Overhaul

the end

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:50:12 GMT

So I think I'm going to bid farewell to LJ once and for all. I'll probably still blog, but from a different site. I don't get much traffic here on LJ and I can't use JavaScript so I think this is the end. Thanks for staying with me.

mid-week link

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:52:24 GMT

I was going to take the week off, but now I'm not.

Move over Celebrity Fit Club... it's all about Pet Fit Club now! Whiddle away those last 5 pounds, fat cat!

In light of recent Gmail issues, here's another one that affected a few colleges.

I didn't stay up late enough to see Lil Mama pull a Kanye West at the VMAs. Jay-Z was not happy.

Hey! A PostSecret from someone in the Missouri/Illinois area!!

capping it off

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:45:27 GMT

Quote of the Week: Our American food system is organized around the objective of selling large quantities of calories as cheaply as possible.

Indeed, doing so has been official U.S. government policy since the mid-seventies, when a sharp spike in food prices brought protesting housewives into the street and prompted the Nixon administration to adopt an ambitious cheap food policy. Agricultural policies were rewritten to encourage farms to plant crops like corn, soy, and wheat fencerow to fencerow and it worked: Since 1980, American farmers have produced an average of 600 more calories per person per day, the price of food has fallen, portion sizes have ballooned, and, predictably, we're eating a whole lot more, at least 300 more calories a day than we consumed in 1985. What kind of calories? Nearly a quarter of these additional calories come from added sugars (and most of that in the form of high-fructose corn syrup); roughly another quarter from added fat (most of it in the form of soybean oil); 46 percent of them from grains (mostly refined); and the few calories left (8 percent) from fruits and vegetables.

You guys should really read the books In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma.

5 Things That Happened This Week:
1. Maybe I've been reading too much of Saving Face, but I was in Starbucks this morning (we're all out of cereal at home and I have a gift card) and at a table across from me sat two ladies in suits, briefcases resting against the table legs, folders of papers in front of them, waiting for the rest of their group to show up so they could get to work. What they were working on, I don't know. From eavesdropping, it sounded like they might be working on a lawsuit or something in the legal realm. But what I do know is that two of the women commuted into the city especially for this meeting. Whether they usually worked out of their home or had offices outside of Manhattan, it didn't matter. I suddenly wanted to be those ladies. I wanted to be meeting other women in a coffee shop, getting my work done from a remote location (both real work and personal work). I had this idea that these women had kids at home and, while most of the time they worked from home to be around for the kids, there were days like today when they broke out the business attire to hold a meeting away from the kids. I like the flexibility of that. I don't think I like the kid part of it right now, but perhaps a helpless goldfish would need me to stay home with it and watch over it. Maybe? :) I think I just really like the idea of setting your own hours and making your own workspace. Doesn't everyone?

2. Monday I was walking to the bank and this guy in front of me trips over something. I didn't see what he had tripped over, but all of a sudden, I'm tripping over it and something is spilling all over my foot! Someone had left a full cup of coffee on the sidewalk. Now, I don't know if that person was sitting there and we just didn't see him or why in the world someone couldn't just throw the cup away in the trash can that was right there, but regardless, it was gross.

3. Monday night I went to a nonprofit event with Danae and her husband. The nonprofit is History Starts Now and its aim is to end child trafficking. I couldn't stay for the whole event but there was live jazz music and apparently sweet potato fries! grrr I did get a cool goodie bag.

4. Wednesday night was book club. We read Away by Amy Bloom and I liked the book. Unfortunately only one other person was able to attend but we discussed the book between the two of us. I already know what food item I'm going to make for the October meeting so people better not cancel or they are going to miss out on DELICIOUSNESS!

5. I had migraines both Tuesday night and Wednesday night. But still... I've only had 4 so far this month, which is really good considering the fact that I'm being weened off of my preventative medicine and my take-this-if-you-get-a-migraine medicine still works to get rid of the migraines. By next month I'll be preventative free!

mid-week link

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:24:38 GMT

I'll get to the links in a minute. But first you have to go through this fun question and answer thing from http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/. Please to enjoy.

1. Please share one middle school memory. It can be good, bad, ugly, funny. Pictures or words, I don't care, just share.

There are many, so this is tough. Mr. A, our English teacher, had us read The Diary of Anne Frank (at least I think we read it... we might have just watched the movie) and as part of our education, my 8th grade team had to wear yellow star badges for an entire day and we were treated like second-class citizens from everyone else at school. The principal wouldn't let us enter the cafeteria until after everyone else. Actually, that was the only thing I remember that was different that day. Another day we had to sit quietly in the classroom b/c we were pretending to be hiding in the attic with Anne. I accidentally tore a piece of paper and it made a noise so I did not get a 100 percent or whatever we were trying for on that day. We also watched Hoosiers in that class. But not during Nazi/Jew week.

2. What's your favorite Beatles song?
Eleanor Rigby. And I'm amazed at how many BAD Beatles' songs there are and yet the band is still considered so great. If half of The Beatles' songs had been recorded today, they would be laughed out of the industry. But back then, I guess the drugs were doing the contract signing. "Sure, Octupus' Garden sounds fantastic! I totally want to be in one, too!"

3. If I asked you to describe your most comfortable outfit, what would it be?
A pair of elastic-band pajama pants, t-shirt, and booty socks. Ya know, those super soft and fuzzy socks that keep your feet warm? Don't ask me why I call them booty socks. I just do.

4. Would you rather host a party or be a guest?
Host! I wish I had more time to host parties and that we had more space.

5. Do you think we will move completely from traditional books to digital ones, and if we do, are you OK with that?
I am SO not okay with that. I think Kindles and the new Sony Reader thing are STUPID. I don't want to spend $299 on something and then spend more money buying things to read on it. It's called a LIBRARY, people. And it's FREE.

6. Do you learn best by reading, listening or experiencing?
Where would visual learner fit in there? Experiencing? It's a combo of all three, I guess, but I really need to see things at least in example form to know what's going on.

7. If you are (or when you were) single, what is the kiss of death for you concerning the opposite sex? (That is, what is one trait or behavior or habit or anything at all that immediately turns you off from considering that person a potential match for you?)
Let me tell you a story: I went on a date with a guy once and for some reason, we were walking downtown at 9:55 at night and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. (Maybe we saw a movie beforehand? I don't know.) We're looking for places that are open so we can grab a bite to eat but most places are closed or will be closed. We pass a 24-hour Subway and I say, "I like Subway..." And he says, "Eh..." So we keep walking, much to my dismay, and he sees a restaurant and we go in and they close in 5 minutes but they host takes us to a table and the whole time I feel terrible for making these people stay longer than necessary just so we can eat. BLAH. There is nothing wrong with Subway. I'm a cheap date. What can I say?

8. Snacks. Salty or sweet?
Chocolate-covered pretzels. Best of both worlds.

9. Look around you in a four foot radius. What object is around you that you didn't realize was there or forgot was there? How long has it been there?
Unfortunately, nothing has changed. I have an I Love Egg poster taped to my wall (Google it). That's about as exciting as it gets around here.

10. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie?
I'll tell you what my least favorite Tom Cruise movie is: Jerry Maguire. But ya know, I think my favorite is Marrying Katie Holmes and Having Robot Baby. That's pretty good!

11. You buy a bottle of shampoo and discover that you don't like what it does to your hair at all. What do you do with that full bottle?
I just keep using it. Usually a shampoo doesn't make my hair fall out or change color so it's no big deal.

12. Your favorite Fall comfort food? (Last week it was beverage.)
Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. YUMMMMM

Tim Gunn, superhero? TOTALLY!

Ha ha. Jim and Pam from The Office have a wedding website.

I love buying apple cider donuts from the pumpkin patch, but maybe this year I'll have to make my own.

Don't give convicted drunk drivers extra jailtime; make them install ignition-interlock devices to prevent them from driving drunk again once they get out jail.

to Roar

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:31:27 GMT

To those charitable-minded friends of mine out there...

If you donate money to an organization by mailing a check, write down the check number and when you mailed it so that you don't end up having a nervous breakdown on a Sunday morning in your car in a hotel parking lot at a breast cancer walk, thinking that you have lost a check and what do you do now. My fear of losing a check was compounded by the fact that I had been keeping a loose check in my wallet for several days. Turns out, loose check is not lost. It was sent to the American Cancer Society early last week. I now remember clearly writing the check and folding it into a blank piece of paper, then putting the paper in an envelope, then writing the address on the envelope, but I started writing the (long) address too low on the envelope and I was nearing the bottom of it by the time I was done. I also remember standing at the post office re-reading the envelope to make sure everything was right (I'm a little paranoid about stuff) before slipping it through the letter slot. Only took me a wait in a long ladies' restroom line (and a phone call to my bank's automated customer service to see if the missing check had cleared - it hadn't yet and still hasn't, actually) to pull a Celine Dion - it's all coming back to me now!

weekend update

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:19:21 GMT

This weekend was pretty eventful. Friday night Mike and I went to see The Weakerthans in concert. It was a late show (the band didn't go on until 11:00) and it was in New York, so Mike found us a deal online for The Algonquin hotel. It's got a lot of history but not a lot of space in its rooms. lol That's okay, though. I got to see the famous cat and that was good enough for me.

Saturday we popped on the bus back to Jersey, rented a storage unit so we can move crap out of the condo during the buying/selling process, played some Beatles Rock Band, went to Michael's so I could use a coupon, and then used a gift card at Chili's. We came home and watched In Bruges, which is a very interesting movie. Kind of a dark comedy, I guess. Very violent, too. I was laying on the couch wrapped up in a blanket while watching and I was a bit tired, so I started dozing off in the middle of the movie. That couch is just too darn comfy!

Sunday morning I did a local breast cancer walk. That was fun! Then I met Mike for a movie. We saw The Informant! and it was really good! I kind of didn't see the twist coming. Matt Damon's character is such a wacko nerd that he's hilarious but at the same time, it's kind of sad. After that I had to do the Target shopping and then I came home, finished the book for book club (Away by Amy Bloom), scrapbooked while watching part of The Transporter 2 (there was a reason I never saw it in theaters), and then Mike came home from doing laundry and we had leftovers with delicious Grands biscuits while watching part of The Emmys. Good weekend!

capping it off

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:55:13 GMT

Quote of the Week: Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter books, has her own thoughts on the Twilight phenomenon. “Stephenie Meyer has come and she’s taken the genre that I sort of pioneered. Her original audience was 11- and 12-year-olds, so she – very rightly – sanitized the genre. She took out a lot of the sex and violence, especially for the first book…I ask people, Why has this really captured you? What I heard from all ages is that it was very romantic that he was willing to wait for her and that there was no sex. They like the idea that [Bella] was like the fairy princess and [Edward] is the handsome prince that rides in and saves her. The fact that women are so attracted to that idea – that they want to wait for Prince Charming rather than taking control of their own life – I find that frightening.”

(bold letters were added by me)

5 things that happened this week:
1. Monday night I went to a scrapbook crop at a place on the Upper West Side. I was the only person there aside from the store's owner. So that was interesting, but not really all that surprising. I find that stuff like this happens to me all the time and perhaps it's a sign that I'm not supposed to be a part of a group of people, I'm just supposed to continue doing things on my own. It was nice to have a whole big Parsons desk to myself.

2. Tuesday night I went to a New York Women in Communications committee meeting. I volunteered to help out with marketing and communications, so hopefully that means I can do some writing and editing for the organization's newsletters and maybe cover some upcoming events.

3. I got four free Fiber One bars the other morning. They were being handed out in front of Penn Station and I passed one girl and got a box of two and then passed another girl who held out another box of two bars to me, then she saw that I already had one in my hand and sort of gave me a look, but I reached out for her box anyway. YES!

4. Why is it that people always feel the need to ask me questions about New York? I was sitting, minding my own business in Madison Square Park, when this guy sits next to me on the bench (we were separated by an armrest) and goes, "Is this Madison Square Garden Park?" "Sure," I say b/c I'm reading and don't want to take the time to correct him. "Is it always this lively here? I'm supposed to meet someone but I wanted a place that wouldn't be so crowded." "Well, it's a pretty popular place." "I can see that. And it even has it's own little concession stand here." He was referring to the overrated Shake Shack. I explained that it was worth it to eat there once, but only to say you've done it. "I find that is true with a lot of things in New York," he says. "Is this the southeast part of the park? I'm supposed to be meeting someone." I tell him that it is and then he asks if I'm from New York and I say no and then go back to my book. But then he gets up and leaves room for yet an old guy from Virginia to sit down. "Is there a bookstore anywhere near here?" I tell him there is a Barnes & Noble a few blocks down and then he asks me about Strand bookstore, so I tell him where that is. He tells me he's here on business from Virginia and has some time to kill and then asks if I'm from New York. "No, I'm from Missouri but I live in New Jersey." "Oh, Missouri. That's quite a difference from New York." Why does everyone always assume I grew up on a farm? "Well, I'm from STL which is pretty much the same thing as New York." Suburban city, people! I'm from a suburban city!! Then his cell phone rings and he takes the call and then apologizes for interrupting, but at this point it's time for me to go.

5. I think the above was enough for a number 5.

die Musik

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:52:56 GMT

So I wanted to post something that I had written back in high school to give you a taste of what I was talking about back in my Blink 182 post. However, the song I was looking for cannot be found!! I thought it was in a folder with a bunch of other songs I had written, but it's not there. (Incidentally, I am missing other songs that I really liked, too.) I have a vague memory of a beat-up navy blue folder that I may or may not have brought to Jersey with me. I just don't know what happened to it after I may or may not have brought it to Jersey. It's not at my parents' house from what I can recall, so it must be somewhere in the condo. I shall continue to search for it, not only to find the song and share it with you, but also to give me some piece of mind. I mean, I had way awesome Lord of the Rings songs in there! I must find them! Until then, I'm posting a funny parody that I wrote with the help of my friend Teresa. This should bring back some good memories (mainly just for Teresa and me).

"Stupid Guys", to be sung to the tune of "Summer Girls" by LFO (Lite Funky Ones)

Verse 1:
Whoever wrote this song really sucks
They should be run over by a lumber truck
I think I'll send 'em a dictionary
so their rhymes are not so scary

Music video girls are really big hoes
Even the ones who are wearing clothes!
Have you seen the girls in this video?
Who picked them? LFO?

What's up with LFO's new member?
The other one was cuter as I can remember.
I bet he was embarrassed by the group.
Hey man, I would be too!

MTV please hear my cry!
I speak for every girl and guy.
I don't wanna see them on the countdown no more
Put on BSB like you did before

Chorus:
Backstreet Boys have a bunch of hits
This song really makes me sick
I don't think it's fly when these three guys start singing, start singing
I like guys on bags of Abercrombie & Fitch
I don't like guys named Rich
LFO go away for the summer, for forever

Verse 2:
That Rich guy says he likes mac and cheese
Now come on, Rich. Spare me! Please!
I said I'd eat it off of Brian Littrell's abs.
No way I'd eat it off of Rich's flab.

Hey I can't stand Footloose either.
Kevin Bacon looks better than LFO in wifebeaters.
It's sad that this song is in the top 10.
I don't wanna hear it ever again.

I don't care 'bout Shakespeare or Michael J. Fox.
Where do they fit in the summer girls song?
Giving props to Larry Bird is fine.
My volleyball jersey was 35.

What's up with the ethnic bash in this song?
Makin' fun of China is totally wrong.
LFO likes hoey girls on the beach.
I know a chic like that! Her name is Britney (Spears)

back to Chorus

Bridge:
Summer guys come and summer guys go
Some are way hot and then there's LFO!

Quite the Weird Al wannabes, weren't we? We were a little preoccupied with hoes. And we had just seen City of Angels, so we were also a little preoccupied with lumber trucks. Methinks we had way too much free time in high school. Hmm...

mid-week link

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:35:23 GMT

I had to research stuff on Alvin & the Chipmunks for work and, aside from getting the stupid theme song stuck in my head, I also had a yearning to look up an old website that I hadn't read since it made me cry tears of laughter in college. You might have read it, too, but chances are you didn't. That's right, I'm talking about Alvin & the Chipmunks: Behind the Music!! Basically some guy made an Angelfire page (remember those?) and concocted some crazy story about the real lives of Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and Dave. It's a classic, I tell ya.

Along those same lines, I also came across a HILARIOUS website sophomore year of college called Theories on Grimace. That would be the big purple blob from McDonald's. What is he???? This guy tries to answer that question (along with funny comments on some of the other McD's characters) and can I just warn you... don't read this in a public place because you'll end up making weird noises come out of your nose while you try to suppress the laughter. Trust on this. It happened to me. Not pretty. (By the way, this is another Angelfire page. Who didn't have an Angelfire page back in the day? Show of hands? I totally had one and I remember making a page dedicated to hot celeb guys.)

KANYEAPOLOGYCITY
I'M SOOOOO SORRY TO Britney Spears AND Brad Pitt FOR stomping THE book. I SPOKE TO Brad Pitt RIGHT AFTER. Britney Spears IS VERY gigantic !!........... I'M IN THE WRONG FOR reading AND losing!!!!!!! I'M SORRY TO MY FANS IF I LET YOU GUYS DOWN!!!!! I'M SORRY TO MY FRIENDS AT Old Navy. I WILL APOLOGIZE TO Britney Spears 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I'M A FAN OF computer!!! you KNOW!!! BOOOOYAAAWWWWW!!!!!!! dawg I GAVE MY video camera TO Jackson Browne WHEN THEY DESERVED IT... THAT'S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!! I'M NOT CRAZY YALL, I'M JUST BEING REAL. SORRY FOR THAT!!!MUCH RESPECT!!!!!

12/3/1978

You too can make your very cool Kanye apology using this awesome Mad Libs-esque generator!! Have fun!

to Roar

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:08:19 GMT

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" - Matthew 25: 34-40

I'm not so good at serving the least of these. Especially considering what happened yesterday.

I went to Starbucks to grab a pumpkin scone for dinner and as I walked up to the door, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a guy sitting on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign (where do homeless people find all this cardboard?). I caught a quick glimpse because I didn't want to stare, but I saw that the sign read: Please help. Hungry and trying to get home.

My first instinct was to buy him something from Starbucks because I was going in there anyway. So I walked into the store with good intentions. But that's how it always starts for me. I have good intentions but never act on them, or I do something that helps others but for selfish reasons.

Standing in line, I looked at the food options but the store was all out of sandwiches. "Maybe I could get him a muffin or something." My mind went into overdrive: Does he like muffins? What if he doesn't? Should I get him coffee? What kind? What if he doesn't like coffee? $5.95 for some egg and fruit thing? I don't think so!

And why does he look so clean-cut? He's wearing a freakin' polo shirt for goodness sake! He doesn't look at all like the type of person who is down on their luck. What if he's faking it? What if he tries to slice my arm with a hidden knife? What if he tries to rob me? This is New York...

In the end, I did nothing. And I felt bad about it - I felt bad for being greedy with my money and for being too much of a coward to go talk to a stranger.

The last time I tried to give a homeless man a sandwich, he told me in a thick accent that he didn't want food (or at least that's what I think he said... he was hard to understand). So I just said "okay" and, shaking because it had taken all the strength I had that morning to go up to him and offer him my pb&j, walked away.

Does it matter if I don't personally serve the poor and homeless? Sometimes I feel like it doesn't because I've met so many people who have no problem buying a homeless person a sandwich from Subway and talk about how it's something that everyone should do. But I'm not cut out for that. However, there are other people who are and I can support them. Does it count if I donate money to organizations like God's Love We Deliver or United Homeless Organization? I'm not personally interacting with the homeless, sick, needy, and poor. I'm not personally feeding them or clothing them or inviting them into my home. But in some way, in my own (safe - again this is New York) way, I am.

weekend update

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:33:43 GMT

This weekend was fairly exciting, with the exception of Friday night when all I did was eat chicken and rice soup, watch movies on TV (Two Weeks Notice and Sleepless in Seattle), and clean. I also fixed the stopper in our sink. Nothing like Google and the Loews' website to help out a do-it-yourselfer. Actually, it wasn't even that hard. Something under the sink had come out of its hole and just needed to be popped back into place. We went MONTHS before fixing this because we thought it would require a complete sink stopper overhaul. Not the case, but I'm glad it's finally done. One less thing to clean/fix/paint before we sell this place.

Saturday Mike and I went to Medieval Times with Christine, Jackie, Steve, and Martin. We were told to cheer for the blue knight and were given blue paper crowns to wear for the occasion. For the first 90 minutes prior to show time there was nothing to do except walk around, look at the gift shop stands, and buy overpriced drinks in semi-cool souvenir glasses and cups. I spent $13 on a virgin strawberry daiquiri (or something like it... it was more like a frozen strawberry lemonade concoction) but I got it in a cool metal blue goblet. Mike went for the virgin pina colada (uck) and got it in a green metal goblet. Now we have cool matching goblets that will also make the perfect parfait containers! Yum!

The Medieval Times show definitely lacked in just about every area. While our wench served our food (no utensils), we were subjected to robotic acting, prancing horses that were supposed to be cool, and jousting knights who threw flowers at people (Christine caught two) when they won a challenge. There was this whole plot and subplot thing going on, as though Medieval Times really believes that people pay close attention to the storyline. Uh, no. We just wanted to see some jousting (and what we got was poorly choregraphed stunt fighting).

As for the food, the tomato bisque was pretty good (and freakin' hot in the metal bowl), our wench kept filling my cup to the brim with water, the garlic bread was the Texas Toast brand that you can buy at the grocery store, the potato thing was... interesting and needed lots of salt, I didn't touch the ribs, and the chicken was decent if you got past the random bones popping up in your mouth. It was kind of annoying that half the time, I was eating in the dark, but we all figured it was better to not see the food in the end. Oh, and we also had apple turnovers for dessert.

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early to walk the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Central Park. Lauren's company formed a team and she invited me to join them. We wore cool team T-shirts! I got up at 5:15 to get to Central Park by 8:15. The race sort of kicked off at 9:00 but really that just meant that a bunch of people (Stephen Colbert and Uma Thurman included) got to say a few words. All I wanted to do was walk! Then the elite folks got to go (runners and survivors) and then the walkers. It took FOREVER to get up to the starting line because the crowd (50,000) was so huge. Once we made it past the starting line, the rest of the walk went smoothly. I did get lost trying to escape Central Park and ended up on the opposite side of where I wanted to be, but that was okay because a subway station was right there.

Sunday afternoon I ran to Target and called my parents. Then I fell asleep on the couch (drool and all) while watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Then Mike and I ate dinner. I scrapbooked a little bit so I could catch up on a challenge at the Classy Coordinates blog. And then it was bedtime. Phew!

mid-week link

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:43:45 GMT

Tim Gunn always gets it right!

That reminds me... Project Runway is on tomorrow night! WOO HOO!

So that's the only link I have for you this week. I haven't been very good about saving links that I like but I'll try to do better for next week.

Right now I have "Eye of the Tiger" in my head. I'm not sure how it got there, but it's really doing nothing to motivate me. BUM. BUMBUMBUM. BUMBUMBUM. BUMBUMBUUUUUUUUUUUUM.

to Roar

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:19:27 GMT

I have nothing religious to share with you today, mainly because the book I wanted to write about is at home (and I'm at work and then I've got a meeting so won't get home until 9:00 or 9:30) and the top of my foot hurts if I move it a certain way (hopefully it's not injured from wearing my new ankle booties) and I also can't get "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac out of my head. Seriously. "You can go your own waaaaaaaaaay. Go your own waaaaaaaay. You can call it another lonely daaaaaay." Those are the words, right?

weekend update

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:06:11 GMT

So this weekend Mike and I went to visit my parents in St. Louis. It was raining Saturday morning but we still headed over to the Botanical Gardens in hopes that by the time we got there, the rain would stop. It didn't, but we did go in and found stuff to do indoors. The rain did stop eventually and we were able to walk through the Garden without the use of rain gear. After that we hit up the Citygarden, which is a new outdoor area that is free to the public. There is a lot of artwork throughout the park, as well as flowers and a fountain. It was pretty cool, but really reinforces the fact that anything can be art. Really. Anything. That night Mike and I met up with Marcy and her husband at Applebee's. We were going to do Sonic, but the weather prevented us from enjoying outdoor time that evening.

Sunday we went to Confluence Point, which is where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers merge. Then we had to attend a family get-together, but we didn't stay long because Mike and I had dinner plans with Linz and Tea. We met at O'Charley's and ate tons of delicious rolls. Plus, I got my salad free! Thanks, waiter, for making a mistake.

Monday we met Kim for breakfast at Bread Co (Panera to those of you who live outside of St. Louis). I had their pumpkin muffin and it was so good! I think it might even rival Starbucks' pumpkin bread. I loved it!

That's about it. We're back now and getting ready for a four-day work week. Fun times!

capping it off

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:41:45 GMT

Quote of the Week: "He's a student teacher." - girl "He's half student, half teacher?" - boy

5 things that happened this week:
1. I won my third Allure magazine giveaway. I love how they don't inform you that you have won. All of a sudden a package comes for me in the mail from someone I don't know or its an unmarked package and I'm like, "Should I open it? Is it a bomb?" But then I do open it (I'm a risk taker) and it's the six-pack of nail polish or the Boots lip gloss or the three-pack of 10th anniversary Lippmann Collection nail polish. Fantastic!

2. I also got a free book from Metro Life, a free newspaper in New York. I'm on its Metro Life Reader's Panel, even though I haven't read a Metro in a really long time (I can't stand the black ink that gets all over my fingers). They used to do book giveaways over the summer and that was fun but I didn't check it out this summer and I haven't taken any of their surveys in awhile. At least I don't remember doing so. But somehow, they know that my last name has changed (although they spelled it wrong and also put my maiden name at the end) and they sent me a free book to thank me for being on their panel. Uh, okay! And it's not just any book. It's actually a newish book that I've been reading about so that's really exciting!

3. I got a full-body (minus the feet and face) massage today. So good!

4. In just a few hours, I'll be headed back to the Lou.

5. I recently subscribed to Lucky magazine but the September issue never got to me. I went online to the customer service and it had a deadline for when each issue should have reached the readers. Well, the September issue (with Mandy Moore on the cover!) was way past its deadline for me so I reported it as lost/never received and Lucky told me that they'd extend my subscription by a month. Alright, cool. Well, yesterday, guess what came in the mail? The September issue! Yes!

p.s. Dear lastfm, when I want to listen to one band and one band only, can you make it a little easier for me to listen to back-to-back tracks by that one band? Thanks.

die Musik

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:10:31 GMT

I wanted to write something about how much influence the music of Blink 182 had over my silly, pathetic high school brain. But when I sat down to make something cohesive, I couldn't think of anything good. (I did, however, think of plenty of anecdotes to share while riding in the car and listening to a Blink 182 mix on the way home from our ill-fated concert attempt Saturday night. Too bad I had no pen and paper/tape recorder with me.) What follows are some fragmented memories:

Blink 182 was my first punk band and my first punk concert, kind of like those "My First" baby toys. I remember seeing the band in concert right after Enema of the State came out and it was so exciting to be in the mosh pit, raising my middle finger simply because Tom, Mark, and Travis told me to do it. (Actually, Travis wasn't there because he had broken his finger or something so there was a fill-in drummer. But still.) I remember what I wore to said concert: khaki cargo capri pants, a blue Rusty surfboard T-shirt, my hair in pigtails (how in the world was that punk?), and tennis shoes because my mom said that people might step on my feet in the pit. That pretty much sums up how punk rock I was. My mom told me to wear tennis shoes...so I did. I obeyed! *gasp* I wasn't really rebelling against anything in high school but I sure liked the way that Blink 182's music sounded. It was fast-paced. It was sometimes silly. I don't think many of the band's songs spoke directly to me, except perhaps for "A New Hope" off of Dude Ranch. I felt really cool for understanding the Star Wars references and trust me on this one, contrary to popular belief, being obsessed with the Star Wars trilogy does NOT make you a boy magnet. Not even the cute, nerdy guys who I figured were all Star Wars fans (duh, they were nerdy and nerds=Star Wars fan, right?) thought I was cool. This would be a theme throughout college, too.

Travis was my favorite. There was something about his quiet demeanor that attracted me. I didn't even mind all his tattoos. In fact, I owned a T-shirt that sort of matched the stereo tattoo on his chest. When I saw the orange T-shirt with the old school boombox graphic on the front, I knew I had to have it. (It was from Pac Sun, or Pacific Sunwear as it was called in my day.) My mom ended up buying it for me as a good luck present when I auditioned for the school musical (didn't get a part, but at least I had an awesome new shirt). Mark was second for my affection. And then there was Tom. I felt like he was always in need of a good shower.

I brought home a poster of the guys wearing only their boxers and my parents were like, "I can't believe we're letting you hang up a poster of men in their underwear." They thought the piercings and tattoos were kind of gross. But they didn't cause a ruckus about me having the poster in my room. They were cool like that. They knew they didn't have much to worry about with me. To prove the point further, I was so unpunk that I bought a fake lip ring just to wear it around and see how it felt. Did I ever get a real lip ring? Nope. Did I look like a loser in the fake one? Yep.

At one point in high school, my friend Courtney was using my locker. Why? I have no idea. But the highlight of each day during that semester was opening my locker and finding an illustration set to Blink 182 lyrics. We left them for each other every day, going through whole Blink 182 songs until we had a stack of computer paper littered with clip art and Word art (ugh to both). I wonder if I still have any of those papers.

When I traveled to Australia with Courtney and our other friend Teresa, we hit up a record shop and I (my mom) bought Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. It was cool because it was the Australian version and had some hidden bonus track on it. We took it back to our hotel room and borrowed a CD player from a kid named Casey, who was also in our tour group and who we had a mad crush on, just so we could immediately listen to the new Blink songs. (And have a reason to touch something that belonged to Casey.)

I desperately wanted to be in a punk band like Blink when I was in high school. I wanted it to be an all-girl punk band, though. It seemed that poppy punk music was the best way to describe the awkwardness and annoyingness that was high school for me. Instead of going all Alanis Morrissette angsty, I could make fun of the popular kids and bounce around while doing it. I think some of my best songwriting came from that time. I swear, I was constantly jotting down lyrics and I thought that everything I did was amazing and should be recorded right then and there.

But then I grew up and so did Blink 182. The music changed and it really wasn't what I wanted to listen to anymore. We couldn't go back to the silly pop-punk because, well, we were all adults now and adults don't sing songs about special undergarments. I didn't even like the concert I saw them do after Take Off Your Pants and Jacket had been released. ( I only remember the shirt I wore to that concert: My pink T-shirt with sparkly letters that spelled out "Cali". I miss that shirt.) After TOYPAJ, unlike Blink, I was no longer "feeling this".

mid-week link

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:28:58 GMT

Not much to report on this week, but I did stumble across some cool, new blogs. First up, Operation Beautiful. This is something really cool that all women should go out and do: post a note that tells women how beautiful they are and leave it in a random place (like a stall in a women's restroom) so that other women can read it and be reminded of their awesomeness!!

And for all you scrapbookers out there, an awesome new blog just launched called Candy Shoppe Designs and you can participate in challenges and win awesome prizes! This month's prize is a way cool kit from the very awesome Bad Girls Kits. I've never gotten the chance to use a Bad Girls Kit in my scrapbooking, but I'm hoping that maybejustmaybe I'll be the lucky winner of the Bad Girls Kits prize this month! Wish me luck and check out both websites. Oh, and while you're at it: http://sites.google.com/site/thesidescrapper/

to Roar

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:29:32 GMT

Proverbs 25:16 says, "Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!"

This article over at Relevantmagazine.com has some interesting thoughts about whether it is sinful for Christians to drink alcohol. Most churches that I know of now serve grape juice when it comes time for communion and I always got the impression that they did this because a) children partake in communion and it's probably best for them to have the grape juice option, b) red wine tastes nasty and some people (me) don't like it, and c) some people in the church are recovering alcoholics and to serve them wine is kind of mean and disrespectful (that last reason is primarily why Liquid Church in Morristown, NJ serves only grape juice). I never thought it might have anything to do with believing that the Bible condemns alcohol.

In fact, I know many Christians who drink (and some who drink to get drunk). And the church was the one who gave me wine to drink at my first communion. And I was only 9 years old!! So to read this article about how some Christians have interpreted passages of the Bible to mean that drinking is bad was kind of a surprise to me. I was always told growing up that alcohol was bad but the reasoning was never "because Jesus said so".

This article points out that Jesus drank wine and there are many references to wine in the Bible. So is it a sin or should we all chug down the vino? Is wine okay but beer and hard liquor are the bad stuff? Is wine in church okay because, especially in Catholic churches, it's believed to not only represent but be the blood of Christ?

I'm not condoning or condemning drinking in this post. I just thought the article was an interesting read. What do you think?

weekend update

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:16:51 GMT

First off, don't ever go to Hartford, Connecticut. Mike and I attempted to go see Blink 182 and Weezer there on Saturday. The concert venue is outdoors, but it has very little parking. By the time we got there (after sitting in horrid traffic at the exit off the highway) we had to park in a parking garage that was, I kid you not, 30 minutes away from the venue. So we walked all the way over there. And then they wouldn't let me in because I had my camera. SERIOUSLY. So we walked all the way back to the parking garage. Once we left the venue, Weezer took to the stage - 30 minutes early. ??? Which means, they started the concert 30 minutes earlier than the tickets said they would. ???????? So we missed Weezer and by the time we got to the car, Mike and I were both ready to go home. The crowd was filled with douchebags and the venue itself was super dirty and gross. Never, ever again. We just listened to a Blink 182 mix on the drive home. Good times.

Friday we had dinner at Mike's grandma's house. Sunday I ran some errands, scrapbooked, and cleaned the bathroom and living room. Good times.

Yeah, that's really it for the weekend. So glad I have a four-day weekend coming up!

mid-week link or something

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:55:17 GMT

I apologize for the lack of updates. I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things. And Wednesday night when I was going to update, I had a migraine and ended up laying on the couch instead.

My mom is in this YouTube video! If you know what she looks like, you'll be able to spot her. She's in it a lot!

This list is pretty much spot on. Don't rent the movies on this list because they are some of the worst ever.

Okay, so I emailed this link to myself and have no idea what it is. But instead of testing it out beforehand, I'm going to be lazy and just say, "Be surprised!"

Your taste in music really does have a lot to say about who you are.

"But if Jesus is Lord of my life, isn’t he Lord of all life everywhere? Isn’t he Lord of Gitmo too?" Interesting article about how Christians should feel regarding Guatanamo Bay. Great comments, too, especially from commenter BartWang.

My alma mater is having some troubles in the journalism department and has cut two classes for the fall semester. This is so sad.

Melanie Griffith checks into rehab—apparently not the first time. I wasn't aware that she had been in rehab before.

to Roar

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:06:30 GMT

Just some quotes that I really enjoy:

"My position is, unless we are caring as much for the vulnerable outside the womb as inside the womb, we're not carrying out the full message of Jesus." - Reverend Joel Hunter

'No religion should be established (or favored) by the state - not one religion over the others, not any religion against the citizens with no religious faith. As the great leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, once remarked, "I would rather be governed by a competent Turk than by an incompetent Christian." ' - from The Great Awakening by Jim Wallis

weekend update

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:12:51 GMT

I haven't updated recently because I've been on my honeymoon. I fully planned on updating about the honeymoon in great detail but now I'm feeling too lazy. I got to watch Star Trek on the plane ride to Vegas and it was not good at all. Mike was sick during the entire trip and he's still not feeling 100% better but after three doctors, we still have no idea what's wrong with him. He's going to see a doctor today, so I hope she has something new and effective to bring to the table because I know Mike is sick of being sick. I've been praying every night since he started feeling bad that he would start to feel better, but I guess my prayers are being back burnered for some reason. We managed to have a good time, despite Mike's illness. He wasn't throwing up or anything, but he was having stomach pain and trouble breathing, both off and on. We just had to rework our itinerary a little bit and skip the Grand Canyon. We'll go back sometime. We also got a 10% off coupon to use for our next Continental flight because Continental delayed our flight to Vegas by three hours due to the plane needing maintenance. Not exactly something you want to hear before boarding, but they fixed whatever the problem was and off we went! Continental serves some good meals, too. And they are free. *ahemAmericanAirlinesahem*

We got back Wednesday and I have never been less excited to step foot in 90-degree weather at 9:00 p.m. with full-on humidity. After the beautiful coolness that was San Francisco and the luxury of air-conditioned hotel rooms, a hot and stuffy condo was the last thing I was looking forward to. But that's where we went and then we slept and I had to get up and go to work the next morning. Fun times! It was only a day and a half, thanks to our summer Friday hours.

This weekend Mike and I saw 500 Days of Summer. I enjoyed it and wish that my whole life could be a choreographed song. While watching the dance sequence (I won't ruin it too much for any of you), I thought how awesome it would be to be a dancer. Everybody looked so happy and full of energy. That's what I want to do. I want to dance!

We watched a lot of movies on TV this weekend, too. Ransom. The Fugitive. Doubt, but we Netflixed that one. And we read a lot of magazines. I love magazines. Even Mike got into our (free) Us Weekly issues. (Yes, we get that magazine for free. Don't ask me how. They just started sending it to us under Mike's name and we just keep reading it. Maybe we have a sugar daddy buying us magazine subscriptions?)

to Roar

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:14:48 GMT

"I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be 'subservient' to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief - confirmed in the holy scriptures - that we are all equal in the eyes of God." - Jimmy Carter. What a guy.

Read the full text here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality

weekend update

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:33:07 GMT

So.... the air-conditioning in my car is not broken, as previously reported. Turns out, the a/c won't come out of the front vents if it's set to come out only at the windshield. So yeah. I'm a moron.

Got my hair cut and highlighted yesterday during a monsoon. That was fun! Mike called me at the salon just as I was about to leave to tell me not to leave because it was raining way too hard and driving conditions were not safe. So I hung out at Michael's and picked up some sparkly blue chipboard letters for the wedding scrapbook. And a 3 Musketeers bar because I was getting hungry and it was lunchtime. While I was gone, Mike cleaned up the living room and it looks GREAT! Let's hope it stays that way for a long time.

Saturday was spent doing laundry and packing and calling my parents and watching Milk. Man, what a good movie! I really, really liked it and I really, really dislike people who discriminate against others in the name of God. Because that's so what God is all about. ???

Friday we went to All Points West. When we got there, it was hot! I was cursing myself for wearing jeans. (I got to make a free Shrinky Dink necklace at the Toyota tent!) But then just as Fleet Foxes began playing, the dark clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped quite a bit and there was a lot of wind and then the rain came. But then it stopped. We saw Ra Ra Riot and then the rain started again and it kept raining throughout The National's set. I had a poncho but Mike only had a nylon jacket and the water seeped through it so we just decided to cut our losses (no Vampire Weekend or Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and head out. Liberty State Park, where the festival was held, was a disaster zone. The ground was muddy and swampy and the rain on Sunday just made the ground even worse (we saw pictures online - we weren't there Sunday). On the way home, we stopped to pick up Taco Bell for dinner and then brought it back to the condo to eat in the warm and dry comforts of our home. That was nice.

I think that was about it.

capping it off

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:28:14 GMT

Quote of the Week: "But I can't stop! ... I'm not a different person, you know?" - man loudly talking on his cell phone while walking down the sidewalk. Man, I wish I could have listened to the rest of that conversation. It sounded good. What do you think he can't stop doing?

5 things that happened this week:

1. The air conditioning in my car went out. I don't use it that much anyway because I don't drive my car for super long distances, but still... last night I went to use it because it was hot out and I got nothing coming out of the vents. This won't affect the heating system will it? Because I'm totally not getting it fixed.

2. Last night was our second and last middle school book club. Some of the kids didn't even finish the book and those that did didn't really like the book so discussion was interesting and somewhat limited. Mike and I really liked the book.

3. It's been hot and I've been uncontrollably sweating while getting ready in the morning. I blow my hair dry with a fan blowing on my face and then I sweat and my hair sticks to my face. I've been taking my makeup with me to do in a bathroom at Port Authority where there is central air conditioning. I can't wait for summer to be over with/us to move into a central a/c-outfitted home.

4. I ate a delicious farmers market lunch yesterday. Port Authority has a farmers market now and there is a farm that sells homemade sandwiches, beet chips and coleslaw. They also give you a big pickle with your lunch but I only like sweet gherkins and this pickle was definitely NOT sweet gherkin. Still, there is something about a big pickle that always looks good... You know what I'm talking about? Like, "Yum, I bet that's nice and crunchy" but then you take a bite and you're like, "Uck... not sweet gherkin flavor." No? No one else thinks this while watching people eat giant pickles on sticks at Six Flags?

5. Honeymoon countdown: 5 days