as best she can that it actually already exists, then she will acquire that quantity of money somehow. 

Now, I am not convinced by any means, but I will also try anything to get some extra cash (besides working for it and saving it). So I wrote myself a check. 

Pay to the order of: Margaret Kay

Amount: 2,300

Memo: Edinburgh fund

And here's the kicker- I dated it for May 10th! A bit greedy, I know. But it would be great to have the money before graduation, so I can start sorting out my finances for next year. Perhaps it's asking too much of the Secret, but I can't linger on such negative thoughts. It will happen. It has already happened. I am a rich, rich, woman. 

Goodbye print version of the Seattle PI, hello new internet-centered business model, 

Madge

I Belong In a Nursing Home

I take more pills than a 90 year old.

The best part of my day is Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

Standing in the shower requires too much energy, so I mainly take baths. 

My mood is determined by my digestion.

I wear matching flannel PJs to bed every night, usually keeping my moccasins on and hugging a hot water bottle tightly. 

My favorite foods are all hot and liquidy- tea, soup, applesauce. No chewing required!

Here is a picture of me and all my supplements (Flouridex, Cloves, Wormwood, Black Walnut Hull Extract, Magnesium, Cayenne/Garlic, Probiotics, Smooth Move tea, Liver-Care Detox tea, Fish Oil and a Multi!):

I took this picture with the mac book, so all of the lettering is backward. OH WELL.

TGIF tomorrow!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH. It's also Friday the 13th tomorrow! I just realized it! WATCH OUT!

LYMI, 

Madge

"At-Home Workout"

Have any of you ever attempted this?

It's cold outside, you know you need to exercise but the thought of a run or the gym is just too much. Solution: Making your own at-home workout. 

For me, this is always a joke. It includes running in place while I watch reruns of the West Wing, throwing in a few jumping jacks and maybe a 20 second wall-sit. If I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror I will actually laugh out loud at the foolishness of the scene. Last year I would do my indoor workout in the living room! While my roommates where eating dinner! HA! How obnoxious! They'd be sitting there trying to watch Wheel of Fortune and I'd be behind the couch doing high knees! HAhaha. Anything to avoid actually opening the front door, stepping outside, and closing the door behind me.

I am going to go for a run (first one in a loooong time. yikes!) and then get a massage (thanks Mutti)!! 

Dry hands, 

Madge

BOTH are good.

I was on the phone with my bro Max the other night and he was making crinkle fries with Anne. Yum, right? Wow, crinkle fries! It's been a while. He actually went to the store to get sweet potato fries, but couldn't find them so chose the crinkle instead. And ya know what? Both are good. 

Here's my "BOTH ARE GOOD" list:

Sweet Potato Fries are good:

and so are Crinkle Fries that you make yourself on a sheet tray in the oven:

Nintendo Wii is fun:

and so is Nintendo 64, especially Bond and Mario Kart:

Peanut Butter is delicious:

and Almond Butter is too:

you know I love the Badger Balm:

and you can't go wrong with Lip Smackers:

I love a really dark chocolate bar:

but Snickers are still delicious as ever:

hanging paper Star Lamps are a good decoration:

and so are Glow-in-the-dark Ceiling Stars:

Why choose?

Blogfully yours, 

Madge