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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Hard Times

I know I haven't been around here much. I've felt for awhile that this blog has been dying a slow death.

But you know how these things go. Life happens and sometimes it happens, then happens some more, and happens in such a way that you just can't do the things that you once loved to do.

And sometimes you just move in and out of creative phases.

For me, it's been a case of all of the above. I will always be a writer. And I know the desire will return one of these days. Maybe I'm getting my creative fill with the photography portion of my life.

It happens. But the big news in our lives right now is that my husband, Charlie lost his job this week. It came as a huge shock since they seemed really jazzed about keeping him there. So any stress that I had before is now multiplied by 38. Now that the initial shock has worn off, I am doing ok. Ask me again when the severance starts to run out and he still hasn't found a job.

So I'm not going to do anything crazy like delete this blog. There are many good stories to find around here. I feel bad. I know there are those of you that have expressed how much you enjoy reading my nonsense. And some of you might have only just started to read this crazy stuff. If you scroll all the way down, there should be some categories that you could peruse. I know it's not the same...

If you want to connect on Facebook, shoot me an email (gremlinwrangler at gmail.com)

And I'm still updating my business site and putting photos up on Flickr. So I'm not gone from the internet. I'm just not writing right now. My brain is mush.

And who wants to read stuff from a lady with a mush brain.

Not me, that's who.

Maybe someday I'll be back.

Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Letters From Your Friendly Cashier: Vol 29

Guess what? It's another rerun. Don't kill me. I just haven't gotten back into writing mode just yet. Until then, enjoy Volume 29 from the Friendly Cashier.

Most Highly Esteemed Customers,


It's been awhile since I filled several pages in my notebook with your antics. Not all bad! No worries! I'm not always coming after you with the big guns. For example, a good majority of you ask me how I am before I can get to it. Which isn't saying much because while I'm happy to greet you with a "hello", I'm not much for "How ya doin". Unless I chase my dose of ritalin down with a whole can of Dr. Pepper in the 15 minutes I get at break time. Try doing that and holding the burps in. It's not easy. You can thank me later.

To the little boy who accosted his mother:

I saw that. How you kicked your mother in the leg when she wouldn't give into your incessant whining about some diddly toy you just HAD to have. You won't believe me when I tell you, but someday you'll be glad she didn't give into your every whim and fancy. That act of denial that I witnessed might very well be the start of a chain of events that keeps your tiny butt out of juvy. But for now, I'm sure there's a special place in time out for you.

To the guy looking for lip gloss--for himself:

Dude! You're a guy! Did you mean to say lip BALM? I don't think so, but I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. You were very specific about the pink container it came in and everything. Have some dignity and just call it chap stick. In the meantime, I won't tell anyone you like your lips a little shimmery.

To the lady who had her hair dyed green:

Since it's not yet summer and swimming pool time, when sometimes blondies walk around with a slight greenish tint from the chlorine, I'm going to assume you've made the choice to have pastel green hair. Maybe it's leftover from St. Patty's day. Who can really say? I won't judge you, since my last hair disaster left me with a banana head of epic proportions, but really: you have brown eyes, and for some reason they clash with your green hair. I'm just saying. We girls have to think of these things.

To the guy from North Carolina who wanted to show me some physical affection:

Requiring I.D. for all alcohol sales whether you are 21 or 91 makes some people very angry and some people very forgetful of public propriety. You see that platform in between me and you? It's there for a reason. I'm so glad that I made your night when I asked for your I.D. and you felt so young and carefree that you asked me, "Can I come over there and hug your neck?"

First of all, I haven't heard the expression "hug your neck" since I lived in East Texas and I assure you, it doesn't come with good connotations. Second of all, although I gave you a friendly "no" for your answer, you can rest assured that you didn't creep me out in the least. I just don't hug you guys. Ever. It makes me feel a little googly just thinking about it.

To the guy who suggested the use of duct tape to hold a gift sack closed:

You cracked me up, Mister! When you and your Missus came through with one gift sack, one Spidey toy and a package of tissue paper and your lady had her doubts that the sack would be big enough for the toy, your response was classic.

"It's fine. We'll just tape it closed with some duct tape and call it good."

That warms my heart a little. Don't think for a minute I haven't thought of it many times and just never had the guts to do it. You guys are lucky in that respect. If a woman ever tried to pull that stunt, she would get kicked out of the party right after the other women painted a big red "P" on her shirt for Pariah. And maybe they'd even tar and feather her.

To the guy who taught me a thing or two about physics:

For some reason when you were counting out your ones I felt very weird all the sudden. Like I was on LSD (never taken it, just guessing here) and everything was moving in slow motion. And not regular slow motion, but alternate universe slow motion. Then you said, "Boy, I have really dry hands" and then I knew you noticed it also.

So I have to conclude that dry hands=slow motion. I'm still chewing on that one. I feel weird just thinking about it. Thanks for enlightening me.

To the guy from Comedians-R-Us:

I should have known when I saw you a few persons back in the line that I could expect shenanigans from you. You just had such a sly look on your face and you kept looking my way. That's a red flag for sure. Is me ringing stuff up so fascinating and quirky to you?

But when it was your turn you looked at my name tag and quipped, "For a minute I didn't know if your name was Crabby or Carrie!"

Har. Har. And then I told you, "Well, I'm not crabby! Not today anyway." Because I wasn't.

Then you continued sticking your foot in your mouth by asking, "Say, are you any relation to Carrie Nation?"

Remember what I told you? That it's the last name that makes you related to someone, not the first? Yeah, that was kinda dumb on your part. Unless that was just part of the joke.

In which case, it's time for some new material. Or maybe a new profession. Chimney sweep perhaps?

On the lookout for new talent,
The Friendly Cashier

copyright 2008 carrie evans
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for more Letters go here

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Birthday Boy

Jackelope had a fun birthday filled with lots of sugar and subsequent breakdowns at the end of the day.

birthday boy

I've had some major fatigue going on this week and can't string a thought together much less than a blog post or a cashier letter.

I'll be back eventually. I always am.

Peace out.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Drawing Time With Jackelope

Another fun Jackelope rerun. Today's his birthday! Woot!


Jackelope comes up with some pretty interesting stuff as some of you well know. And his drawings are no exception.

Take this guy, (who doesn't have a name).

When I saw this laying around, I naturally asked,

"Hey Jackelope, why is this guy crying?"

To which he replied,

"He lost at his concert."


Alrighty then.









And then I saw this one. Before I could say anything, he assured me,

"Mom. That is not inappropriate. Those are just muscles."

So I asked him,

"Why is he so angry?"

And he said, "It's the same guy as the other one." He got a little exasperated with me at this point.

"He lost at his concert and cried. Then he just got angry and took his shirt off."

Well, in that case, I guess I don't blame him.

for more of Jackelope's antics check out his category on the sidebar.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Interview with the Jackelope

From October 2008...

Here's a nifty interview with Jackelope. You might find it interesting.

Please excuse the hiccups in between takes. It looks like it's over, but it's not. I'm not the biggest whiz with Windows Movie Maker, you know. I've got other pursuits to perfect...like how to take a nap with chaos all around. I'm pretty good at that.


Interview with a Jackelope from Carrie Louise on Vimeo.