I saw this on one of the blogs I enjoy reading, and thought it looked fun, so I'm playing along.
The Rules
1. Put Your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down, no matter what!!
The Questions
1. If someone says “Is this OK?” you say –
“Trust in Me" by Etta James
2. What would best describe your personality?
“Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley
3. What do you like in a guy/girl?
“I Belong to You" by Lenny Kravitz
4. How do you feel today?
“I Feel Free" by Cream
5. What is your life’s purpose?
“Till it Happens to You" by Corinne Bailey Rae
6. What is your motto?
“If You've Got The Money (I've Got the Time)" by Willie Nelson
haha! That is so not my motto!
7. What do your friends think of you?
“Feeling Good" by Michael Buble
8. What do you think of your parents?
“Walking on the Moon" by The Police
9. What do you think about very often?
“Fly Like an Eagle" by Steve Miller Band
10. What is 2+2?
“They Get Together" by Doyle Bramhall II
Interesting!
11. What do you think of your best friend?
“Love My Way" The Psychedelic Furs
12. What do you think of the person you like?
“C'Mon Yeah" by Sunshine
13. What is your life story?
“Mean Woman Blues" by Elvis Presley
I think my ipod hates me!
14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
“Save the Last Dance for Me" by Michael Buble
15. What do you think when you see the person you like?
“"Candle in the Wind" by Elton John
16. What do your parents think of you?
“Jingling Baby" by LL Cool J
17. What will you dance to at your wedding?
“Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
This would've been a funnier choice than that Frank Sinatra song we actually danced to.
18. What will they play at your funeral?
“Closer" by Ian Moore
19. What is your hobby/interest?
“Gratitude" by Beastie Boys
20. What is your biggest secret?
“Shoot the Moon" by Norah Jones
21. What do you think of your friends?
“Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley
22. What should you post this as?
“Mirror in the Bathroom" by The English Beat
This was a very random sampling on my music--I'm actually surprised it wasn't more 80's heavy, since my music collection has mostly 80s music. If anyone else tries this out, leave me a comment. I'm off to charge my ipod, so she stops thinking I'm mean (see q. 13). haha!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
#31: Reading
My book club's selection for June was Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Letham, which is a National Book Critic's Circle Award Winner.I'm a little surprised my book club chose this novel--it turned out to be the type of book I'd normally read on my own: mystery? (check!), detective? (check!), quirky main character? (check!). Naturally, I really liked it. Of course, the only other gal at the meeting had only read about 100 pages in, and she was ready to throw it down. The third gal at the meeting hadn't even started it, and none of our other members were able to attend. I, on the other hand, used the meeting as an excuse for K and I to rush back into Austin from spending three days at the in-laws'. heh.
But, back to the book. The main character, Lionel, grew up as an orhpan with Tourette's Syndrome. When his mentor/father figure is killed, he decides he'll solve the case. I thought his character was very well-written without becoming a caricature. I would even read another book starring Lionel, and it would make a great movie. (Edward Norton supposedly acquired the movie rights and is working on a script for a movie he'll star in--I'd definitely watch that!)
From Kirkus Reviews:
A brilliantly imagined riff on the classic detective tale: the fifth high-energy novel in five years from the rapidly maturing prodigy whose bizarre black-comic fiction includes, most recently, Girl in Landscape (1998). Lethem's delirious yarn about crime, pursuit, and punishment, is narrated in a unique voice by its embattled protagonist, Brooklynite (and orphan) Lionel Essrog, a.k.a. "Freakshow." Lionel's moniker denotes the Tourette's syndrome that twists his speech into weird aslant approximations (his own name, for example, is apt to come out "Larval Pushbug" or "Unreliable Chessgrub") and induces a tendency to compulsive behavior ("reaching, tapping, grabbing and kissing urges") that makes him useful putty in the hands of Frank Minna, an enterprising hood who recruits teenagers (like Lionel) from St. Vincent's Home for Boys, to move stolen goods and otherwise function as apprentice-criminal "Minna Men." The daft plot—which disappears for a while somewhere around the middle of the novel—concerns Minna's murder and Lionel's crazily courageous search for the killer, an odyssey that brings him into increasingly dangerous contact with two elderly Italian men ("The Clients") who have previously employed the Minna Men and now pointedly advise Lionel to abandon his quest; Frank's not-quite-bereaved widow Julia (a tough-talking dame who seems to have dropped in from a Raymond Chandler novel) at the Zendo, a dilapidated commune where meditation and other Buddhist techniques are taught; a menacing "Polish giant"; and, on Maine's Muscongus Island, a lobster pound and Japanese restaurant that front for a sinister Oriental conglomerate. The resulting complications arehilariously enhanced by Lionel's "verbal Tourette's flowering"—a barrage of sheer rhetorical invention that has tour de force written all over it; it's an amazing stunt, and, just when you think the well is running dry, Lethem keeps on topping himself. Another terrific entertainment from Lethem, one of contemporary fiction's most inspired risk-takers. Don't miss this one.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I'm a Jackass
I'm taking my "I'm behind!" list chronologically, and next up on the list is the story of that time (recently) when I was an idiot.
One of my closest friends is having a baby in a couple of months, so I and two other friends offered to host a baby shower for her. Initially, I was irritated during the baby shower discussions by one of the other hostesses--I've mentioned this before--but I really want to have a nice party for my friend. The annoying friend, who I'll call Ann for the purposes of this story, let me know she was planning to look around for invitations. She didn't find anything, but the PG Friend emailed me around the same time to tell me she'd been out shopping and picked up some invites that she liked. Super--I ended up just needing to pick up a couple of more packages when she finished the guest list. Since Ann was about to head out of town, she asked me if I minded printing the invitations again (this has been one of my duties for past parties I've hostessed with these gals). I have a pretty nice printer, and I was happy to do it. I double-checked with the other hostess to confirm the phone number she wanted to use and all was well.
Just over a year ago, we three threw a wedding shower for PG Friend at the same place, so I simply cut and pasted the old info into the new invitation. I changed the time, the "wedding" part to "baby" and updated the phone number. I looked everything over again, and it looked fine. Time to print! Except. . .my printed refused to recognize the paper. If it did print, it printed portrait on a landscape page. Nothing I switched or fixed allowed me to print. Fine, fine, I recruited K to help me use his computer & printer. Smart graphic designer man quickly realized that one problem we have is the invitation size is listed incorrectly on the package. The invitations are not 5 x 7 (as listed), they are 4.5 x 6.5. He thought changing the page size would appease the printer, and he did get the invite to print on his printer. Except. . .it printed one, and then thought it needed more paper. Each invitation had to be fed through at least three times (and sometimes six or eight times) before it would print. With 35 invitations to print--and at midnight on a Sunday night--this solution wasn't feasible. I resolved to fix it the next evening on my printer.
The next evening, I realized I was just going to have to tape each invitation to a plain piece of printer paper so my printer didn't freak out. Yes, it was time consuming, but it worked. Two hours later, I finished. I put the little sticker things on each invite, stuffed them into envelopes I'd hand-addressed, and dropped them in the mail the next morning on the way to work.
I mention the lengthy back-story mainly to emphasize the point that both K and I spent a lot of time looking at the invitations.
A day or so later, the PG Friend called me. She received her invitation, and thinks it's funny that I sent one to her. I thought she'd want one for her baby book. She asked if she received a "special" invitation, and started laughing. I didn't know what she was talking about. She thought I was kidding. She continued laughing.
She told me I used her maiden name on the invitations.
No no NO!
Oh, but yes. I am a jackass.
She said it wasn't a big deal--she thought it was funny--but I am crushed. I realized right away that people might think her registry is under her maiden name, but it won't be. I feel like the world's worst friend. I know better than to make a mistake like that! Heck, my job requires strict attention to detail and something like this has never happened at work. Ugh.
Anyway, right away I emailed both the other gals to let them know about my screw-up. I knew they were out of town, but I wanted them to know right away. I'd sent invitations to them, too, so even if they didn't see the email, they'd see my error. I stewed about it all night and most of the next day, too. Finally, I decided to email as many people on the list whose email addresses I had access to and alert them to the problem. I had contact info for just over half the list, so I sent an email explaining the error in case they wanted to find her registry info under the correct name. One of the other hostesses emailed me when she got back into town to tell me she thought I handled the situation perfectly and assured me that worse things could've happened. Ann hasn't spoken to me or emailed me since I agreed to print the invites, even though I know she's back in town. I know she couldn't be more upset/irritated with me that I am with myself, but I hope this doesn't make for any difficulties with the remainder of the planning.
**edited to add: At least one good thing has come out of my mistake & the subsequent email. One of the gals I emailed has not received her invitation, and we discovered that PG Friend had provided an old address on her guest list. (Which I probably should've caught, since I've been to the gal's house twice.) So, there's that.
One of my closest friends is having a baby in a couple of months, so I and two other friends offered to host a baby shower for her. Initially, I was irritated during the baby shower discussions by one of the other hostesses--I've mentioned this before--but I really want to have a nice party for my friend. The annoying friend, who I'll call Ann for the purposes of this story, let me know she was planning to look around for invitations. She didn't find anything, but the PG Friend emailed me around the same time to tell me she'd been out shopping and picked up some invites that she liked. Super--I ended up just needing to pick up a couple of more packages when she finished the guest list. Since Ann was about to head out of town, she asked me if I minded printing the invitations again (this has been one of my duties for past parties I've hostessed with these gals). I have a pretty nice printer, and I was happy to do it. I double-checked with the other hostess to confirm the phone number she wanted to use and all was well.
Just over a year ago, we three threw a wedding shower for PG Friend at the same place, so I simply cut and pasted the old info into the new invitation. I changed the time, the "wedding" part to "baby" and updated the phone number. I looked everything over again, and it looked fine. Time to print! Except. . .my printed refused to recognize the paper. If it did print, it printed portrait on a landscape page. Nothing I switched or fixed allowed me to print. Fine, fine, I recruited K to help me use his computer & printer. Smart graphic designer man quickly realized that one problem we have is the invitation size is listed incorrectly on the package. The invitations are not 5 x 7 (as listed), they are 4.5 x 6.5. He thought changing the page size would appease the printer, and he did get the invite to print on his printer. Except. . .it printed one, and then thought it needed more paper. Each invitation had to be fed through at least three times (and sometimes six or eight times) before it would print. With 35 invitations to print--and at midnight on a Sunday night--this solution wasn't feasible. I resolved to fix it the next evening on my printer.
The next evening, I realized I was just going to have to tape each invitation to a plain piece of printer paper so my printer didn't freak out. Yes, it was time consuming, but it worked. Two hours later, I finished. I put the little sticker things on each invite, stuffed them into envelopes I'd hand-addressed, and dropped them in the mail the next morning on the way to work.
I mention the lengthy back-story mainly to emphasize the point that both K and I spent a lot of time looking at the invitations.
A day or so later, the PG Friend called me. She received her invitation, and thinks it's funny that I sent one to her. I thought she'd want one for her baby book. She asked if she received a "special" invitation, and started laughing. I didn't know what she was talking about. She thought I was kidding. She continued laughing.
She told me I used her maiden name on the invitations.
No no NO!
Oh, but yes. I am a jackass.
She said it wasn't a big deal--she thought it was funny--but I am crushed. I realized right away that people might think her registry is under her maiden name, but it won't be. I feel like the world's worst friend. I know better than to make a mistake like that! Heck, my job requires strict attention to detail and something like this has never happened at work. Ugh.
Anyway, right away I emailed both the other gals to let them know about my screw-up. I knew they were out of town, but I wanted them to know right away. I'd sent invitations to them, too, so even if they didn't see the email, they'd see my error. I stewed about it all night and most of the next day, too. Finally, I decided to email as many people on the list whose email addresses I had access to and alert them to the problem. I had contact info for just over half the list, so I sent an email explaining the error in case they wanted to find her registry info under the correct name. One of the other hostesses emailed me when she got back into town to tell me she thought I handled the situation perfectly and assured me that worse things could've happened. Ann hasn't spoken to me or emailed me since I agreed to print the invites, even though I know she's back in town. I know she couldn't be more upset/irritated with me that I am with myself, but I hope this doesn't make for any difficulties with the remainder of the planning.
**edited to add: At least one good thing has come out of my mistake & the subsequent email. One of the gals I emailed has not received her invitation, and we discovered that PG Friend had provided an old address on her guest list. (Which I probably should've caught, since I've been to the gal's house twice.) So, there's that.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
#4: More May Nephew Time
My brother's oldest boy turned 3 towards the end of May, so they decided to have a party at Cabela's to celebrate. I did find myself wondering who actually wanted the party there, since I think all my nephew really wanted was balloons and cake. But it's my brother's favorite place, close to their house, and there are conference rooms available for meetings/parties/etc. so Cabela's was set.
My SIL did a great job decorating his cake--she went with a camping theme and even made a little log cabin out of tootsie rolls. Of course, later, I debated whether I'd eat any cake because as soon as any kid arrived, they went over to look at and try to sneak licks from the cake. My inner germaphobe was cringing!
Before the party, I wasn't sure what a Cabela's birthday party might include, particularly for the under-5 set. Turns out that everyone gets a little cup of fish food to throw into the pond, and a couple of tokens for the "shooting" range. The shooting range is basically like laser tag. . .there's a room set up with a fake log cabin facade, fake covered wagon, and stuffed (taxiderm-ied?) animals. There are little targets set up all over the room, and a bar across the front of the room where people stand and take aim with the fake guns. My mom refused to take part in this portion of the party, since she hates hunting and doesn't like to see her grandkids being encouraged in that manner. Instead, she took the younger nephew to the fish pond to feed more fish. That was his favorite part of the party, even though he didn't exactly have great aim or distance to his throws. I really only got to see him during the cake-eating portion of the party, when I took my turn walking him around the room while letting him hold my hands for extra support. I bet he'll be walking on his own by the next time we see him.
The birthday boy was in a very good mood, although not long after we arrived, he started playing with something and called over his other aunt to see what he was doing and my heart broke a tiny bit that he wasn't looking for me. That other aunt--who is married to my SIL's brother--didn't actually hear him, so I made sure to scoot on over and play with him.I guess she must see him more than I do, since she isn't working and she takes their daughter (who is about a month older than youngest nephew) to see the ILs quite a bit. Of course, I still want my nephews to like me best.
During the party, SIL asked me to help her when it came time to open gifts by writing down the name of who gave my nephew which gift. He received a lot of gifts--her extended family lives in the Austin area, so there was quite a crowd at the party. I'd say there were 10 - 15 kids and probably 30 adults. The kids swarmed during gift opening, and I was caught in the middle. Apparently, they ALL want to help open the gifts and then play with each one immediately. At various times, SIL and I each asked all the kids to take a step back and sit down, but that would only last a minute or two. This was good training for me for any future kid parties. We'll wait to open gifts until after the party! Really, it would be my first choice for guests to not bring gifts. How much plastic crap does one kid need, ya know? I'm not anti-toy (or even really anti-plastic toy), but I just think so many toys are a waste. I read a blog a while back about having book parties for the kid's birthdays: each guest can bring a favorite book, and one of the party games is trading around the books until they each have something new. Or, the birthday kid gets all the books as gifts. I actually wouldn't mind doing that for my own birthday!
My SIL did a great job decorating his cake--she went with a camping theme and even made a little log cabin out of tootsie rolls. Of course, later, I debated whether I'd eat any cake because as soon as any kid arrived, they went over to look at and try to sneak licks from the cake. My inner germaphobe was cringing!
Before the party, I wasn't sure what a Cabela's birthday party might include, particularly for the under-5 set. Turns out that everyone gets a little cup of fish food to throw into the pond, and a couple of tokens for the "shooting" range. The shooting range is basically like laser tag. . .there's a room set up with a fake log cabin facade, fake covered wagon, and stuffed (taxiderm-ied?) animals. There are little targets set up all over the room, and a bar across the front of the room where people stand and take aim with the fake guns. My mom refused to take part in this portion of the party, since she hates hunting and doesn't like to see her grandkids being encouraged in that manner. Instead, she took the younger nephew to the fish pond to feed more fish. That was his favorite part of the party, even though he didn't exactly have great aim or distance to his throws. I really only got to see him during the cake-eating portion of the party, when I took my turn walking him around the room while letting him hold my hands for extra support. I bet he'll be walking on his own by the next time we see him.
The birthday boy was in a very good mood, although not long after we arrived, he started playing with something and called over his other aunt to see what he was doing and my heart broke a tiny bit that he wasn't looking for me. That other aunt--who is married to my SIL's brother--didn't actually hear him, so I made sure to scoot on over and play with him.
During the party, SIL asked me to help her when it came time to open gifts by writing down the name of who gave my nephew which gift. He received a lot of gifts--her extended family lives in the Austin area, so there was quite a crowd at the party. I'd say there were 10 - 15 kids and probably 30 adults. The kids swarmed during gift opening, and I was caught in the middle. Apparently, they ALL want to help open the gifts and then play with each one immediately. At various times, SIL and I each asked all the kids to take a step back and sit down, but that would only last a minute or two. This was good training for me for any future kid parties. We'll wait to open gifts until after the party! Really, it would be my first choice for guests to not bring gifts. How much plastic crap does one kid need, ya know? I'm not anti-toy (or even really anti-plastic toy), but I just think so many toys are a waste. I read a blog a while back about having book parties for the kid's birthdays: each guest can bring a favorite book, and one of the party games is trading around the books until they each have something new. Or, the birthday kid gets all the books as gifts. I actually wouldn't mind doing that for my own birthday!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
#42: Process Started--Doing Something w/ Wedding Dress
Item #42 isn't on the catch up list I posted below--but I actually started working on it and am feeling a little proud of myself.
The road to #42 begins with several items on the list alluding to selling our house sometime soon. We're slowly but surely making progress--I decided it would be easiest to work room by room. I'm 95% finished with the guest bathroom, which needed the most work. K and I painted the walls & cabinets. We replaced the faucet. All that is left is repairing a weird spot on the tub and painting the outside of the door.
Next room on the list is the guest bedroom. The closet in the guest bedroom is an auxiliary closet for my clothes, including my wedding dress. (And our Christmas decorations, and random other crap in boxes, etc.) I never had my wedding dress cleaned after the wedding. . .which was 3.5 years ago. I'm so ashamed! I know, I know, but it didn't get very dirty. And, I am lazy. But, I do want to do something with the dress, instead of just keeping it in the garmet bag in the guest closet. AND, one of the things I need to do to get the guest room ready for showing is clean out the closet. It's time! Time for wedclean.
I made my order today, and decided to also add my veil to the order for preservation. The veil is as special to me as the dress because my mom made it. It's beautiful--chapel length, with tiny crystals sewn around the edges and scattered throughout the veil. Hard to explain, but it's just a little bit shimmery and extra special. One of my best girlfriends borrowed it for her wedding, and it looked lovely with her dress, too. I even took it to Minnesota last year for another good friend's wedding, but she decided to go without. Since her wedding was exactly a year ago yesterday, I think I'm finally out of friends who might want to use it. Who knows what I'll end up doing with it--and my dress--but at least they'll be clean and preserved and out of that spare closet. (Probably moving to the area under the bed, once they're in the special preservation box!)
The road to #42 begins with several items on the list alluding to selling our house sometime soon. We're slowly but surely making progress--I decided it would be easiest to work room by room. I'm 95% finished with the guest bathroom, which needed the most work. K and I painted the walls & cabinets. We replaced the faucet. All that is left is repairing a weird spot on the tub and painting the outside of the door.
Next room on the list is the guest bedroom. The closet in the guest bedroom is an auxiliary closet for my clothes, including my wedding dress. (And our Christmas decorations, and random other crap in boxes, etc.) I never had my wedding dress cleaned after the wedding. . .which was 3.5 years ago. I'm so ashamed! I know, I know, but it didn't get very dirty. And, I am lazy. But, I do want to do something with the dress, instead of just keeping it in the garmet bag in the guest closet. AND, one of the things I need to do to get the guest room ready for showing is clean out the closet. It's time! Time for wedclean.
I made my order today, and decided to also add my veil to the order for preservation. The veil is as special to me as the dress because my mom made it. It's beautiful--chapel length, with tiny crystals sewn around the edges and scattered throughout the veil. Hard to explain, but it's just a little bit shimmery and extra special. One of my best girlfriends borrowed it for her wedding, and it looked lovely with her dress, too. I even took it to Minnesota last year for another good friend's wedding, but she decided to go without. Since her wedding was exactly a year ago yesterday, I think I'm finally out of friends who might want to use it. Who knows what I'll end up doing with it--and my dress--but at least they'll be clean and preserved and out of that spare closet. (Probably moving to the area under the bed, once they're in the special preservation box!)
Yikes!
I'm behind!
When I think of one thing I need to write about, I always think of at least one more.
Soon, I'll be updating about:
--Local nephew's birthday party (end of May) at Cabela's
--Out of town nephews, who we visited with during a recent long weekend in K's home town
--The book I finished recently, and maybe the other book I've started but am not enjoying (I don't even remember the title of the new book!)
--How an error on my part made me feel like a total jackass, and how it's still weighing heavily on my mind. . .even though parties involved assure me it's not a big deal.
--whether I actually cook dinner this week during the week. Or maybe I'll just report on the delicious dinner I made on Sunday night. . .which we ate for leftovers on Monday, and might be finishing tonight. (Unless husband ate it all for lunch, sneaky!)
When I think of one thing I need to write about, I always think of at least one more.
Soon, I'll be updating about:
--Local nephew's birthday party (end of May) at Cabela's
--Out of town nephews, who we visited with during a recent long weekend in K's home town
--The book I finished recently, and maybe the other book I've started but am not enjoying (I don't even remember the title of the new book!)
--How an error on my part made me feel like a total jackass, and how it's still weighing heavily on my mind. . .even though parties involved assure me it's not a big deal.
--whether I actually cook dinner this week during the week. Or maybe I'll just report on the delicious dinner I made on Sunday night. . .which we ate for leftovers on Monday, and might be finishing tonight. (Unless husband ate it all for lunch, sneaky!)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
#9: Weeknight Dinner
I love to read cooking blogs, but I don't manage to make nearly as many recipes as I have saved. Lately, K has been talking about enchiladas, and I know what I most wanted to try: Creamy Green Chile Enchiladas from Delish.
I was already cooking some chicken to use in salads for lunch through the week, so I just cooked a extra, and chopped my onions in advance. So on Wednesday night, it was really quick and easy to mix, assemble and cook the enchiladas. The enchiladas were delicious! K rated them the best enchiladas he'd ever had, and I have to agree. I can see why these enchiladas are one of the most popular posts on Delish!
I'll definitely be making these again. They were even better for leftovers the next day.
I was already cooking some chicken to use in salads for lunch through the week, so I just cooked a extra, and chopped my onions in advance. So on Wednesday night, it was really quick and easy to mix, assemble and cook the enchiladas. The enchiladas were delicious! K rated them the best enchiladas he'd ever had, and I have to agree. I can see why these enchiladas are one of the most popular posts on Delish!
I'll definitely be making these again. They were even better for leftovers the next day.
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