These things suck:
1. Registering for classes at 8am online on a first-come first-serve basis. Ick.
2. Mark having stomach cramps so I have to drive myself to campus (and take the scary highway!).
3. Having what promise to be remarkably worthless orientation sessions today (library orientation, writing center orientation) marked on my schedule as "MANDATORY."
4. Not having any reasonable clothes for the big dress up beginning of the year reception tonight.
5. Wanting to go back to bed when I have been up for less than a hour.
6. My constantly smudged glasses.

These things rule:
1. I got three of the four classes I want (this sort of sucks also, though, because I did not get my perfect schedule in which I would only have to be on campus Mon-Wed and never before 10:30am)
2. Entemann's coffee cake for breakfast
3. Having my head feel so much lighter with only a couple of inches chopped off my hair.
4. The promise of a big financial aid check sometime next week.
5. Already having a job interview
6. My new cell phone, which remains charged for more than 5 minutes at a time and is very swanky looking (and you can write your own ring melody on it, something Mark has forbade me to do).

Things that make me content:
Jeans and skirts or dresses in combination, whether worn by a fashionista or a small child
The feeling of stretching when you first wake up in the morning
Water from water coolers
Orderly labeled files

This morning has a very Sunday kind of feel about it. Mark is off walking Chance; when he gets back we'll go on an errand run (grocery shopping, Target, etc.) Then later we have a play date with Chance and Tosca, and Mark wants to make a Sunday fried chicken dinner. What could be better?

The only problem is that my neck is hurting like a mofo again. Dammit. I am trying to figure out if it's better with my hair up or better with my hair down, but I think it would be better with my hair off completely.

My interest in actually doing the reading for my classes next week has dwindled to sort of a sad trickle. I did the reading for my Monday night class, but haven't cracked a book for any of the others, and it doesn't look like there will be tons of time to do that today. Oh well, at least I had four weeks at the beginning of the semester of pretending I am a dedicated student.

I wonder if anyone is reading this thing? I kind of feel sorry for them if they are--it is so rambling and so very uninteresting.

Someone on the Ms. boards called me inauthentic the other day. Is inauthentic even a word? I felt like an imposter Van Gogh painting or something.

Today's shopping delimma: Does (fruit flavored) nonfat yogurt WITHOUT artifical sweetners in it exist? If so, why can't I find it?

Things that say Sunday morning to me:

The Sunday Times
Waking up with the sun streaming on to your bed
Sitting around in pjs or whatever passes for them for hours before you take a shower
A long slow stretch and the feeling that although you should probably do something productive, you don't really have to
The church bell down the street

Things that are far more annoying than they ought to be:

Misquito bites on the tips of your elbows
Your freaky jazz musician neighbor assuming that if you let the dog out, you're up, therefore playing the worst music in the world quite loudly is fair game
Not being able to get at the coffee cake crumbs at the bottom of the bowl with my fork
The length of time it takes Mark to shower
The Chance-hair-plus-Grace-hair-plus-dust build-up on our floor

I am stressed. I am not enjoying it. I have that water-rising-above-my-head-too-much-to-do-not-enough-time feeling. SO perhaps a to-do list will help. Perhaps it is just a waste of time, but I'm done for the night either way, and I'd like to be able to sleep, so here goes:

Annoyingly long list of things I need to do in the near future:

1. Work all day Thursday
2. Go to POWER domestic violence event Thursday night
3. Work Friday 10-2
4. Meet with internship coordinator Friday at 2:30
5. Read 4 chapters and an essay for policy development, then check out a webpage, then email my group with my thoughts. Do this by Friday.
6. Draft a memo topic for public financial management by Monday.
7. Do my economics problem set, at which I have not yet glanced, by Wednesday.
8. Read three articles for Regulation of Gender, email Aditi at least once, and do at least three free-writes, by Tuesday.
9. Read Lessons from the Intersexed, or at least get a good start on it, this week.
10. Do my economics reading for Wednesday (two chapters).
11. Do my PFM reading for Monday, then for Wednesday.
12. Wash the filthy floors in my house.
13. Do laundry.
14. Write a 500 word essay about my dreams and how I plan to achieve them in order to apply for some scholarship I don't remember the name of. Due 10/21.
15. Get together some care packages for some folks who I know could use them. Get these in the mail by Monday.
16. Wash the dog. He is filthy.
17. Make something to take for lunch next week.
18. Finish reorganizing/cleaning out the office.
19. Make an appointment at Planned Parenthood to get my cervix scraped and see if I still have pre-cancerous growths there.
20. To to Pier One and scout out things for my relaxation kits.

I could go on, but I won't. It isn't helping, and I sound so damn whiny. The upshot is that I have lots to do, mostly stuff I don't want to do, and I am afraid the stuff I really think is important, some of which I didn't even list, now that I look at it, will fall by the wayside.

I have to get used to never being finished. That is what school is all about. There's always some project, some reading, some writing, something you should be doing. It took me two years to get used to that in undergrad. I had no idea I would forget so quickly.

I want to hang out with Susan this weekend. I want to watch the Red River Shoot-out (it's the game of the year!). I want to go to the one-night-only mother and daughter themed play at the Blanton. I want to go see the Warhol exhibit before it goes away. I want to take a bath and read the new Bitch that came in the mail today.

But something has to give.

Love your body day:

I love my body because my skin and hair feel nice to my touch
I love my body because it allows me to adequately enjoy baths
I love my body because it allows me to see, to hear, to smell, to touch
I love my body because of the way it feels to stretch out in bed in the morning
I love my body because it is a vessel through which I can play with my dog
I love my body because it gives me sexual feeling
I love my body because it has round parts and narrow parts and identifies me as female
I love my body because I am a fast typist
I love my body because of the ultra-comfortable feeling I get after a great meal or a couple of beers
I love my body because it can dance and sing, not well, but joyfully.

Why do you love your body?

I am sleepy.

There is no good reason I should be--it's been a relatively lazy day. I did get up reasonably early and go to Costco, but then I napped and just hung out and edited my final paper for policy development, ate yummy dinner and sat around watching the Two Towers DVD. I love Saturday.

I also love that classes are over for many weeks. If I also didn't have to work, I'd really be stoked, but I need the money and they need the help, so I'm on for three days a week while I'm in town. That should still give me enough time to write my PRP paper and learn calculus for the qualifying exam. Really.

Before any of that, though, it is Christmas baking time. That was the major purpose of my Costco trip today--baking supplies. I got most everything I need (economy sugar, butter, etc.), so I think I'm ready to get started. I sat down this evening and wrote a Christmas cards/people to bake for list. I may start tomorrow. Really, though, I should study for my PFM final first.

I just want school to be over. The PFM final is all I have hanging over my head, though, and that's only until Wednesday and I'm really not that worried about it, so I think it's all good.

I wanted to write about Costco:

I am embarrassed that I enjoy Costco so much. By all rights, as a thinking anti-consumerist individual (OK, in spirit but no in practice...), I ought to hate Costco. It's a bastion of more is better, bigger is better. Buy shit you don't need, and buy four times more of it than you could ever use. Brilliant plan. But something about the bizarrely large quantities appeals to me.

For some reason I am drawn to things that are larger or smaller than I think they should be. Miniatures, like dollhouse furniture and baby liquor bottles, and large stuff, like Costco. I wonder where the preoccupation with size comes from?

Anyway, Costco wasn't as bad as I expected it to be today. Going there on a Saturday morning a few weekends before Christmas was not a brilliant plan, but it worked out OK. I'm in list mode, so here's what I bought:
-Two Towers DVD
-holiday cards (they are peace-oriented and non-holiday specific)
-NY strip steak
-pesto
-almond poppyseed muffins
-brown sugar
-white sugar
-chocolate chips
-butter
-Oreos
-Cheerios
-a six-pack of colored bell peppers
-granola bars
-peanut butter (it comes in packages of two regular sized jars now, which is way cool)
-Ghiradelli brownie mix
-milk (they have organic 2% there, but no organic skim, which is irritating. I couldn't buy skim there anyway, though--I don't drink it fast enough)

Probably more stuff as well, but that's all I can remember.

Fascinating, huh? Aren't you glad you read my blog? I know you were dying to see my grocery list.

You know what is cool? Holographic snowflake tin foil. Very badass. One more thing that I should write off as silly, stupid consumerism, but I just...can't.

Oh well, at least I have something nice to wrap the holiday baking in, right?

I think biscotti and shortbread are the first items up for bids. Maybe gingerbread as well, if I can find a suitable recipe.

From Les, Em, Dana, Dea and Frog

Here's how this works. Frog had a list of 100 statements that she got from Les, who got it from Em, who got it from Dana, who got it from Dea. The list Frog got had some things bolded--those were statements from Ems list that were also true for Les. Anything that was true from Les' list, Frog bolded. Anything that wasn't, she replaced with a statement of her own. Below is my list, based on the one from Frog.

01. I need more time to spend with my grandmother.
02. I sleep too much.
03. I want to make sugar cookies today.
04. I would like to take a hot brick to bed like they did in olden times.
05. I hate being late.
06. I love it when my head has just been buzzed.
07. I like anything that makes me think... Even if it's something I don't agree with.
08. I ate cereak for breakfast this morning.
09. I love toast.
10. I love cordouroy.
11. I love soft sweaters
12. I love email.
13. I love the springtime
14. I love countdowns and awards shows.
15. I wear glasses
16. We're going to visit my aunt in a nursing home on Christmas Eve.
17. I don't know how to knit
18. I have a lot to learn.
19. I wish I could speak Spanish better
20. I think it's funny that the Wright memorial flight didn't fly.
21. I want to live near the ocean.
22. I think Conservative Republicans are destroying society.
23. I love Tim Burton.
24. I love going out to dinner with friends.
25. I write thank you notes for everything.
26. I just got out of bed.
27. I sing along to music constantly
28. I wish I could carry a tune.
29. I am sitting at my mother's desk.
30. I nearly always sleep through the night.
31. I need to start brushing my teeth before bed.
32. My grandmother is 93 years old
33. I've never gotten a speeding ticket, though I should have.
34. Most of my family annoys me endlessly.
35. I love to shop
36. I hate the snow
37. I worry about what other people are thinking
38. Mydog is the greatest creature ever.
39. I find myself incredibly funny sometimes
40. I'm named after my great grandmother.
41. I don't know what Carnivale is.
42. I have never seen Carnivale
43. I have at least one scar.
44. I love my car
45. My eye color is hard to discern
46. I always know what time it is
47. I like signing up for classes, but don't like attending them.
48. I hate board games
49. I have kissed a girl--several, in fact
50. I've seen snow before.
51. I can't keep up with multi-handed solitaire
52. I stare too much at this computer screen.
53. I love Pepsi
54. I get impatient with stupid people.
55. I don't understand why people have Caller ID
56. I'd love to drive without idiots on the road.
57. This is way too long.
58. I hate people who don't think for themselves.
59. I like when my friends write me letters and emails, it makes me feel special.
60. I am bad at yoga
61. I love rollercoasters.
62. I love football
63. I can't sing. At all.
64. I offend people with my honesty.
65. I hate Christmas music, especially at the airport.
66. I can't or don't cook
67. I haven't been to the dentist in quite some time
68. I like to talk on the phone
69. I need a Kitchenaid mixer
70. I wish I could find a faith to be part of
71. I love the thought of someone loving me
72. I have four parents, three married, one unmarried.
73. I'm a Pretenders fan.
74. Other people's families make me very nervous
75. I have little patience much of the time
76. I never have enough time
77. I've never had a chocolate chai.
78. I love Gala Apples
79. I think homosexuals should be allowed to get married and that abortion is a right
80. I slept really well last night.
81. I love organic fruit.
82. I appreciate raw cookie dough more than I should
83. I haven't seen enough of the world.
84. I like apple pie.
85. I like open minded people.
86. I daydream a lot.
87. I love snacks.
88. Most of my friends are scientists
89. MMy last few jobs have had nothing to do with what I got my degree in
90. I've never had a surgery as a direct result of my drinking.
91. I make up my own words to songs all the time.
92. I know the words to many hair-band songs
93. I've learned a lot from people who have hurt me.
94. Very religious people freak me out.
95. My only real ex-girlfriend might be dead.
96. Procrastination makes me really nervous
97. I'm a list maker
98. I love being warm
99. I'm a news junkie.
100. I love giving advice

Books I've read recently:
The Red Tent
The Bonesetter's Daughter
Janet Frame's autobiography

Books I have waiting to be read:
The Nanny Diaries
A Moveable Feast
When We Were the Mulvaneys
The Hours
Backlash
Susan Brownmiller's book on rape
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You

I love the New Year. It seems...open. Like I can start over. I know that is sort of lame and cliche, but I really feel that way.

Things that are good:
Starting a new year with freshly weeded sock and underwear drawers and a gift certificate to buy much-needed new bras.
Taking the dog out to go to the bathroom and 5am and being warm in my sweatshirt.
Curling up on the couch with Mark to watch a movie. Doesn't matter how bad the movie is.
Finding the archaic bit of information I am looking for.
Knowing that there is no real reason I have to get out of bed.

Things that are bad:
Working on New Year's Day.
Disappointing and boring bowl games.
How hard it is for me not to bite my nails.
Running out of toilet paper at 9:30pm on New Year's Eve, knowing nothing is going to be open until Friday.

Here is something I am freaked out by today.

Famous people who are younger than I am
Julia Stiles
all of the Hansens
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Laura Prepon (only two months, though)
Pink?
Christina Ricci
Kirsten Dunst
Jake Gyllenhaal
Justin Timberlake
Jessica Simpson

This weekend's to-do list:
1. Write PRP paper (at least 20 pages)
2. Study for calc validation exam
3. Order computer?
4. Make lentil soup
5. Take Chancey to the park
6. Set up new printer?
7. De-clutter office and organize shelves
8. Vacuum
9. Get bird feeder for O.
10. Pick up poop in the yard
11. De-clutter bedroom table
12. G. write thank-you note to M.'s parents for Christmas present
13. M. writ thank-you note to G.'s parents for Christmas present

The likelihood of me getting even half of this stuff done...? Well, it's 11:30 on Saturday morning, I've been out of bed for about 15 minutes, and I'm posting the list here rather than crossing anything off. What do you think?

Well, we made a valiant attempt. Here's what we actually accomplished:

1. 18 pages on the PRP paper
2. No studying calc
3. Vague conversations about ordering computer
4. Made lentil soup
5. Played with Chancey in the yard
6. Set up the new printer
7. De-cluttered office and organized shelves, as well as putting up new stuff on the walls
8. Didn't vacuum because we have no bags
9. Didn't get a bird feeder
10. Didn't pick up poop
11. De-cluttered large bedroom table, Mark still hasn't done his nightstand
12. Didn't write any thank you notes

All in all, not terrible.

I'm realizing, as I do periodically, that I am guilty of great financial mismanagement. Surprised? Didn't think you would be. Mark and I are overspending our joint account every month and having to keep it alive with mid-month transfers, and I'm not sticking to my weekly allowance (or even getting my weekly allowance out of the bank). It's all falling apart. Christmas does that, I supposed. Anyway, I need to look at the numbers and develop a new plan, pronto. Now that the holidays are over and I really don't need any new clothes until summer sets in for real, I should be able to decrease my weekly spending. As far as decreasing our joint spending--I'm sort of at a loss as to where that money is going. Well, not totally at a loss--it's going to the grocery store. We have GOT to spend less on groceries. It's fucking ridiculous.

Anyway, that's my project this morning. Figure out the financial crap. Then it's off to work for the afternoon. Yippee.

1. Lay down and not be able to sleep--multiple hours
2. Give up and get up.
3. Try to get the Internet to work--1 hour.
4. Decide that Rice Chex are suitably bland and I can eat them--15 minutes.
5. Throw up.
6. Watch soap operas.
7. Throw up.
8. Finally get the Internet to work.
9. Wonder if it is humanly possible for me to throw up again.

That's pretty much where I am right now. How's your day?

Signs I have seen in the last 24 hours that I am probably going into a manic cycle:

1. I got my hair cut for the first time in six months
2. I spent $100 at Target on Valentine's Day crap, and I have grand plans of turning it into cute little Valentine's packages to send out to friends and family
3. I'm not cold
4. I had class for 1.5 hours and had to leave twice because I couldn't sit still
5. I talked throughout the entire class, using lots of phrases such as "this pisses me off..."
6. I'm seriously considering taking the dog for a run
7. I dyed my hair once last night and am wondering if I have time to do it again this afternoon
8. I'm not hungry
9. I drove really fast everywhere I went today, even though it is raining
10. I have a craving for very loud music

So here's the thing. I'm not bipolar, at least not that I know of. However, I have very obvious up and downswings, and this is the first time I've gone up in months. I've been tired and lazy and semi-depressed since before Christmas. Is this better? Well, if this is just a bizarre beginning rush and it's going to even out, then it's definitely better. If not, though, it's not. Depression sucks, but at least I don't get into fights and spend money when I'm headed the other direction.

Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

And we'll gather all our arms can carry,
I have lost to February.
Dar Williams, "February"

february stars
floating in the dark
temporary scars
february stars
Foo Fighters, "February Stars"

You said that this is crazy, you're a half a world away
Well I'm sitting and I'm thinking but I didn't know what to say
So I said something I can't touch, I always want way too much
Anyway
Goo Goo Dolls, "Two Days in February"

But February made me shiver
with every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
Don McLean, "American Pie"

Shall we remember
December instead
Or worry about February
Mourn our war-torn dead
Never seeing red
Pet Shop Boys, "My October Symphony"

Gee, do you see a pattern?

By no means a complete listing, just a few to think about.

It won't rain all the time
The sky won't fall forever
And though the night seems long
your tears won't fall forever
Jane Siberry, "It Can't Rain All The Time"

Woke up to the sound of pouring rain
The wind would whisper and I'd think of you
And all the tears you cried, that called my name
And when you needed me I came through
Skid Row, "I Remember You"

well there is no time there is only this rain
there is no time, that's why I missed my plane
Greg Brown, "Two Little Feet"

There's rain down in the alleys
Rain down in the street
It was raining when we parted
It'll rain next time we meet
And I must, I must be in Oregon.
I know I must be, I must be in Oregon.
Greg Brown, "I Must Be In Oregon"

Buckets of rain
Buckets of tears
Got all them buckets comin' out of my ears.
Buckets of moonbeams in my hand,
I got all the love, honey baby,
You can stand.
Bob Dylan, "Buckets of Rain"

If I wait for cloudy skies
You won't know the rain from the tears in my eyes
You'll never know that I still love you
So though the heartaches remain
I'll do my crying in the rain
A Ha, "Crying in the Rain"

And she laughed
And she cried
She damn near died
On the day it rained forever
Eurythmics, "The Day It Rained Forever"

This old airport's got me down it ain't no earthy good to me
Because I'm stuck here on the ground, cold and drunk as I can be
You can't hop a jet plane like you can a railroad train
So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain
Bob Dylan, "Early Morning Rain"

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again.
James Taylor, "Fire and Rain"

I'm walking, I keep on walking down the street
I'm watching, I keep on searching every place I've been
I love her and now I've lost her, and love's in vain.
I watch her funeral in the rain
Chris Isaak, "Funeral In The Rain"

Someone told me long ago There's a calm before the storm,
I know; It's been comin' for some time.
When it's over, so they say, It'll rain a sunny day,
I know; Shinin' down like water.
Credence Clearwater Revival, "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you
Eurythmics, "Here Comes The Rain Again"

Broken windows and empty hallways
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Randy Newman, "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today"

I'm only happy when it rains
I'm only happy when it's complicated
And though I know you can't appreciate it
I'm only happy when it rains
You know I love it when the news is bad
Why it feels so good to feel so sad
I'm only happy when it rains
Garbage, "I'm Only Happy When It Rains"

And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There but for the grace of you go I.
Simon and Garfunkel, "Kathy's Song"

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train,
Feeling nearly faded as my jeans,
Bobby flagged a diesel down, just before it rained,
Took us all the way to New Orleans.
Kris Kristofferson, "Me and Bobby McGee"

I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow
I never meant 2 cause u any pain
I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing
I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain
Prince, "Purple Rain"

It was the night Rod Stewart played
And we were, were standing in the pouring rain
If I had known it was the last time I would see you again...
I would change everything...
Alanis Morrisette, "Rain"

These train conversations are passing me by
And I don't have nothing to say
You get what you pay for
But I just had no intention of living this way

And I get no answers
And I don't get no change
It's raining in Baltimore, baby
But everything else is the same
Counting Crows, "Raining in Baltimore"

These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall
This is the wonder of devotion - I see the torch we all must hold.
This is the mystery of the quotient - Upon us all a little rain must fall.
Led Zepplin, "The Rain Song"

It's always one thing or another, seems like we never get ahead
Reaching out for the brass ring, and landing in the dirt instead
We can't get past yesterday, we're only counting down from ten
It seems like every move we make, brings us back where we began
You've gotta Run Between The Raindrops
If you wanna see the sun
Run, Run, Run, Between The Raindrops
Run Between The Raindrops, if you wanna see the sun
Run, Run, Run, - Run Baby Run
Pat Benatar, "Run Between The Raindrops"

I saw a friend who doesn't know
If I'm his friend just yet
His eyes and mouth were widely open
And his jaw was set
Like he'd fell off a cliff
And hadn't hit the bottom yet
I wish he wouldn't pull those things on me
Without a net
Without a net
I had him up to the house one time
And we was having a real good time
Then he went and lain
His Saddle in the rain
John Prine, "Saddle in the Rain"

The sky is crying,
Look at the tears rolling down the streets.
The sky is crying,
Look at the tears rolling down the streets.
I looked out my window,
The rain was falling down in sheets.
Eric Clapton, "The Sky Is Crying"

But baby it's alright
Break this chain of love and madness
It's alright
Take this rain as your new address
It's alright
Take this rain
It's alright
Take this rain
You're going to be free
Jackson Browne, "Take This Rain"

My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I
Got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window,
And I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey
Put your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad
It's not so bad
Dido, "Thank You"

I thought I heard you laughing
I never wanted to make you cry
I only needed a reason
To see a teardrop caught in your eye

'Coz loving you keeps me from the storm
When It Rains in America
Sarah Brightman, "When It Rains in America"

And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain
Blind Melon, "No Rain"

And you know the light is fading all too soon
You're just two umbrellas one late afternoon
You don't know the next thing you will say
This is your favorite kind of day
It has no walls, the beauty of the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls
Dar Williams, "The Beauty of the Rain"

(Many thanks to Rain Songs a la Carte for the help with this list.)

There is a great quiz here that gives you advice on what cities would be a good match for you. My list is long...and strange. Some of them make sense, but fucking Las Vegas is first! Las Vegas?

My list:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Portland, Oregon
Little Rock, Arkansas
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
Orange County, California
Henderson, Nevada
Long Beach, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
New Orleans, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Oakland, California
Los Angeles, California
Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
Corvallis, Oregon
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Salem, Oregon
Riverside, California
San Bernardino, California
Alexandria, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana
Eugene, Oregon
Baltimore, Maryland

In honor of the impending holiday of doom, today's play list includes some of my favorite lost love songs:

My lover's gone,
His boots no longer by my door,
He left at dawn,
And as I slept I felt him go
Returns no more,
I will not watch the ocean,
My lover's gone,
No earthly ships will ever bring him home again.
Dido, "My Lover's Gone"

It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since u took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since u took your love away
Since u been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whoever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares 2 u
Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U"

And the years have proved
To offer nothing
Since you moved
You're long gone
But I can't move on
And I miss you-
Like the deserts miss the rain
Everything But The Girl, "Missing"

This borrowed dress --
It doesn't do much for me, but it's doing it's best
This stolen purse --
it's got a bad history, but mine is much worse
I've been down on my knees drunk
While you're out doing standup
You're making love to your punchline, baby

When this just ain't my town
I'm just another luxury liner going down
And I guess we're through
Well lucky you
Heather Eatman, "Lucky You"

See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you

With or without you
With or without you
U2, "With or Without You"

And I'm here to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away
It's not fair to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know
Alanis Morrisette, "You Oughta Know"

well we put a thousand miles on that beat up forign car
whenever weather would permit we'd make love under the stars
our happiness completed by being attached and being free
we would each take turns being bobby mcgee
we were headed for salinis, but we hadn't got there yet
some girls you don't remember, some girls you don't forget
Adam Brodsky, "Some Girls"

maybe the moral higher ground
ain't as high as it seems
maybe we are both good people
done some bad things
i just hope it was okay
i know it wasn't perfect
i hope in the end we can laugh
and say it was all worth it
Ani DiFranco, "Hour Follows Hour"

It's Friday the 13th, the rain has turned to ice, and today's play list has a special meaning to me that I'm not going to share. Just the songs. If you can pick out the common thread, good for you.

'Cause I've got a little one who loves me as much as you need me
And, darling, that's loving enough
For a hiking boot mother who's seeing the world
For the first time with her own little girl.
Holly Near, "Started Out Fine"

One night while I was out a ridin'
The grave yard shift, midnight 'til dawn
The moon was bright as a readin' light
For a letter from an old friend back home.

And he asked me
Why do you ride for your money
Tell me why do you rope for short pay
You ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And you're loosin' your share
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there.
Jerry Jeff Walker, "Night Rider's Lament"

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.
That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time;
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
Cause Daddy Frank the guitar man was blind.
Merle Haggard, "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)"

I have seen the morning burning golden on the mountain in the sky
Aching with the feeling of the freedom of an eagle when she flies
Turning on the world the way she smiled upon my soul as I lay dying
Healing as the colors in the sunshine and the shadows of her eyes

Waking in the morning to the feeling of her fingers on my skin
Wiping out the traces of the people and the places that I've been
Teaching me that yesterday was something that I never thought of trying
Talking of tomorrow and the money, love and time we had to spend
Loving her was easier than anything I'll ever do again
Kris Kristofferson, "Lovin' Her Was Easier"

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And Mama hollered out the back door y'all remember to wipe your feet
And then she said I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
Bobbie Gentry, "Ode To Billy Joe"

But I'll hang around as long as you will let me
I never minded standing in the rain
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
But you never even call me by my name
Steve Goodman and John Prine, "You Never Even Call Me By My Name"

Predictably.

and i dance to one of your old tunes
with my true love on our wedding day
and your voice sang the way my heart would sing
that finally knew just what to say
Ani DiFranco, "Soft Shoulder"

Love and marriage,
Love and marriage
Go together
Like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other
Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementary
Frank Sinatra, "Love and Marriage" (AKA the theme to Married With Children)

marriage is impossible marriage is dull
your dance card is empty your plate is too full
it's something no sensible person would do
i wish i was married i wish I was married
i wish i was married to you
Greg Brown, "Marriage Chant"

Choosing saturdays in summer
I dare you to wear white
Love is just a moment of giving
And marriage is when we admit our parents were right
Billy Bragg, "The Marriage"

Marriage is for old folks
Old folks, not for me!
One husband
One wife
Whaddya got?
Two people sentenced for life!
Nina Simone, "Marriage is for Old Folks"

Hey little sister what have you done
Hey little sister who's the only one
I've been away for so long (so long)
I've been away for so long (so long)
I let you go for so long
It's a nice day to start again (come on)
Billy Idol, "White Wedding"

to you i give my pledge
i honor all that's good
in this life we're living
to think not only of myself
Tracy Chapman, "Wedding Song"

Here are some things I would like to improve about myself:

1. Stop overdrawing my checking account
2. Stop being tied up in the number on the scale but still be committed to losing a few more pounds
3. Have more patience with my dog
4. Stop drinking Pepsi
5. Not have flaky scalp
6. Stop shopping when I'm bored, or when I'm sad, or when I'm happy, or when I'm...
7. Spread more joy
8. Be more productive with work and school
9. Call my parents more
10. Stop flying off the handle and overreacting to things

Small order, right?

Tim Burton
Ethan and Joel Coen
Lee Krasner
Ani DiFranco
John Turturro
Tomie dePaola
Adrian Piper
The Boston Women's Health Book Collective
Robin Morgan
Frida Kahlo
Howard Zinn

I realized today, suddenly, that I am trying to do much too much at once and I am in danger of failing at all my goals due to spreading myself too thin. Here are things I am working on:
1. Diet, exercise, weight loss
2. Stopping nail biting
3. Stopping recreational shopping
4. Finding spirituality

And that is on top of a pretty stressful work and school schedule, and this whole thing about the internship. So I've really been feeling like a failure, as if I'm doing everything half-assed and not suceeding at anything.

So it's time for a new plan. Refocus. I am going to keep working on my spirituality. I am not going to worry about my shopping for the time being, other than to try to keep it generally in check. I'm going to focus on excercise and worry less about caloric intake. I'm going to try to be patient and see where the chips are going to fall in terms of the internship.

Does that make sense, or am I copping out? I feel like I've totally lost perspective...

(Idea from She-Dork)

I always
*brush my teeth in the morning
*overthink things
*play with my hair
*worry about being late
*check my email and blogs and message boards every day
*remember to take my BC pill
*have dirty glasses

I never
*want to get up in the morning
*feel like talking on the phone
*remember to put my contacts in
*know how to say what I mean to say the first time I try
*talk to my dad
*feel like I'm finished with anything

I sometimes
*get migraines
*get sucked into Mark's stupid TV shows
*bite my nails
*yell when I don't mean to
*get carried away

(From Limpet.)

1. John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig
2. John Turturro as Barton Fink
3. Alison Janney as C.J. in The West Wing
4. Lucy Liu's character in Kill Bill, Vol. 1
5. Any of the characters Tony Bordain bases on himself (that gets me around the "is Tony Bordain a fictional character?" problem)
6. Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands (very, very carefully!)
7. Angelina Jolie as Laura Croft.
8. Angelina Jolie as Gigi.
9. Angelina Jolie as Lisa in Girl, Interrupted.
10. Mercutio.

Things that are good about today:
1. Mark cleaned up the bathroom mold.
2. All of the household chores I wanted to get done are done.
3. I watched most of "A League of Their Own" on cable.
4. I made vanilla cake with strawberries and Cool Whip icing. Yum.
5. We took Chancey to three more new places, which means we CONQUERED the 12-new-places-in-14-days task.
6. Had an appt. with Lee that went well.
7. Got a ton of excercise.
8. Did laundry, so I now have clean socks AND clean sports bras.

All in all, it's been a very good and very productive Saturday. I'm quite tired and my calves are really sore (I walked for a total of about 2 hours yesterday and nearly that today, and yesterday it was in dress shoes), but I feel pretty good. Satiated. It's a good way to end a day.

I realized something odd about myself today. Or maybe it's not odd, it's just not something I've thought much about. I am really attracted to competence. People who are good at whatever it is they choose to do and are confident that they are good at it are a real turn-on to me. How did I realize this? When I caught myself being attracted to our dog trainer, who is at least 15 years older than me and probably 100 lbs or more overweight. He's got a really funny personality and stuff, too, but what it was that struck me was his competence and confidence. It's just so nice to see in people, and so rare. Most of us just go around with our heads down and hope nobody notices how we're muddling along.

Actually, my attraction to competence and confidence came up earlier in the week, too, now that I think about it. Mark getting his NSF grant was a huge turn-on. Which is odd. It makes sense that I'd be happy about it, as it is a huge honor for him and more money for us, blah blah blah. But I wasn't just happy--I found it oddly erotic that he won.

Interesting. I'll have to think about that. I'm not sure I want to be someone who likes winners simply because they won. I don't think that's really the case with Mark, though--I've seen firsthand how hard he's worked and how many times he's been disappointed. This isn't just about his being a winner, it's about overcoming.

And then there's me. I feel pretty confident right now, too. My presentation yesterday seemed to go fairly well, and it apparently had an impact on at least one member of the tiny audience, because she emailed me and wants to talk more about it. My interview went well. Basically, I feel good.

I still have hives, however. The Claritin is keeping them just-barely in check. I take it when I get up in the morning (it's 24-hour, supposedly) and by the next early morning they're back. And they never go totally away--I can still see them, especially on my stomach, they just don't itch. My other allergy symptoms are in high-gear as well--the Claritin doesn't seem to do a goddamn thing for them. It's frustrating.

I shouldn't complain, though. In a month or two it will be a million degrees here and nothing will be alive enough to be allergic to. At least right now everything is green and blooming and changing every day. If I could breathe, I'd actually really like being outside.

Actually, it's not really all that beautiful--it's cloudy and I think it might rain. Still, I made a few observations about where I live while I was walking Chancey this morning, so I thought I'd share:

10 Things I Noticed on my Morning Walk
1. My neighborhood is full of very strange cats. These are large, fluffy cats who like to curl up into balls and sleep in the very center of a damp lawn. I have never seen cats behave this way before, both in terms of getting wet and in terms of being out in the open. And there are at least four of them along our route, all on different lawns.
2. There is one house that has two large vans and three full-size trucks parked in front of it/in the driveway at all times. How many people can possibly live there?
3. Same house as above still has their Christmas decorations up. Not just lights, either--it's a complete display, with Santa Claus.
4. There have got to be more birds here than anywhere else in the world. I'm not just talking about the plethora of grackles, either. There are also a jillion crows, a lot of very fat pidgeons, and a bunch of other birds I can't identify.
5. The mountain laurel is almost done blooming and falling off. Which is too bad, it's very pretty, and it smells like artificial purple (think grape Kool-Aid).
6. Some people on the corner have a giant prickly pear cactus. It stinks and attracts bugs. I had a very romantic view of cacti before I moved here. Now not so much.
7. We met the woman who walks the two French bulldogs in two different spots on our route today. I think she basically goes the same way we do, just in the opposite direction. Her little dog looks like this, her larger one is brindle and looks more like this. She's not terribly friendly.
8. Squirrels are mean little creatures. I like that about them.
9. There is a four-way stop on the major street we walk down, and I see someone run one of those stop signs nearly every morning.
10. The school in our neighborhood must start awfully early, because we walked by just before 8am (or maybe just after...) and all the kids were already inside.

(Title from Ani, idea from Nyarlathotep's Miscellany.)

Things I shouldn't have worn:
1. First day of 1st grade, 1986: Red and black knee-length plaid dress, orange knee socks, pink tennis shoes with strawberries on them, puffy maroon jacket.
2. Second day of 1st grade, 1986: light brown velour sweatsuit, made by my mum, with a red apple with my name embroidered on it over the left breast.
3. First day of 5th grade, 1990: Acid washed jeans with fake leather running down the outer legs and in the insides of the pockets, knee-length purple Hypercolor tshirt.
4. My sister's high school graduation, 1991(?): short purple jacket with black buttons and black trim, purple and black striped tiered skirt, flesh colored nylons, black plastic ankle boots with silver buckles.
5. First day of 7th grade, 1992: black and white striped shirt, tucked in and poofed out from jeans, blue silk tie with roses on it, purple wool beret. Actually, any time I wore that beret.
6. First date, 1993 (Jurassic Park, how romantic): high-waisted blue jeans, white t-shirt, blue batiked suspenders.
7. Away volleyball game, 10th grade: blue striped spandex-y minidress, ginormous silver cross.
8. High school graduation picture, 1997: Union Bay overalls, green striped Union Bay t-shirt, green Converse One-Stars.

For no reason other than it will make me feel better, I am going to subject you, faithful blog reader, to a rundown of everything I have to do in the next three weeks:

this Saturday-Monday: go to D.C.
this Monday (magically, while I am on a plane from D.C. to Dallas): register for next fall's classes
also on Monday, miss a class
Tuesday, 4/27: My best friend's birthday, but I'll probably forget, due to the fact that I have three hours of macro, which I need to read SIX chapters for sometime between now and then. Then I have a break, then I have four hours of my intersexuality class. For the intersexuality class, I have a written critique of someone else's paper due. Oh, yeah, and an article to read.
Wednesday, 4/28: Just class, blessedly. I have about a book and a half to read for class before then, though (I'm telling myself I'll do it on the plane).
Monday, 5/4: Final draft of my 30+ page medical alienation and intersexuality paper due.
Tuesday, 5/5: 10 page paper detailing my "field work" due for my journalism class.
Monday, 5/10: 30 page final research paper on media coverage of rape in the military due for my journalism class
Wednesday, 5/12: Management final
Thursday, 5/13: 15 page management case study due.
Friday, 5/14: Macro final.
Then collapse, then get up a write a talk that I have to give in Chicago on Thursday, 5/20. Then be on blessed vacation for a few days.

Funny. Writing that out made it absolutely no better.

I rock the house. I even rock the Casbah. Here is how much I rock the weekend:

1. 32 page paper on media portrayal of inner-military rape, not started until Friday night and not due until Wednesday night? Done.
2. Brunch with Renee and Sofiya? Attended.
3. Annual LBJ Follies? Also attended.
4. Alcohol consumed? None.

I would like mad props now, please.

I do still have stuff to do--two finals this week (one Wednesday, one Friday), and one of them requires a pre-written essay of a few pages that I will need to at least get started on this afternoon. Still, the fact that I worked my ass off all weekend and actually finished this paper (yes, this is the one I was whining about maybe having to take an incomplete or get an extension on or whatever) not just on time, but ahead of time, makes me giddy. Plus it's actually pretty good, or at least I thought it was last night at midnight or so when I wrote the conclusion. I'm actually sort of scared to go back and look at it now.

I have a running list in my head of things I want to do before I die. It's got to be 1000s of things long by now, and of course I have forgotten a lot of them (and done a few of them). But I've decided I should add them to my blog, for posterity, when I think of new ones.

Things I want to do before I die:
1. See Elvis Costello
2. Actually learn some kind of dance
3. Write a novel
4. Write a children's book
5. Travel to every continent
6. Learn a second language
7. Be a mother
8. Find faith, or have faith find me
9. Learn to knit
10. Live abroad

I am going to write one or many real entries about the wonderful trip I just got home from, but first I desperately need a nap. So, for the interim, I give you My Vacation In Numbers:

Number of sushi dinners eaten: 2
Number of states visited to which I had never been before: 4
Number of modes of transportation taken: 5
Number of hours spent in transport: approximately 20
Number of beds/futons/couches slept on: 3
Number of wonderful online friends met in person: 5
Number of roller coasters ridden: 8

Sounds like a great trip, huh? More details to come...but first, sweet, sweet sleep...

Things I Need To Do
Perform at work.
Start my calculus class.
Refill prescriptions.
Clean up my house.
Do laundry.
Send out belated Father's Day cards.
Figure out my finances.
Buy a desk.
Rearrange the office after I buy a desk.
Fix the table my computer is currently on for outside use.
Procure patio furniture.

Things I Want To Do
Learn how to put bullets in my posts.
Go back to bed. For a few days. Or maybe weeks.
Get a library card.
Send T's package.
Make mixed CDs for various people.
Put pictures in albums.
Shop at book stores.
Read.

You'll notice that nothing appears on both lists? Yep, that's the problem.

-The stupid counseling center would call me back
-My headache would go away
-I knew what I wanted to do with my life
-I could think of a viable career centered around shopping with other people's money
-Someone would individually portion and freeze the lasagna I just made so I don't have to do it
-Mark would shut up
-All misquitos would die
-My ass fit appropriately in clothes
-Someone would run me a bath
-"The Shield" was still on
-We had two cars
-I would improve at Scrabble
-The stupid comedian would get off the TV and the funny comedian would come back on
-I had a new magazine to read in the bathtub
-I could write something worth reading
-Benadryl didn't make me sleepy
-Sugar was good for you
-I had taken calculus in high school
-I had self-cleaning glasses
-My dog could shower
-I had a plan

It would not be an overstatement to say that I have identity politics issues.

I don't know how to identify. I don't know what to make of other people's identifications. I don't want to support factionism when I think we should all be helping each other, but some theories make more sense than others to me, and a lot of times that is due to shared experiences.

So yeah. If I had to make a list, here is my identity. This is mainly for my own edification, and it's subject to change:

I am:
1. A human being
2. A woman
3. A friend/partner/daughter/sister
4. A feminist
5. A bisexual
6. A socialist
7. An Oregon native
8. A small town native
9. A death penalty opponent
10. A pacifist

There are more. And more will be added. Those are the ones I think about when quickly trying to list my identity politics, though.

I wonder if Unitarian-Universalist is going to make it on to this list? I am beginning to think it might...

In case you need some shopping inspiration, here's what I got:

*some tiny rainbow earrings to replace the ones I lost in the shower
*Carrie Newcomer's CD, Betty's Diner
*Girlyman's CD, Remember Who I Am
*a hand-collaged journal book
*Brick Lane by Monica Ali
*Those Bones are Not My Child by Toni Cade Bambara
*All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki
*One of these t-shirts in pink
*One of these t-shirts in red

Yeah, I went a little bit overboard, but that's OK, I'll just cut back in other areas. There were quite a few people in there this afternoon--maybe they have a chance.

Oh God, so tired. So, so tired.

Today was the day that never ended. It was whirlwind Saturday.
-Chance's annual vet exam (both Mark and I)
-two new car tires, an oil change, and a state inspection (me)
-clothes shopping for Mark (and for me, who I am kidding?) while waiting for the car (me)
-volunteering at the rescue (Mark)
-going to look at a desk to possibly buy (both)
-buying the desk, transporting it home (both)
-going to dinner because we had not eaten all day (both)
-going back to Banana Republic to return things I had picked out for Mark and buy more things (both)
-retrieving the desk pieces from the car (both)
-putting together the desk (both, mostly Mark)
-rearranging and cleaning our office so the new desk fits in it (both)
-walking the dog (both)
-trying on our new clothes (both)

And now sleeping will be done by both. Hopefully not to be interrupted at the ungodly hour of 8am (it's the weekend!) by our less-than-stellar musician neighbor.

I am so a yuppie. I joined a gym yesterday. For real. It's the Y, not a fancy-schmancy gym, but still.

I am noticing that my desire to buy high-priced goods is growing exponentially by the day. This is bad. This tells me that working full-time and not going to school (i.e. having disposable income) spells d-a-n-g-e-r. So I am going to try to keep it under control. To do that, I will make a list of things I want to buy. Once I list them, I will think about them. Once I think about them enough, I will not buy them. I will make that list here, because I no longer have a non-blog journal (how freaking weird is that?). Please bear with me (or ignore this entry):

Spendy stuff I want but shouldn't buy:
iPod mini
tall boots
custom designed bag
wine tower
Title Nine workout clothes

I'm sure there is more, but that's enough greed and gluttony for now.

From Frog.
Things I've done in bold:

1. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten my own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper

22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse

41. Rode on a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love

65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to �Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain

77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party

93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Rode a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on

103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand

114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. ...more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart

146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Rode on a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

157. Rode a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions

175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions

188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair
197. Been a DJ
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via Blogger
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested

Non-sucky stuff:

• today is Friday
• I have a massage appointment this afternoon
• Mark is out of town this weekend, so I have the house/couch/remote to myself for a few days
• I got paid yesterday, plus I have an extra little check for freelance work to deposit
• we have applications for sure on three puppies, with three more possible applications coming in
• we are going to buy a house
• the puppies are annoying our neighbor, who I can't stand
• seven people have signed up through me on freeipods.com
• I am going to be home to watch the UT game this weekend
• we have lots of free snacks at work, including Tootsie Pops
• my very best friend in the whole world is coming for Thanksgiving
• I have my ticket home for Christmas
• next weekend is Halloween
• I am off work at 1 today
  

Sucky stuff:

• Mark is going to be out of town this weekend, so I am on 24/7 puppy patrol all by myself
• though I got paid yesterday, my budget for the month is totally out of whack
• we can't start the house buying process until after we get rid of the puppies
• the puppies are driving me up a fucking wall
  
• the puppies are also annoying our neighbor, who may complain to our landlord
• none of the people who have signed up through me on freeipods.com have actually completed an offer, and I need five of them to do so or no free iPod for me
• my mouth is all torn up from sucking on too many Tootsie Pops at work
• I want to go to Prague for the Phoenix Europe meet-up, but I can't rationalize spending the money, especially if we're going to buy a house
• my ticket home for Christmas was much more expensive than it should have been, and I am only going to be there for 5 days
• I have no Halloween plans and no costume ideas
• as soon as I get off work, I have to run home and deal with seven yipping, biting, snarling, fighting, shitting all over puppies
• I have only been to the gym once this week and I don't seen any possibility of going today or tomorrow
  

Since we last spoke, the following things have happened:

1. We have adopted out 6 of 7 puppies.
2. The 7th puppy has kept me awake many nights.
3. I have grown a giant, preposterous looking zit right in the middle of my forehead.
4. I've been out and gotten rip roaringly drunk with a co-worker and some bosses, including the owner of the company, all on someone else's dime. And apparently hit on the big boss from the other company.
5. I've completely stopped going to the gym and re-started drinking Pepsi and eating like shit.
6. We've had sunny and 70+ weather and torrential rainstorms 24 hours apart.
7. I've decided that I don't want to go back to school next year, but I really should do it anyway.
8. My house has become a disaster.
9. I've built entire outfits to match my argyle knee socks.
10. I have not written a novel. Not even a paragraph.
11. I've begun to freak out once again about the possibility that I am a lesbian and I just don't know it.
12. I've seen an episode of Sex & the City. Ew.
13. I've heard my officemate talk on the phone in Croatian.
14. I've completely stopped reading the news, in an effort to ward off depression.
15. I've experienced "Flaming Dr. Pepper."
16. I've ordered knee-high boots.

I'm sure there is more. I can't think of it now, though. I wish I could think of something interesting to write. I can't. Sorry.

Things I want to accomplish this year, and progress so far towards those goals:

Buy a house
Mark and I put in our application for financing preapproval last night. As soon as we know how much we are preapproved for, we're going to get in touch with a realtor and start looking. In the meantime, we're both working on lists of house must-haves and prioritized nice-to-haves.

Stop biting my nails
So far no progress, as I just decided last night that this is a priority. I am promising myself a ritzy manicure when they get to a suitable length, though. I've done this before, under more stressful circumstances, I'd like to think I could manage it again.

Lose the extra weight
Fact of the matter is that I am heavier than I feel comfortable with, and I want the extra weight gone. I have decided to try a combination of my previous two approaches to weight loss: watching what I eat using Fitday and getting back to the gym. I've started with Fitday today, but I'm not going to try to get back to the gym until I get my allergies taken care of enough to breathe regularly.

Get my allergies taken care of
I am going to go get allergy blood work done as soon as I get the referral from my doctor, and I'll talk to her from there about what course of action is best--if it is shots, then I'll do shots. There is no reason to live like this.

There are more, of course, but that's really probably plenty to start with...

Number of phone calls made: 14

Number of phone calls made only to be directed to call someone else: 3

Number of dollars stolen: $2,300

Number of additional dollars attempted to steal: $1,900

Number of days the bank estimates until they get back to me for a PRELIMINARY phone call: 3

Number of accounts closed: 2, so far

Number of direct deposits or withdrawls cancelled: 5

Number of curse words uttered: approximately 25,000

Number of days for which my credit file is flagged: 90

Number of years for which my credit file will be flagged if this does not get resolved within 90 days: 7

Handmade custom purses, especially those made out of vintage fabrics and/or old clothes.

The best site I found for them is SaraAnn Designs.--I love that she tells you what clothes she used to make her bags. I also like Sylvia Designs and think there are some really cute things at Baby Peach.

I'm also a super big fan of the sites that let you custom design your own bag. 1154 LILL Studio is probably the best of these, and I love how interactively their site works, but I am also impressed with the wide vintage fabric selection at mandy b. bags.

Anyway, just wanted to give a shout-out to these women, because I think they are doing a great thing on several leves. First, female self-employment is good, good, good. Secondly, original couture is most excellent, and what could be better than a one-of-a-kind bag? Finally, to the women using old clothes and vintage fabrics, extra props for making something old new again.

Now the question is how to limit myself to only ordering from ONE of you...

Today on WINOW, a list of things I am loving recently:

• Bath and Body Works' new Cherry Blossom collection. Smells so good, so light and so different than other stuff, and it reminds me of cherry blossom trees, which are seriously one of my favorite things of all time. I am particularly enamored with the whipped body cream and the bath bubbles. Enamored enough, actually, that I am saddened to see they will only be available for a limited time. I may even go back and buy some more to stockpile.
• The Clarks Eliot. I love these so much I have them in both black and brown, and if I could find them in my size in ketchup or purple, I'd have those too. They look cute, they go with everything, and they are so comfortable.
• Jockey bra style 4701. Best. bra. ever. No wire, incredibly comfortable, and still reasonably attractive. Love it.
  
• Mix and match bridal seperates. No, I am not having a wedding, or even going to be in one, but I love this concept, plus I think it is fun to play with.
• Loretta Lynn's Jack White-produced album, Van Leer Rose. I can't stop listening to it.
• Lane Bryant's Lafayette sateen cropped pants. They come in awesome colors (even though the black ones are the only ones I actually like on me) and they have an awesome pseudo-50's style, plus they don't make me feel like a walrus.
• The Austin Goodwill. I could so go here every day. And sometimes I do.
• Bitch magazine. I read the last issue cover to cover, and damn it was good! Gotta remember to renew that subscription.
• The Behr paint website. I am so close to deciding on the colors for our new house. Really. I swear.
  

A list of music I have seen live in concert, in the order they pop into my head. To be edited many times, I'm sure.

Ani DiFranco (somewhere around 12 times)
Dar Williams
Dan Bern
Adam Brodsky
Kris Kristofferson
Willie Nelson
Bitch & Animal
Hamell on Trial
Maceo Parker
Paul Revere and the Raiders
Leanne Rymes
Allison Krauss and Union Station
Emmylou Harris
Eliza Gilkyson
Toshi Reagan
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Holly Near
Utah Phillips
Dave Carter and Tracey Grammer
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Faith No More
Carolyn Wonderland
Ruthie Foster
Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irian
Dale Watson
Michael Franti
Laura Love
Hole
Marilyn Manson
Blues Traveler
The Dave Matthew's Band
Lenny Kravitz
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Peter Wilde
Katie Henry
Greg Brown
Billy Bragg

Curious about the circumstances under which I saw any of these folks? Please post in the comments--I love to tell concert stories!

I am a list maker. At any given time, I will have more lists going than I can count on both hands. I have running lists of books I've read, movies I've watched, and a million day-to-day lists. So I thought, in the absence of my having the brainpower to write anything real, I'd share them.

There is one list on my desk, of work stuff I need to do. With a few details changed, it reads:
XXX mins & web update

add XXX watchers to the calendar
XXX mins & web update
XXX manual
calendar
time sheet
reserve table at XX

I have long been in the habit of carrying a small notebook in my bag, mainly for list making purposes. I have recently found the perfect specimen for this. It's small, about 5" X 2 1/2", made of heavy brown kraft stock, with lined pages and old fashioned lowercase type that says "notes" on the front. It has an orange book tape spine and one of those rubber band things that keeps it shut when it's in my bag. I love it. It's from Target. In that notebook are the following lists:

BOOKS
-New OBOS
-Electric Ladyland: Women and Rock Culture by Lisa L. Rhodes
-Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil by Inga Musico
-Fresh Lipstick by Linda M. Scott
-Reading Oprah by Cecilia Koncher Farr
-Selling Women Short by Liza Featherstone
-Statements by Amy Borkowsky
-The Salvage Sisters' Guide...by Kathleen Hackett and Mary Ann Young

This list gets additions whenever I read a book review or hear about a book that sounds appealing to me. It has been neglected of late, as my focus has turned to school books, which have their own lists, kept elsewhere.

CDs

• Lucy Kaplansky, "The Red Thread"
• Eliza Gilkyson, "Paradise Hotel"

• Dar Williams, "My Better Self"
• Shelby Lynne, "Suit Yourself"
• Aimee Mann, "The Forgotten Arm"

Magazine
8/30/05 - Discover
Budget Living
Real Simple
Entertainment Weekly

This list is how I keep track of the trial subscriptions I've started to magazines, which credit card I put them on, and when I started them. It's so I can cancel them before the charges become permanent, and so I know what I have outstanding/what I need to re-trial-subscribe to. For the record, for independent type magazines, I get real subscriptions and pay for them, but I have no moral issue with getting magazines published by Time Warner for free.

FOR OREGON TRIP
make hotel res.
car rental
book Leo @ Taurus

buy dress
buy accessories
buy dress

Best hotel + car rate=Expedia

Obviously, this list is things I need to do for my trip home next month. You will notice that "buy dress" has been crossed out and re-added. That's because the dress I ordered, while lovely in the Ebay listing, makes me look very pregnant on. Which would be great, except that I'm not expecting. So I shall try again. The note at the bottom of the list is to remind myself that the best rates I found for rental cars and hotel reservations were on Expedia.com. Good to know.

CHORES
thank you notes
buy cat supplies
fill out app. at SPCA
refill Leo's meds
get Wellbutrin scrip transferred
clean kitchen floor
mail skirts to Zoe
sort out-of-season clothes
post new books on BTC

make appt. w/ Dr. XXX
make hair cut appt.
investigate Curves
sort cast-off clothes
join a gym
sell clothes on Ebay
mail back wine bar

This one, as is pretty obvious, is general stuff I need to remember to do. Some of it is very, very tardy. It is also full of things that have been done and crossed-out, which irritates me after awhile, so I will probably transfer the things that haven't been done to a new list soon.

HOMEWORK

1. FP reading
2. A&TW reading
3. FP memo
4. A&TW summary
5. read other memos

TARGET
toilet cleaner
nail clippers
nail file
tweezers
purse pouch
Project Backpack stuff

Yes, I have a constantly running Target list. I can't help it.

CAT SUPPLIES
litter box
litter
litter scoop
food
food bowls

This list has obviously not been completed yet.

Gyms
Curves: $74+$39/mo
M-W-F: 7-2, 4-7
Tu-Th: 6:30-2, 4-7
Sat: 8/9-12
Closed Sun

YMCA: $49+$50/mo
M-F: 6-10
Sat: 8-7
Sun: 1-7

Body Business:
Mon-Thurs: 5:30-9
Fri: 5:30-8
Sat: 8-4
Sun: 10-6

Damn, gyms are expensive. And could Curves have less convenient hours? Just one more reason to hate them.

Tattoo Ideas
elephant
tree of life/knowledge
hourglass

This is one I just re-started. It's another one that I know I have a more comprehensive version of somewhere, but I have no idea where.

So there you have it, my life in lists. Those are just the currenty running ones that are at my fingertips. I can think of at least a couple more at home (grocery list, another chore list). As well as one in my school notebook (ideas for final project list). Given my relatively laid-back life, you wouldn't think this would be necessary...but perhaps it's me?

It has not escaped my attention that the extreme majority of what I have posted here lately has been silliness, song lyrics, and pictures of my pets. It's not that I'm brain dead--really!--I'm just...dulled, recently.

That being said, I have an interesting exercise. In my Family Policy class a couple of weeks ago, we were asked to list all of the families (or, if you prefer, households) we've ever lived in. Basically, just make a list of all of our living situations. The point that was being illustrated was about lack of family structure stability, but I sort of found making the list useful in and of itself--I hadn't realized how many situations I've been able to call home.

So here's my list:

ELKTON:
1979, for a few weeks (months?) post-birth: Lived with my mother and my grandparents, at my grandparents' house
Fall 1979-Summer 1983: Lived alone in a house with my mother.
Summer 1983-Spring 1985: Lived in a house with my mother and stepfather.
Spring 1985-Summer 1997: Lived in a house with my mother, stepfather, and brother.

PORTLAND:
Fall 1997-Winter 1998:Lived in a college dorm room with a roommate, C.
Winter 1998-Spring 1998: Lived in a college dorm room alone.
Summer 1998: Lived with mother, stepfather, and brother again.
Fall 1998-Spring 1999: Lived in a college apartment with two roommates, J. and M.
Summer 1999: Lived in a duplex with three roommates, B., S., and K.
Fall 1999-Spring 2000: Lived in an apartment with my then-boyfriend, S.
Summer 2000: Lived in a college apartment with my then-boyfriend, S., and another roommate, J.
Fall 2000-Spring 2001: Lived in a single dorm room by myself.
Summer 2001: Lived in a duplex with two roommates, J. and N.
Fall 2001-Winter 2002: Lived in a duplex with two roommates, J. and N., and Mark.
Winter 2002-Summer 2002: Lived alone in an apartment.
Summer 2002-Summer 2003: Lived in an apartment with Mark, a roommate, E., and a cat, Potter.

AUSTIN:
Summer 2003-Spring 2005: Lived in a house with Mark and Chance.
Spring 2005-Summer 2005: Lived in a different house with Mark and Chance.
Summer 2005: Lived in a house with Mark and Leo.
Summer 2005-present: Lived in a house with Mark, Leo, and Atticus.

So what does this all tell me? I'm not sure, other than I haven't spent much time living alone. I've moved around a good bit. In 26 years, I've lived in three "cities" and 15 different locations, by my count. Two boyfriends and eight roommates. Two dogs and two cats, not counting my childhood pets (which I don't count because they lived outside and weren't really pets). Some of these living situations were good, some had big problems. A few had really big problems, mostly on the neighbor frontier (see Won't You Be My Neighbor?). I'm sure they all taught me something, though I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what.

Actually, maybe I'm not so hard pressed. I think what they've taught me, and what looking back on them is teaching me all over again (because, you know, I can't just learn something once and be done with it), is that there are many, many ways to be home. I still miss Portland, and refer to my upcoming visit there as "going home," but in truth, Austin is home now. Specifically, Mark is home. The house we're buying together is home. My dogs--first Chance, and now Leo--are home. Atticus is rapidly becoming home. And all three stanky dorm rooms I lived in where home, as were both even stankier Reed College Apartments (TM). The studio apartment I rented by myself, so proud and my mom so scared of the "bad neighborhood", was home. And the falling-down house in the little town where I spent my incredibly painful formative years will never be anything but home.

Maybe as we get older we collect concepts of home. Maybe this helps us be more at home where we are, or at home with who we are. I hope so.

My darling Sofiya has written a lits of her wants on her blog today (or perhaps it is from yesterday, but I just read it), and as I'm suffering allergy-related brain freeze (and a miserable fucking sinus headache), I'm a gonna copy her until I think of something more insightful to write about.

Places I Want to Visit:
Damn near everywhere, but here are some top contenders...
1. The Mediterranean. I just saw a movie where a main character spends the summer in Greece and it produced all sorts of longing.
2. New Zealand. To visit said darling Sofiya, of course!
3. Scotland. I want to see where my people come from.
4. The Netherlands. Ditto.
5. Vietnam. I've been intrigued by Vietnam for years, but Tony Bourdain really has me falling in love with it.
6. Cuba. The closest thing around to successful Communism. I want to see it while it's still there.

Clothes and Accessories I Want to Own:
1. Jeans that fucking fit.
2. Work-appropriate but still semi-casual shoes. Something Mary Janesque.
3. A greater variety of soft-knit, jewel-toned vee-neck and ballet-neck tshirts.
4. Even more dangly stone and silver earrings. And some copper ones, too.

Other Stuff I Want:
1. Beauty treatments. It's just awful. Give me a manicure and I want a pedicure, a full facial, a lip and and eyebrow wax, and a new haircut. I'm a monster.
2. Bath products from Lush.
3. A job that pays what I am making now, for the same number of hours, but is doing something that fufills me.
4. Someone to do my classwork for me until this headache goes away.
5. Clam chowder to be vegetarian.

In honor of yesterday's holiday, Wendy over at Pound shared recollections of some of her past Halloween costumes. I had so much fun reading them, I decided to write my own. Years are approximated to the best of my recollection:

1985, Care Bear: I was the red Care Bear with the hearts on its belly (Tenderheart Bear, Google tells me). My mom made the costume out of footsie pajamas. I believe there was a headpiece involved as well. My brother, who was about six months old, was another Care Bear, as was my cousin Jessie, who was around 4. I think Jessie was Grumpy Bear. She was pretty cranky at that age. I saw some Care Bear costumes for kids when I was at Target the other day, and my mom's were vastly superior.

1986, Minnie Mouse: Another mom-made costume, this one included a polka dot skirt with matching suspenders, which I wore to school for the next year. I was so not a cool kid.

1988, The Secret Garden: This was probably my mom's most impressive costume for me (though the ones she's made for herself over the years have been even better). She used some kind of big box and drew the cover of the book (the old skool cover, as shown) on it, coloring it all in with pastels. Then I dressed in a green leotard and tights underneath, with my hair up in a top ponytail and sprayed green (I was the bookmark, see). It was a great costume. Massively uncomfortable, though, so I spent most of the night running around in just the bookmark part, and people thought I was supposed to be a blade of grass.

1990, pirate: At this point, it became uncool for my mom to make my costumes, and so I began making them myself. All I remember about this pirate costume was that included an eyepatch, a sword, and spandex. What made think pirates=spandex, I cannot tell you. The most memorable thing about this Halloween was my acquaintance, Jenny, who dressed as a Playboy bunny. Who the hell lets their 11 year-old dress as a Playboy fucking bunny?

1994, Nicole Simpson: Of all of my Halloween costumes, this is the most horrifying one. A few months after her murder, I actually dressed up as Nicole Simpson. I have no excuse for this, other than that I was 15 and I sucked.

1997, devil: My first year in college I dressed as a devil. Not a particularly enlightened costume, except that it was based on a my freshman prom dress, which was a wide-skirted knee-length red number with a halter top, and was the perfect basis for a devil costume. I also had just bleached my hair platinum for the first time, so the effect was kind of frightening.

1998, showgirl: Again, not a particularly enlightnened costume. However, I was mostly just an accessory anyway, as Simon (the ex-boyfriend who bears a striking resemblance to Johnny Depp) dressed as the Las Vegas-era Hunter S. Thompson that Johnny Depp portayed in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. My costume was mediocre, but his was truly great. Also, my showgirlness was accented by the fact that I was at that time sporting inches long magenta hair.

1999, Medusa: This was my best college Halloween costume. I got these really cool shiny colored stretchy rubber snakes from The Discover Store and made a wig out of them. I don't remember what else I wore, but man that wig was cool.

2001, Vince Neil: I believe this was the last time I dressed up for Halloween. Perhaps the experience was so traumatizing that I'll never dress up again? My roommates, Natalie and Jenny, and I, as well as Mark, were heavily under the influence of the Motley Crue biography, The Dirt, and decided to dress up as Motley Crue for our Halloween party. Being, at that time, blonde, I was Vince Neil. My costume included a leather vest with no shirt underneath it. Vince Neil does not have breasts. I do. it was an ill-advised costume choice.

I need to start dressing up for Halloween again, though, because I really love costumes. I think I get it from my mom. Her costumes are something to be reckoned with. My mom and her three sisters, as well as her mother, generally dress up together for Halloween. One year, my mom and her sisters with the four queens from a pack of playing cards (my super-artistic mom made sandwich boards with card front and backs on them, then they dressed in all black or all red and wore Burger King crowns) and my grandmother was the joker. Another year, they did the Wizard of Oz. Mom's sister Joan was Dorothy, because she had red shoes; Pam was the scarecrow, Lisa was the lion, and mom was the tin man (she spray painted all of her clothes silver and had a funnel on her head, as I recall). Grandma was the wizard. Another year, Pam was Cinderella and the other sisters were evil stepsisters, with grandma as the fairy godmother.

And mom gets it from her mom. Besides being involved in all of the costume schemes above, my grandmother ALWAYS dresses up. She has a clown costume and a Mrs. Claus costume she pulls out for some occaisons, but when I was a kid, she used to dress up as Uncle Remus, complete with black face. Horrible, I know, but if you knew my grandmother, you'd see that she meant it in the best possible way. And, blessedly, she had stopped before I was old enough to figure out what the problem with it was.

So I come from a long line of costumed women. I have to remember that next year.

Today, I will likely do several memes. This one is taken from Bitch, Ph.D.:

Erudite Redneck wants to know what's in your pockets. Being as I am a femmey woman, I tend not to carry things in my pockets, so in the interests of equal time, here's the list of things in my purse.

1. A paperback book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America
2. An allergy shot receipt
3. A pot of Cake Kiss lip gloss
4. A Zyrtec
5. A blue pen
6. A black pen
7. Sunglasses
8. Keys
9. Cell phone
10. My calendar
11. A National Security Series lecture brochure attached to my calendar with a mechanical pencil
12. A small notebook
13. My wallet
14. A coin purse with two tampons, nail clippers, and tweezers in it
15. A mini lint roller
16. A generic asprin bottle with generic Advil and migraine pills in it
17. Two tubes of chapstick, one Cool Cherry Softlips, one from my dentist
18. A Starbucks receipt
19. 20 pennies, 3 nickles, 3 dimes, 4 quarters

I should really carry less shit.

Your turn. What's in your pockets and/or purse?

I was just thinking about how many things I have to be thankful for, and how seldom I write about them here. I guess 'tis the season for that kind of stuff. Anyway, I know I spend too much time complaining and not enough time rejoicing, both here and in my day-to-day life, so I want to make a little list of things for which I am very, very grateful:

• Baths. I am grateful that I have the time, the safe living space, the clean water, etc. that allows me to take a hot bath every night if I want to (and, several nights a week, I do).
• Mark. There is no way I can ever describe how lucky I am to have someone who knows me so well, loves me so much, respects me so much, and shares my life. I am incredibly grateful for Mark.
• My house. I am really grateful to have such a nice, comfortable living space, and to have almost no stressors when I am at home. My house truly is a refuge, and having lived without that, I can't overemphasize how important it is.
• My health. I complain a lot about my health maladies, particularly the allergy issues and the depression, but really, it could be so much worse, and I am so grateful to have a strong, healthy body and mind.
• My job. OK, so I really don't much like my job--that's true. However, I recognize that I am damn lucky to have it. It requires little of me and pays well, and it gives me the opportunity to do something that I am good at and to develop some skills/experience that may be useful later.
• Leo. Leo is actually what started this. I was brushing him earlier, and telling him what a complete gift from God he is. Especially given what happened with Chance, and how fragile Mark and I were, I really feel that Leo was the perfect dog at the perfect time, and it doesn't stretch my mind to imagine that someone sent him for us, and sent us for him. It doesn't get any better than that.
• My friends. I don't have a lot of friends, but the ones I do have are such fantastic human beings, and I am blessed to have been allowed into the lives of each and every one of them. I got a surprise email today from a friend from college to whom I haven't spoken in some time, and it made my whole day. Then, just now, my email notify let me know an email had come in from my best high school friend. Getting email from my friends makes me so fucking happy.
• Coffee. Maybe it's evil and consumerist of me, but I am really beginning to appreciate a nice foofy coffee. So sue me.
• Veteran's Day. It's been kind of a tough week at work, and today basically sucked, and I am so grateful that tomorrow is a holiday and I don't have to go in. I don't even care that it is unpaid.
• Girls' Night. Every Thursday, S. and I have Girls' Night. We generally go to a movie, though we once in a while see a concert or go to dinner or something else. Tonight, S. couldn't make it. Not that I haven't had a lovely evening with Mark, but I am definitely feeling how much I appreciate the weekly night out with S.

There is much more, but Atticus (for whom I am also grateful) is biting my fingers, so this will have to do for now.

Mark and I had a discussion over the weekend about where we should next call home. This is all completely dependent on where he can find a good post-doc, of course, but as it is too early to know about that, he asked me what cities appealed to me. I honestly haven't given this much thought, so I decided to do some research.

Since I can safely start with knowing that I don't want to live anywhere too small, my starting list will be the 50 largest U.S. cities. The 50 biggest cities in the U.S., in order of size, are:

1. New York, NY
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Chicago, IL
4. Houston, TX
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Phoenix, AZ
7. San Diego, CA
8. San Antonio, TX
9. Dallas, TX
10. San Jose, CA
11. Detroit, MI
12. Indianapolis, IN
13. Jacksonville, FL
14. San Francisco, CA
15. Columbus, OH
16. Austin, TX
17. Memphis, TN
18. Baltimore, MD
19. Fort Worth, TX
20. Charlotte, NC
21. El Paso, TX
22. Milwaukee, WI
23. Seattle, WA
24. Boston, MA
25. Denver, CO
26. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY
27. Washington, D.C.
28. Nashville-Davidson, TN
29. Las Vegas, NV
30. Portland, OR
31. Oklahoma City, OK
32. Tuscon, AZ
33. Albuquerque, NM
34. Long Beach, CA
35. New Orleans, LA
36. Cleveland, OH
37. Fresno, CA
38. Sacramento, CA
39. Kansas City, MO
40. Virginia Beach, VA
41. Mesa, AZ
42. Atlanta, GA
43. Omaha, NE
44. Oakland, CA
45. Tulsa, OK
46. Miami, FL
47. Honolulu, HA
48. Minneapolis, MN
49. Colorado Springs, CO
50. Arlington, TX

1. New York, NY
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Houston, TX
4. Philadelphia, PA
5. Phoenix, AZ
6. San Diego, CA
7. San Antonio, TX
8. Dallas, TX
9. San Jose, CA
10. Indianapolis, IN
11. Jacksonville, FL
12. San Francisco, CA
13. Columbus, OH
14. Memphis, TN
15. Baltimore, MD
16. Fort Worth, TX
17. Charlotte, NC
18. El Paso, TX
19. Seattle, WA
20. Denver, CO
21. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY
22. Washington, D.C.
23. Nashville-Davidson, TN
24. Las Vegas, NV
25. Portland, OR
26. Oklahoma City, OK
27. Tuscon, AZ
28. Albuquerque, NM
29. Long Beach, CA
30. New Orleans, LA
31. Cleveland, OH
32. Fresno, CA
33. Sacramento, CA
34. Kansas City, MO
35. Virginia Beach, VA
36. Mesa, AZ
37. Atlanta, GA
38. Oakland, CA
39. Tulsa, OK
40. Miami, FL
41. Honolulu, HA
42. Colorado Springs, CO
43. Arlington, TX

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Houston, TX
3. Philadelphia, PA
4. Phoenix, AZ
5. San Diego, CA
6. San Antonio, TX
7. San Jose, CA
8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Jacksonville, FL
10. San Francisco, CA
11. Columbus, OH
12. Memphis, TN
13. Baltimore, MD
14. Charlotte, NC
15. Seattle, WA
16. Denver, CO
17. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY
18. Washington, D.C.
19. Nashville-Davidson, TN
20. Portland, OR
21. Oklahoma City, OK
22. Tuscon, AZ
23. Albuquerque, NM
24. Long Beach, CA
25. New Orleans, LA
26. Kansas City, MO
27. Virginia Beach, VA
28. Mesa, AZ
29. Atlanta, GA
30. Oakland, CA
31. Tulsa, OK
32. Miami, FL
33. Honolulu, HA
34. Colorado Springs, CO
35. Arlington, TX

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. San Diego, CA
4. San Antonio, TX
5. San Jose, CA
6. Indianapolis, IN
7. Jacksonville, FL
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Memphis, TN
10. Baltimore, MD
11. Charlotte, NC
12. Seattle, WA
13. Denver, CO
14. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY
15. Washington, D.C.
16. Nashville-Davidson, TN
17. Portland, OR
18. Long Beach, CA
19. New Orleans, LA
20. Mesa, AZ
21. Atlanta, GA
22. Oakland, CA
23. Miami, FL
24. Honolulu, HA

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. San Diego, CA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Memphis, TN
6. Baltimore, MD
7. Charlotte, NC
8. Seattle, WA
9. Nashville-Davidson, TN
10. Portland, OR
11. New Orleans, LA
12. Atlanta, GA
13. Oakland, CA

Edited to add:
I just did a cost of living comparison between Austin and my list of cities. Things don't look good. The calculator showed me what percentage of salary increase I would need in order to maintain the same cost of living:

1. Los Angeles, CA +37%
2. Philadelphia, PA +14%
3. San Diego, CA +36%
4. San Francisco, CA +52%
5. Memphis, TN -13%
6. Baltimore, MD +15%
7. Charlotte, NC +4%
8. Seattle, WA +29%
9. Nashville-Davidson, TN -9%
10. Portland, OR +9%
11. New Orleans, LA -7%
12. Atlanta, GA +17%
13. Oakland, CA +47%

As is becoming par for the course, I can't sleep. So I'll share with you all the things I learned while in line at the supermarket today:

1. Nick and Jessica are splitting up.
2. Brad is adopting Angelina's kids.
3. Kevin and Britney might be splitting up.
4. Ben and Jen named their baby Violet.
5. Oprah has a new diet.
6. Tom and Katie are having a boy.
7. I can fit into my skinny jeans by January!

To these nuggets of information, I have the following responses:

1. This could be good for Jessica's career. If I were her dadager, I would suggest she try for full-on country cross-over with a cover of "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." And date Johnny Knoxville. Or maybe a Nascar driver.
2. The weird thing about this is the copy of a legal-looking document changing the kids' names to Maddox and Zahara Jolie-Pitt. Jolie-Pitt has to be the worst hyphenated name ever. It sounds like a national monument of some kind. "And on the left, you'll see Jolie Pitt." Seems to me Brad has moved from one woman who was too good for him to another. But at least he's not Billy Bob.
3. I hope so. Poor Britney. At least there's no place to go but up. And hey, Nick's single...
4. By a Hollywood standard, it's not a terrible name. I think it would have been funny if they'd name her Jennifer, though. Wouldn't it make things easier for Ben if all the women in his life just had the same name? I wonder if his mom would be willing to change her name too? How weird and surreal would that be?
5. How can they honestly still be printing this? Leave the poor woman and her diets alone. Jesus Christ.
6. How virile Tom must be, siring a man-child! Maybe they will name him Elron. That would rule.
7. January of what year?

Celebrity culture is so weird. For a long time, I had a free subscription to Us magazine. As I like to read drivel in the bathtub, most weeks I read it, so I was pretty much in the know about the celebrity goings on. This is, for example, why I know the names of the actresses and characters on Sex and the City, even though I've never seen it. However, that subscription has been run out for several months now, and I was realizing in the line today that I am not up to date anymore. It was this strange feeling, like I had been kept out of the loop of my friends or family or something. I felt oddly betrayed. I had no idea Kevin and Britney were even having problems! It's the same feeling I get when I watch an episode of General Hospital. I'm somehow insulted that life in Port Charles went on while I wasn't paying attention, and that things are as weird and fucked up as ever. How strange to feel that way about the lives of real people, though. Or at least mostly real people (my jury is still out on the possibility of the Jessica-bot).

I don't really know where I'm going with this, except to say that it's strange. Strange to find these things out, strange to care. With the exception of my skinny jeans, none of this applies to me. These are stories only removed by fiction by a tiny step, about people manufactured and sold as characters in their own lives, and yet they are part of our cultural fabric, staring at us from supermarket lines and TV screens. What's it for? What is it about their lives that keeps people interested? And what kind of a people are we that we are so alienated from our own lives, and from the real art around us, that we substitute real feelings and real interests for interest in and feelings about manufactured people's manufactured lives?

And what about the manufactured people themselves? Do they have real lives? When they stand in line at the supermarket and look at those magazine covers, do they see themselves?

I got these meme instructions over at Frog's place, and I think this is a really good one. Join me?

Instructions:

Step One
Post to your blog with a list of ten holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and interest-related ("I'd love a Julie Andrews icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for new Playmobil pirates") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car.") The important thing is to make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

Make sure you post some version of these guidelines, or link to this post so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two
Surf around your blogroll to see who has posted a list. And now here's the important part:

If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy.

There are no guarantees with this project, and no strings attached. Wish and it might come true. Give and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

My ten wishes:

1. I've love to get something homemade. I used to get a lot more homemade presents, when everyone I know had more time and less money, and I miss it.
2. I'd like some of my favorite Trader Joe's stuff--I miss Trader Joe's, especially the Honey Mango shave gel and the excellent dried fruit.
3. I really, really want a Superhero necklace.
4. I'd love for people to donate to their local animal shelters or rescue organizations if and when they are doing their end-of-the-year donating. They really, really need us.
5. I saw some of this art today, and I'm in love with it. I would adore something from this collection.
6. This is something I need so badly that I even want it: a calculus tutor.
7. It would be great to find some new magazines I could look forward to every month. I get and enjoy Bitch and Bust, but there has to be more out there, right?
8. It would be fantastic if folks made an effort to do their Christmas shopping (assuming they are last minute types) at local and independant businesses. It would be even better if this was the start of a year-long commitment to do more to support local and indie business.
9. I desperately want some cowboy boots.
10. I want someone to nominate me for TLC's What Not to Wear. I am all over being humiliated on national TV for the sake of $5,000 in free clothes and a haircut by Nick Arroyo. Carmandy would be a problem, though...

My thanks to the always amazing Karen for both of these things.

Thing the first: Mosey on over to the Best of Blog (BoB) Awards and nominate me nominate some of your fave blogs, or just check out the nominees that are already there and maybe find some new reading.

Thing the second, a cool meme:

7 Things Yet To Do With My Life

1. Skydive (but I'm going in January!)
2. Get a Ph.D.
3. Visit a country that is not the U.S. and not connected to the U.S. by land
   
4. Speak a second language
5. Be succesfully self-employed
6. Play a musical instrument
7. See Klimt's and Kahlo's paintings
   

1. Sing
2. Make things grow
3. Draw
4. Read Greek
5. Skateboard
6. Wiggle my nose
7. Cry on command

1. He's so, so smart
2. He's a great cook
3. He really loves his family
4. He can save money like nobody's business
5. He can play the guitar
6. He's sure about his (lack of) faith in God
7. He's a great driver

1. "Damn!"
2. "Atticus!"
3. "I love you."
4. "...darlin'."
5. "You think so?"
6. "Oh my God!"
7. "Yeah?"

1. The Clown of God by Tomie de Paola
2. The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America by Ruth Rosen
3. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
4. Our Bodies, Ourselves by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective
5. Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs by Caroline Knapp
6. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
7. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Over at Frog's place, she has a People style list of what is "In" and what is "Out" for her in 2006. I like the idea so much, I'm stealing it.

OUT: Plastic: plastic crap, plastic food, plastic emotions.
IN: Healthy, natural food; less general accumulation; more time to process real feelings.

OUT: Getting wrapped up in other people's drama, especially online.
IN: Spending more time in communication with my friends and family.

OUT: Spending too much time in idle pursuits, especially TV and excessive Internet use.
IN: Making time to read, excercise, play with my pets, and generally take care of the mental and physical health.

OUT: Target.
IN: Local stores, secondhand shopping.

OUT: Complaining about my job.
IN: Putting the time to good use.

OUT: Coffee.
IN: Tea.

I've recently alluded to my dissatisifaction with myself, in very general ways, and to the changes I want to make/am trying to make in my life. It's not something I've gotten very detailed about, in part because I'm still working it out in my own head, and mostly because I'm embarrassed. And there are parts of it I'm still not ready to to discuss, because things are up in the air. But there is one thing I do need to talk about, and to be accountable for.

As I've mentioned before, I have a shopping problem. I don't manage money well. I overconsume. A lot. Often. This is not something I like about myself. At all. And it's something that I really, really want to change. It's something I've wanted to change for a long time, and I've made several efforts, all of which have been failures. After every period of moderation, I binge in a way that's even larger than the previous binge. And I'm in a binge now. I think I need a new tactic.

So I've started thinking about why, specifically, I want to consume less. What are my goals? I have no desire to be an Ascetic--I like my stuff, I like to shop, and I don't think either of those things are going to change. However, I need to realize that I have other goals as well, and my mindless consumption is coming between me and those goals. So I've decided to do what I always do when faced with something difficult. Make a list.

Important uses for my money (goals):

• Paying down debt, including credit card debt and student loans
• Saving
• Traveling
• Working on my house
• Giving to charity
• Supporting small artists/artisans/shop owners/etc.
• Buying gifts for people who are important to me
• Participating in recreational and cultural events (e.g. going to the movies, seeing concerts, etc.)

Unimportant uses for my money (things to avoid):

• Buying things at big, morally corrupt retailers (e.g. Target, Old Navy, etc.)
• Buying more of things that I already have a lot of (e.g. clothes, books, bath products, etc.)
• Buying things that I have no immediate use for (i.e. stocking up)
• Buying things just because they are on sale
• Buying things just because it is expected from me

Did you miss me?

Hardly noticed I was gone, huh?

Things have been pretty busy. Today was the first day of my third week at my brand new job, and it is nonstop. Basically, without going into too much incriminating detail, things are in a big tangled mess. Once I get all of the knots teased out, I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it a lot, and be very good at it, but the knots are definitely going to take a while. And things march on in the meantime, so it's a pretty steep learning curve. Good, but definitely tiring.

And in that spirit, I give you a list of things that piss me off. Some of them are serious piss offable offenses, others are just things that irritate me.

1. Obviously, people not taking care of their pets.
2. Bridget pooping in my house. She really needs to stop.
3. My constant stomachache for the past several weeks.
4. People who don't respect deadlines.
5. Gauchos.
6. The idealization of Cinco de Mayo as if it were a real Mexican holiday.
7. Not having my office look lived in yet, even though I've been here a month.
8. Being behind on book and film reviews to the extent that I will never catch up.
9. There only having been one season of Joan of Arcadia.
10. My hair on the day I wash it.
11. Anything that even resembles a video game.
12. My mother still not making a living wage.
13. Having to get a referral to the allergist I've been seeing for months.
14. Having to see an allergist at all.
15. That shopping is fun.
16. Not being able to wear contacts.
17. Living in a state with a (hyper)active death penalty.
18. Living in a country where the state can make that decision.
19. Bitten down cuticles.
20. Not being able to carry a tune.

And those are just the first 20 that pop into my head...

The Good: My trip to Minneapolis was fantastic. Too short and a bit frantic, but otherwise incredible. I got to spend time with some fantastic women, got to see some cool shit (like a giant cherry on a spoon, for example), got to eat some excellent food, and even stayed (more or less) on budget. Brilliant. Also good is that I am done with the semester and have no school or homework until the first week in June. A small break, but a break nonetheless. Also, my new job seems to be getting closer to under control.

The Bad: I am my usual basketcase self in manners concerning finances (they're a mess) and weight gain (it's through the roof). Also, I need to do laundry, clean my bathroom, answer about 100 emails, send in some freelance editing work I that's already overdue, go to the doctor and get an allergist referral...and take a nap. Also, Mark is going to Italy with his family for two weeks and my God do I have a lot of dog to take care of on my own.

The Ugly: My feet are atrocious. They are all swollen and they hurt and it just sucksucksucks. Also, I spent too much time in the hot tub in Minneapolis and my skin is peeling off from the chlorine. Very attractive.

Episodes of Gilmore Girls watched: 5
Rum and cokes consumed: 3
Minutes spent brushing dogs: 43
Minutes spent walking dogs: 0
Loads of laundry done: 0
People talked to: 0

Don't I sound like a joy?

Inspired by Frog, I am celebrating the (more or less) halfway point of 2006 by checking on progress with my New Year's Resolutions.:

1. Get back on a 4-5 day a week gym schedule.
Haven't done it. Haven't even tried. Have to get on this one.

2. Get back on a 2 shots a week allergy shot schedule.
I actually bagged the whole allergy shot plan, and I'm fine with that, so this one can be crossed out.

3. Get my finances under control, including upping my savings percentage and IRA contributions.
This one is in progress. I have a plan, and I'm following it, but I'm not out of debt and saving the way I should be quite yet.

4. Get some writing published.
Thanks to Karen, this one is done.

5. Read for pleasure during the school semester.

I think I did this during the spring semester, but I can't completely remember. At any rate, I'm doing it now.

6. Learn enough calculus to finish my graduation requirements.
Done!

7. Start writing letters on paper again, rather than just emails.
Haven't done as much of this as I'd intended, but I did order some new stationary, so hopefully that will inspire me to get on it. I'd like to write and mail 1-2 letters/week.

8. Divest myself of unnecessary posessions, and don't replace them.
I think I've made progress here, but not as much as I'd like. Have to keep working on it.

9. Commit myself to finding a more challenging job.
Did it and feel very good about it.

10. Volunteer.
I have submitted several volunteer applications, but haven't been able to get anything yet. Need to start working on that again, I guess, but it's very frustrating.

11. Think about writing less; write more.
Another one I've made some progress towards, but need to continue working on.

12. Remember birthdays.
For the first half of the year, I've done very well with this one.

One of the things that has been suggested to me, by both friends and professionals, as a way of combatting getting bogged down in depression and letting my behavior spin out of control, is to make a point to "check in with myself," ideally in writing, at given interludes. The idea is to get down what your goals/obstacles are and be able to check back on them over time, so you have "proof" to show yourself that you are (or aren't) making progress, or doing what you know you need to do, or whatever.

One way we do that, I think, is with the tradition of New Year's resolutions. Obviously, annually is not often enough to check in with oneself, at least not for someone like me. But it's a start. So I'll begin with last year's resolutions. I made 12 of them last year.

I wasn't planning to write up a list of New Year's resolutions this year, but I was just listening to some podcast that was talking about how much more successful people are in meeting their goals if they (1) write those goals down and (2) share those goals with others, so I figured I'd better.

Basically, I want to get in control of heath and finances this year. Those are my broad goals. But the program also said that the more specific your goals are, the better suited you are to obtain them. So, more specifically:

Financial goals:

1. In 2007, I will completely pay down my credit card debt. I will not take on any new credit card debt.
2. In 2007, I will make regular payments to my student loan.
3. In 2007, after my credit cards are paid, I will put the same amount per month into savings as I was putting into paying them.

Health goals:

1. Make a new health-related goal every two weeks and work on that goal, trying to keep up with previous goals as well. (Example: for the first two weeks of the year, I am working on giving up soda.)
2. Walk the dogs. Take them to the park. Enjoy the fact that I live somewhere with really freaking good weather.

So that's it. Those are my goals. Consider them written out and shared.

Here is a list of some of my favorite things in 2006.

Top 5 Books
5. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
4. My Life in France by Julia Child
3. The Class Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls
2. The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Top 5 Movies
5. Wordplay
4. The Science of Sleep
3. V for Vendetta
2. Little Miss Sunshine
1. Kinky Boots

Top 2 TV
2. House, Season 3
1. The Wire, Season 4

Top 5 CDs
5. The Be Good Tanyas, Hello Love
4. The Little Willies, The Little Willies
3. Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
2. The Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way
1. Roseanne Cash, Black Cadillac

What'd I miss?

I had really hoped I'd get more than four days into not shopping before I started a list of stuff I want to buy, but I am who I am, and so the list begins. It will probably get long.

Things I'd buy if I weren't not shopping:

1. Obama merch. My favorites are this sticker, this one, and this one. But I have to admit there is some small part of me that would love to display this one somewhere on my person.

2. Spring shoes. I really, really want spring shoes. Something cute and flat. And some sandals. I'm digging the Earth Echelon and Allure, the Dunham Juniper Mary Jane, and these incredibly cute New Balance yoga shoes (think I could pull those off with skirts?). I also really like these Red Wing Cosmos flats. For sandals, I'm tempted by a number of the Clarks styles, especially the Twill, but what I want more than anything is just some really nice, comfy flip flops, like these by Columbia or these by Simple.

I'd also love to get some boots for next year when they go on sale...

3. The Windowshoppist is giving me all sorts of stuff lust. In particular, I am nutso about the retro print laptop covers by Nanda (particularly the Stella green) and the truly fabulous Broken Plate Pendant Company jewelry. I'd have a hard time choosing just one, but right this moment I am lusting over the Peacock Broken Plate Pendant.

I woke up this morning, for whatever reason, thinking about the songs I've been told I remind people of over the years. I can actually only think of three (should there be more?), but I think it's an interesting list. And it would make a good meme-type question, so readers, comment or add this to your blog? What songs have reminded people of you?

The first time I remember being compared to a song, it was Soul Asylum's "The Sun Maid." (Their album, "Grave Dancers Union" was very popular at the time.) Here are those lyrics:

The Sun Maid
Tell me how you get that shine
You must polish all the time
Though I know your job is thankless
They will thank you up in heaven
Oh the Sun Maid
Looking for the shade
Though they say she's not too bright
She takes care of all the light
Without you it's cold and stark
We would all be in the dark
Without the Sun Maid
She never gets paid
Searching for the shade
Oh the Sun Maid
You are so taken for granted
With each and every seed that's planted
And the earth is so demanding
All the young girls are out tanning
The Sun Maid
She's such an old maid
She never gets laid
Oh the Sun Maid
Now you're tired, your day is over
Now the moon is one day older

Now you tell me what that comparison was about...

A few years later, a slightly less insulting song brought up thoughts of me--U2's "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?" (From Achtung Baby, also very popular when I was in high school.)

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?
You're dangerous 'cause you're honest
You're dangerous, you don't know what you want
Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot
For any spirit to haunt

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna tame the heart of thee?

I have to admit that one remains my favorite. Makes me sound exciting, don't you think? Incidentally, this is the only one that WASN'T suggested by someone I was sleeping with/someone who was trying to get me to sleep with him.

The most recent comparison, which has still been a number of years ago, was to "Swords" by Leftfield (off the album of the same name). Also a bit strange...

Swords
Danger, in every corner.
I have become pure water.
I can identify.
I close my eyes.
I wear my sword at my side (x2).
Cleanse me.
Deep in the fire.
I have become pure water.
I wear my sword at my side (x4).
I have become pure water (x2).
I have become pure water (distorted and echoed)

So those, such as they are, are mine. What are yours?

As I continue to feel vaguely uneasy about my upcoming birthday, I thought it might be therapeutic for me to make a list of things I am surprised/impressed about when it comes to my adult self. I may not be everything I want to be, but I'm a few things I never expected. To whit:

1. I can now tell the difference between a bad cup of coffee and a good one, and, to a lesser extent, between a bad glass of wine and a good one.

2. I am no longer paralyzed with nervousness when I have to drive somewhere I've never been before.

3. I've learned to keep plants (mostly) alive.

4. I no longer have doubts about my employability. I may not always be able to find a job I like, but I can always find a job.

5. I don't apologize for my music taste anymore.

6. I am completely at ease describing myself as a feminist.

7. I've been involved in the rescue of nearly two dozen dogs.

8. I can now appreciate where I'm from while still being honest about how much I hated it when I actually lived there.

9. When I look back at high school, I'm not angry anymore.

10. I have a passport. It may not have any stamps on it yet, but I do have a passport.

I don't know if any of my readers follow non-American football (i.e. soccer), but at my house, it's a big deal. The Premiere League has been up for a couple of weeks now, much to Mark's constant joy and my typical irritation and occassional amusement. And as excited as Mark has been about watching both games and (endless) highlight shows, I've realized something myself: there are some damn fine men in the Prem. In that spirit, I give you the Top Five Hottest Men in the Premiere League:

5. Michael Essien, Chelsea

4. Jonathan Spector, West Ham United

3. Kasper Schmeichel, Manchester City

2. Xabi Alonso, Liverpool

1. Robin Van Persie, Arsenal

I have been asked to provide a list of things I would like for my birthday. And you know, I really don't hate presents. So I'm happy to comply. In no particular order, here is some stuff I wish someone would buy me.

1. Timbuk2 Cargo Tote
I'm partial to the olive and lavender combo.

2. Badass original woodcut print

3. Brilliant wrap dress from Alight (1X)

4. Alternatively, this other brilliant dress from Alight

5. Amazing hand painted pendant by Ruby

6. Sea glass pendant from Twigs & Heather

7. Recycled ad bag

8. Just about anything from the Broken Plate Pendant Company

9. Nikki McClure crow t-shirt (XL)

Big big thanks to my friend The Shoppista for pointing me towards everything on this list.

I was sitting here this morning, sipping my coffee, thinking about what type of play list I'd like to make. So, I decided to go with the obvious and make one about coffee. You can give it a listen here. I know it barely scratches the surface of coffee songs--there are TONS--but it's a good start, I think.

1. "One More Cup of Coffee" by The White Stripes (originally Bob Dylan).
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.

2. "Dog Coffee" by Ani DiFranco. Ani actually has a bunch of songs that mention coffee, so I sort of picked one at random.
Would you like some dog coffee
It's all that we've got
You can have some
You can have not

3. "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega. An obvious choice.
I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee

4. "Heartstopper" by Emiliana Torrini.
Coffee is pouring out my ears
It's the only thing they have in here
And my heart stops beating

5. "Cup of Coffee" by Garbage. This song is so sad. I had forgotten about it...just hearin it again was worth making this list.
You tell me you don't love me over a cup of coffee
And I just have to look away
A million miles between us
Planets crashing into dust
I just let it fade away

6. "Starfish and Coffee" by Prince. My mind must not be free enough, because this is just silly.
If u set your mind free, baby
Maybe you'd understand
Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam

7. "Coffee & Cigarettes" by Michelle Featherstone. (There are other songs with this title as well, including one by Otis Redding.)
I gave up coffee and cigarettes
I hate to say it hasn’t helped me yet
I thought my problems would just dissipate
And all my pain would be in yesterday

8. "Black Coffee" by Black Flag. (Again, there are other songs with this title as well, including a Tricky track and an Ella Fitzgerald song.)
Who are you with, where have you been
Imagination turns thoughts, reason can't change
Staring at the walls, think I know what I see
Anger and coffee, feeling mean

9. "The Opposite of Coffee" by The Lucksmiths.
She often speaks so softly
She sends me to sleep
She’s the opposite of coffee
She’s the last thing I need first thing in the morning

10. "You Were Meant for Me" by Jewel. Couldn't resist.
I called my momma, she was out for a walk
Consoled a cup of coffee but it didn't wanna talk

11. "Black Coffee in Bed" by Squeeze.
The stain on my notebook
Remain all that's left
Of the memory of late nights
And coffee in bed

12. "Smoking Cigarettes and Drinking Coffee Blues" by Lefty Frizzell
Smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee all night long
Wondering how a love so right could suddenly go wrong
I'd take the next bus out of town but I gotta be near you
I got those smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee blues

13. "Taylor the Latte Boy" by Kristen Chenoweth. This is just too damn funny.
Taylor the latte boy,
Bring me java, bring me joy!
Oh Taylor the latte boy,
I love him, I love him, I love him…

14. "Intergalactic" by The Beastie Boys. Not exactly a coffee song, but a line that is reminiscent of how I take my coffee.
When it comes to beats well I'm a fiend
I like my sugar with coffee and cream

15. "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" by The Cranberries.
Come on now
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up
It's time, smell the coffee, the coffee

In honor of my fabulous weekend with my friends, the theme of today's play list is friendship. There are absolutely tons of great songs on this subject, several of which I sadly couldn't find on iMeem (including Ani's "If He Tries Anything" and Deirdre Flint's "King of the Rollerama"), but these are the 15 I chose. Apologies in advance for the cheesiness of some of them.

1. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies. I love, love, love this song. It makes my inner hippy dance.

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

2. "Old Friends" by Everything But the Girl. Pre-electronic EBTG. Weird.

standing here with my arm around you, life's moved on
and all its borderlines are being redrawn
the winter has come the roads are white
everyone's home late tonight
may we stay or will it depend
as old friends
in the end , still old friends

3. "With A Little Help from My Friends" by Tori Amos. Yes, I know this is a Beatles song, but since I generally try to stay away from The Beatles, I included Tori's live cover. This song reminds me of nothing so much as "Life Goes On."

What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.

4. "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor. Oh, come on. Like I was going to leave this one off. Besides, I kind of love James Taylor.

You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend.

5. "He Was a Friend of Mine" by Cat Power. Again, a cover version not an original. I like Willie Nelson's version (from "Brokeback Mountain") as well, but couldn't find it on iMeem.

He was a friend of mine
He was a friend of mine
Every time I think about him now
Lord I just can't keep from cryin'
'Cause he was a friend of mine

6. "So Far Away" by Carole King. I get this stuck in my head all the time. Then I feel sad. I'm using this instead of her more famous Gilmore Girls theme song, because this one speaks to me more directly.

One more song about moving along the highway
Can't say much of anything that's new
If I could only work this life out my way
I'd rather spend it being close to you
But you're so far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore?
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're so far away
Yeah, you're so far away

7. "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. Maybe not supposed to be about friendship, but like the previous entry, I get it in my head and then think about how far I am from my friends, so it's on the list.

How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

8. "I See a Darkness" by Johnny Cash. Again, not the original, but a brilliant version of a truly sad song.

Well, you're my friend
And can you see
Many times we've been out drinking
Many times we've shared our thoughts
Did you ever, ever notice, the kind of thoughts I got
Well you know I have a love, for everyone I know
And you know I have a drive, for life I won't let go
But sometimes this opposition, comes rising up in me
This terrible imposition, comes blacking through my mind

9. "Alcoholic Friends" by The Dresden Dolls. On a less serious (at least for me) note...heh.

should I choose a noble occupation
if I did I’d only show up late and
sick and they would stare at me with hatred
plus my only natural talent’s wasted on my alcoholic friends
my alcoholic friends

10. "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" by Phil Ochs. Sad and bitter truth, and a bit about political compatriots as friends.

Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer,
But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

11. "My Drug Buddy" by The Lemonheads. Another amusing one.

We have to laugh to look at each other.
We have to laugh cause were not alone.

12. "My Only Friend" by The Magnetic Fields. Another sad, and, IMO, fabulous one.

Billie you're a miracle and God knows I need one
Sing me something terrible
that even dawn may come
You and me, we don't believe in happy endings

13. "As Cool As I Am" by Dar Williams. This song may not technically be about friendship, but it gives me a stronger pro-female friends feeling than any other song ever, so I'm including it.

Oh -- I'm not that petty, as cool as I am, I thought you'd know this already,
I will not be afraid of women, I will not be afraid of women.

14. "We're All in This Together" by Old Crowe Medicine Show. This is a new one for me, and I'll be listening to it on repeat now.

Well my friends, I see your face so clearly
Little bit tired, little worn through the years
You sound nervous, you seem alone
I hardly recognize your voice on the telephone

15. "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor. Yeah, I know, I know...but I see the scene dancing in the kitchen in "Running on Empty" every time I hear this, and therefore it gives me fuzzy River Phoenix feelings and I listen to it. So sue me.

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

To listen to my play list, go here. And tell me what I should have included in the comment.

Meg Fowler suggests smoothing the transition from week to weekend by posting a blog list on Friday of things you love. This seems like excellent sense to me, and I share some of the loves Meg posted today, so here's mine:

Things I Love

Scrabulous. Oh god, yes. I'll even play against the too-smart-for-its-own-good robot.
The Farmer's Wife. Watched the first segment last night and can't wait to watch the rest. It's SO good.
Healthy plants. All of my at-home plants are droopy, but the ones in my office are gorgeous. It makes being at work a lot easier.
College football season. Started last week, and I will be sitting down to a healthy dose of it this weekend.
My trip home in one week!
Nutella. A gift from a higher power, especially since the quality of apples is improving.

What do you love?

With today being "Patriot Day" and everything, I thought a list of songs that are, to me, patriotic, would be appropriate. So...

Songs for America

1. "Kathy's Song (America)" by Simon & Garfunkel. My favorite America song ever. Makes me weepy.

2. "'Tis of Thee" by Ani DiFranco. Sad, sad stuff. Ani probably has a wider selection of what I think of as patriotic songs than anybody else. So she's on the list twice.

3. "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie. This one is a gimme.

4. "Bread and Roses" by Judy Collins (well, this version is). Nothing makes me feel patriotic like a labor song.

5. "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen. Probably the most inappropriately used song ever.

6. "Across the Great Divide" by Kate Wolf (again, this version). To me, the US as an idea is intimately connected with the land itself. This song does a good job with that.

7. "Proud Mary" by Ike & Tina Turner. I dunno if it's normal to think of this song as patriotic, but I do.

8. "I Ain't Marching Anymore" by Phil Ochs. Truer now than ever. Gah. He's gotta be turning over in his grave to see the mess we're in these days.

9. "City of New Orleans" by Arlo Guthrie. American=trains. Clearly.

10. "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" by John Prine. Some much needed clear headed levity.

11. "Grand Canyon" by Ani DiFranco. A look at history from a woman who loves her country. I approve.

12. "I'm Afraid of Americans" by David Bowie. It's a perfectly fair sentiment.

13. "Pretty Good Year" by Tori Amos. Again, sad, but rings true.

14. "Omaha" by The Counting Crows. Another band I could have used multiple songs by. This one really makes my heart sing, though.

15. "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution" by Tracy Chapman. To end on a positive note.

As always, you can hear the list here.

Yesterday, as I was whining about not having any place online to store a running list of books I want to read, I decided to try and find something. Everything exists online, so why not a list tool? Well, I didn't have to look very hard before I found Ta-da Lists, which is exactly what I'd been looking for. It's free, simple to use, and allows me to make multiple lists, which can be either public or private. Perfect!

My Books to Read list is here (also down on the sidebar). Check it out and tell me what needs to be added?

Once again, because I'm a big ol Meg Fowler groupie, here's my list of things I'm loving on this Friday.

*apples being in season
*Rogue Chocolate Stout
*a new foster dog coming tomorrow
*Tillamook Sharp Cheddar at Costco
*fitting into my pants
*a queue of exciting books to read
*less back pain, more good drugs to deal with it
*indulging in afternoon coffee
*lists, lists, lists, baby

As I've mentioned, I'm a big, big fan of The Windowshoppist. More than once I have found stuff I really like there, and I've gotten present ideas there as well. So it was the first place I turned when forming my own Christmas list (I know, I know, but my mom asked for one, OK?). I was thinking, though, while making up the list, that I should share it with you, since you all might get ideas from it the same way I do from the great Shoppista. And so, here it is. My apologies to those who already read The Windowshoppist, as some of my Christmas wants definitely came from there!

(The image is of two skirts, one from the front and one from the back. Both are red and white cotton wrap-arounds.)

1. Libby Dibby Skirt. Why yes, I do already have one of these. I want another one. Badly. Right now, I'm partial to the "Hollywood" and "Original" patterns. Would someone on your Christmas list like one too? They're $69.95 plus S&H, which may sound like a lot, but when you consider how well made they are, and that they're reversible, it's a fair price.

(The photo is of a smallish pendant made from a piece of broken plate. The plate is white with a light blue and brown floral design.)

2. Broken Plate Pendant. These are so damn cool, if I hadn't sworn off buying myself jewelry I would have bought on a long time ago. The crafts person makes pendants out of broken vintage dishes! I find it impossible to pick out my favorite, but am partially to the ones in browns and blues, generally. Most of these are around $30, too, so they're affordable for the funky-jewelryphile on your list.

(The photo shows three necklaces, all silver chains with three small sea glass circles suspended from each one. The sea glass pieces are a mix of greens, blues, gray, and white.)

3. Twigs & Heather sea glass pendant. Again with the gorgeous jewelry, this time made from sea glass. My preference is for the long skinny cobblestone necklaces, but really these are all beautiful. Prices start at $40 for a single piece of glass.

(The photo is of a patchwork messenger bag with a monkey decal in the middle of it. It is very multi-colored, like a crazy quilt, and some of the patches are monkey-themed fabric).

4. Textile Fetish patchwork messenger bag. I'm kind of over messenger bags, to tell the truth, but I can't resist these patchwork ones. How cute and funky are they? I particularly love the one shown, with the sock monkey theme. These are reputably well-made and run about $50 each.

(The photo shows a light yellow t-shirt with green cap sleeves. On the front of the shirt is a drawing of a girl looking over her glasses and the words "Reading is Sexy.")

5. Reading is Sexy t-shirt. I've wanted a "Reading is Sexy" t-shirt for ages, but I particularly like this yellow and green cap-sleeved version. I also like that it comes in an XL that would likely actually fit me. It's $14.95.

(The photo is of a multi-layered three-dimensional paper sculpture of an old van with trees and plants around it. It is mostly gray, black, and brown.)

6. San Fran paper sculpture. SanFran's paper sculptures are pretty much my favorite thing on this list. I hope someone bought me one before the ones that were up before were gone, as there is only one left now! The website says more are coming soon, though. They are $55 and I think they're absolutely wonderful art for that price. You can see more examples of work by the artist, Helen Musselwhite, here.

(The photo is of a stainless steel counter composter. It is cylindrical and has a lid with holes in it and a charcoal filtering system.)

7. Counter compost bin. We started composting about a year ago, and while the big Tupperware container we're using to collect scraps inside is perfectly functional, it's not very attractive. I'd prefer a nice stainless steel counter composter like this one, made by RSVP International. I'm not, mind you, suggesting anybody buy it from Amazon, but the price for it there is $37.98.

(The photo is of a bright red Kitchenaid tea kettle.)

8. Kitchenaid tea kettle, red. I have a weak spot that could only be characterized as pathetic for bright red KitchenAid appliances. I have the standing mixer and food processor, as well as some smaller things (spatulas, measuring cups, etc.) and I only want to collect more. However, we also do honestly need a bigger and less worn tea kettle. So, meeting our needs for both function and aesthetics, the red KitchenAid kettle. It's $39.99 at Amazon, but I'm sure could be found for a similar price elsewhere.

(Photo is of a bright red coffee grinder.)

9. Red Kitchenaid coffee grinder. See everything I said above, only replace "tea kettle" with "coffee grinder." $29.99 at Amazon.

(Photo shows a bright red coffee maker.)

10. Red Kitchenaid coffee maker. Once again, see above, replacing "coffee grinder" with "coffee maker." And please note that we currently only have a four-cup coffee pot, and y'all, we drink more coffee than that. This model is spendy. It's out of stock on Amazon, but costs $99.98 at coffeemakers.com. I have no idea how much it would be locally.

And thus ends the KitchenAid portion of our list.

11. Small, durable digital camera. I have no specifics here, just a desperate desire for a camera that suck less than the one we have. The one we have is difficult to use and takes bad pictures. I'd like the opposite.

(The picture shows a rectangular pendant made of red stained glass, with a simple silver outline and design on it.)

12. LingGlass necklace. Again with the fabulous jewelry! These necklaces are made from stained glass and sautered metal, and I think they are amazing. Once again, it's hard to choose just one. I definitely like the simpler, one-color pendants the best, and like the long rectangular ones (like the one shown) and circles ones better than the squares. From there, though...I dunno. These run anywhere from $15-$30, depending on which one you choose, and they don't come with chains, so buy those separately.

13. Small gold hoop earrings. Again, no particulars, I just want something small, gold, and self-fastening.

(The photo shows four large square bags, one each in orange, silver, blue, and green, with logos on the front of them indicating if they for paper, glass, etc.)

14. Design within Reach recycling bags. This set of four heavy-duty tarp bags, pre-coded to separate recycling, makes me all kinds of happy. First, they are organizational tools, which I love on principle. Secondly, they are brightly colored, which I also love. Third, they look like they'd hold up and be easily storable when not full, which is great. As a bonus, they'd be a lot easier to clean out than the current plastic buckets we use to collect recyclables. They're also affordable--$22 for the set with free shipping.

15. Lavender & Honey body products. As is known far and wide, I'm a junkie for bath and products. Not makeup or that crap, but things to make my skin feel nice. Currently, I am really digging lavender and honey scents, and one line I'd like to try is Deep Steep.

So there you have it, some stuff I want for Christmas. What do you want? Anything I should know about for the people left on my list? Bring it on!

Maybe it's not exactly original, but I haven't done this yet today, and I think it's important. Today and every day.

Things for which I am thankful:

1. Mark. I don't talk about him or our relationship much here, but he is wonderful and things are good. I am truly thankful for him.

2. My pets. This I do talk about often, but I can't stress it enough--my dogs and cats bring more joy to my life than I ever would have imagined. I am a better person because of them, and also a happier one.

3. My creature comforts. This is maybe not something I should stress, but God is it ever good to have a hot bath, a soft bed, good coffee in the morning...my life is so, so lush, and I really am thankful.

4. The children in my life. I spent a good deal of time with two of my "small friends" (TM Frog) today, and I truly just love being around them. While I am still unsure about whether or not I want to parent myself, I know for sure that I always want children in my life, and I am very lucky to have the ones I do.

5. Blogging. Meta, maybe. Even stupid. But blogging has added a ton to my life. Not only have I met some wonderful people through it, but I've really gotten back into writing daily or near-daily, which is an absolute gift.

There's more--a lot more--but that's good enough for now. It's been a great day, but a very long one, and now it's time to veg.

OK, so a list of Cyber Monday sales. I know there are people doing this all over the Internet, but I thought I'd get my $.02 in anyway.

• Jockey: 25% off with coupon code 25TURKEY. Expires 11/28/07.


• Coldwater Creek: $30 off orders of $100 or more with coupon code GIFT30. Also 25% off all jackets, ends Monday night.


• Gaiam: 15% off with coupon code AP2A. Sale ends 11/26/07.


• Lush: Several small sales. Use coupon code GREENGOODIE01 to get a free "green" item with your order of $65 or more including a wrapped gift; STUFFIT01 for a buy four get one free sale on bath bombs; STUFFIT02 for the same sale on bubble bars, and free shipping for all orders over $99, no code required.


• Shoes.com: Code CYBERMONDAY for 20% off your entire order.


• Overstock: Free shipping on everything, plus get $20 cash back when you spend $100 or more using Paypal.


• Target: Spend $50 and get $5 off and free shipping, expires 12/1/07.


• Fabulous Footwear: Buy one, get one 1/2 off, plus free shipping, plus 10% off your entire order with coupon code CYBER2007. Today only.


• Potato Face: Spend $25 and get any pair of earrings for free--today only.


• Claudia's Creations: 20% off entire purchase, today only--put "20off" in notes and wait for revised invoice before paying.


• A Punkin Card Company: 20% off everything, today only. No promo code needed, just wait for a revised invoice.


• Sweet Spice: Entire shop 50% off until 5pm EST! Put "CMS" in note to seller and wait for revised invoice.


• Sierra Trading Post: At least 50% off everything on the site, plus free shipping for orders over $75. Ends 11/27.

I like lists.

While I'm sure I could learn to love any type of dog...

Dog breeds for which I have a particular affinity

• Airedale Terrier


• Akita


• American Staffordshire Terrier


• Anatolian Shepherd Dog


• Basset Hound


• Beagle
• Bernese Mountain Dog


• Bouvier des Flandres


• Bulldog


• Bullmastiff


• Clumber Spaniel


• French Bulldog


• Giant Schnauzer


• Great Dane


• Great Pyrenees


• Greater Swiss Mountain Dog


• Greyhound


• Harrier


• Irish Wolfhound


• Komondor


• Mastiff


• Miniature Schnauzer


• Newfoundland


• Old English Sheepdog


• Otterhound


• Petit Bassot Griffon Vendeen


• Rottweiler


• Saint Bernard


• Standard Schnauzer


• Yorkshire Terrier

Seems like as good a time as any to show you that I haven't just been writing this month, I've been reading as well. Here are a few of my favorite NaBloPo posts:

Chookooloonks is forever one of my favorite blogs, both for Karen's amazing pictures and her brief and thought-inducing writing. On November 20, she did a particularly good job with both the picture and the provoking of thoughts. I've been thinking about it since.

Dooce has added a new section to her blog, focusing on style in every day objects. I love it. My favorite entry so far is the magnets she featured on November 20 (apparently that was just a good blogging day).

My friend The Princess has been posting lists all month at Flooded Lizard Kingdom. My favorite is a toss-up between her November 24 "10 Things You Can and Should Buy At Thrift Stores Instead of Regular Stores This Holiday Season" and her November 22 "Three Reasons Each That I Am Thankful for Five People In My Life."

On November 26, Eden at Fussy, the mastermind behind NaBloPoMo, wrote a great post about her need for books in her life and living space. Totally something I could have written myself.

Lilysea at Peter's Cross Station can do no wrong in my mind. Still, sometimes she outdoes herself, as in her November 26 post about toxic toys and how just maybe this time it will be enough to change shopping habits to the good.

The Redneck Mommy from Attack of the Redneck Mommy isn't actually participating in NaBloPoMo, but she wrote one of the most moving blog posts I've ever read this month, and I would be remiss not to mention it here.

Finally, I have to shout out to Red Stapler's Suebob, who took an amazing photo in the airport and posted it on November 13. We so have the same sense of humor.

In the spirit of New Year's goals/resolutions, I'm making a 43 Things list. It's here, if you are interested. I only have 14 things so far, but I imagine I will be adding to it.

And, on Jenny's recommendation, I'm going to use All Consuming to track my movie watching this year. So far, I've seen two flicks, and am about to head out to another one. Watching more movies is a goal for this year!

Over at Chookooloonks, Karen has asked a really good and important question:

What are you really good at?

The context of this question was a bit more specific--what gifts do you have that help make the world a better place?

Since I have temporarily misplaced my Maggie Mason book, and since bragging on myself is such a good way tot start the new year, I thought I'd make myself a list of answers to that question here, rather than clogging up Karen's comments.

Things I Am Really Good At

• Working with animals, particularly dogs.


• Giving gifts.


• Baking.


• Writing something readable quickly.


• Thrift shopping.

What about you? What are you really good at? What else am I really good at? We should all build these lists and look at them often, I think. Not only to make ourselves feel better, but also to remind ourselves what we we have to share with the world.

So I'm loving me some podcasts recently. I listen to them in the background for much of my work day. And, of course, I need more of them.

Right now, these are the ones I listen to regularly:

By Women, For Women (Seal Press): new episodes every 1-2 weeks, interviews with Seal Press authors
Croncast: Generally published three times a week, everyday ramblings of a married couple in Naperville, IL. Chris is a currently-unemployed tech-person, Betsy is a SAHM/professional thriferer/Ebayer, and they are both pretty damn funny.
F-Word Podcast: only two episodes so far, doesn't seem to be on a regular schedule. Feminist podcast from the U.K.
How Much Do We Love...: Weekly(?) podcast by two twentyorthirtysomethings, focused on the stuff that they are loving in a given week. TV, food, clothes, people, whatever. I haven't been listening long, but am enjoying it so far.
NPR: Movies: self-explanatory
On Point with Tom Ashbrook: daily NPR news program, focusing a lot on elections recently
On the Media: weekly NPR news program
Russell Brand: unbelievably funny BBC comedy program, featuring the new love of my life Russell Brand (thanks Susan!). I think it's weekly.
This American Life: old standby

Given that, do you have any to suggest? Any to suggest I avoid?

Once again, Karen at Chookooloonks has prompted me to blog on a day when I was really at a loss as to what to write about. She posted a "life is too short" list today, and I'm going to do the same:

Life is too short

...to drink bad coffee.
...to wear uncomfortable shoes.
...to try to hold in laughter.
...to pray to someone else's god.
...to worry about what you can't change.
...to stay with things just because you started them.
...to wear pantyhose.
...to settle for a substitute.
...to stay because it's easier.
...to try to be someone else.
...to not read voraciously.
...to spend too much time planning.

I am inspired, today, to share.

• One my career role models, Betsy Smith, has a new podcast focused on her job--thrifting and reselling. It's called Resale Queen, and the first episode just went up this weekend. Check it out.


• Shutter Sisters is a new blog featuring the photography of some fantastic female blogger/photographers, including the supremely talented Karen (from Chookooloonks) and designer of my favorite ever necklace Andrea (Superhero Journal). Definitely worth a look.


• The Wire. God help you if you haven't already been watching it, as this is the fifth and last season, and yeah, it's the best thing I've seen on TV. Watch it.


• Mir at shopping blog Want Not tears it up on a daily basis with finding good deals. She recently found $6 organic PJs at Garnet Hill and king sized flannel sheets on Amazon for less than $10. I read her every day and you should too.


• Several years ago, I read Charlie Wilson's War for a class. I very much enjoyed the combo of informative and entertaining (especially since most of what I was reading at the time was just informative). Yesterday, Mark and I saw the movie. It was more entertaining, but still fairly close to the book and definitely worth watching.

So the Oscar nominations were announced the other day. Even more than usual, I've only seen a few of the films. But that doesn't keep me from having an opinion. So here are Oscars according to Grace:

Best Lead Actor:
Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Supporting Actor:
Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War

Best Lead Actress:
Ellen Page in Juno

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There

Art Direction:
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Cinematography:
Atonement

Costume Design:
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Directing:
There Will Be Blood

Best Picture:
There Will Be Blood

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
No Country for Old Men

Writing (Original Screenplay):
Juno

I haven't done this in a while, but got the urge today. Go here to listen to my special Monday morning play list. Note that these are mostly songs that appeal to me as an office drone, not labor songs.

1. "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton
Doesn't get any better than this, ever.
"Its a rich mans game/No matter what they call it/And you spend your life/Putting money in his wallet."

2. "Manic Monday" by The Bangles
C'mon, like I wasn't going to lead with this one?
"But I can't be late/'Cause then I guess I just won't get paid/These are the days/When you wish your bed was already made "

3. "I Don't Like Mondays" by Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats
Not strictly about work, but hard to resist. At least I'm not using the Bon Jovi cover. Don't think I didn't consider it.
"Tell me why/I don’t like Mondays/I wanna shoot the whole day down."

4. "Take This Job and Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck, as covered by The Dead Kennedys
I love The Dead Kennedys covering this. Opens up a whole new world of funny for me.
"You better not try to stand in my way/As im a walking out the door./Take this job and shove it/I ain't working here no more."

5. "Come Next Monday" by K.T. Oslin
Again, not strictly about working, but I love this song and have since my mom had the 80s Ladies CD. Can't help it.
"Come next Monday/I'm going to bed early/I won't talk dirty for a week or maybe two/I'm going on a diet/Just like sugar, honey/Come next Monday/I'm gonna give up on you."\

6. "Welcome to the Working Week" by Elvis Costello
A classic.
"Welcome to the workin' week./Oh I know it don't thrill you, I hope it don't kill you./Welcome to the workin' week./You gotta do it till you're through it so you better get to it."

7. "Work is a Four-Letter Word" by The Smiths
I'll go on record not being a Smiths fan. Still, though...and ode to a lazy woman? How can I not dig that?
"I don't need/A house that's a showplace/I just feel/That we're going no place/While you say that/Work Is A Four-Letter Word."

8. "Rainy Days and Mondays" by The Carpenters
Could someone who actually LIKES folk music really leave this one off? Plus, it's actually a song about depression, which I'm all for (all for songs, that is, not so much all for depression).
"Talkin' to myself and feelin' old/Sometimes I'd like to quit/Nothing ever seems to fit/Hangin' around/Nothing to do but frown/Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down."

9. "Blue Monday" by New Order
Again, a shoo-in, even if it's not so much about work. Plus I need something to cheer me up after The Carpenters.
"Those who came before me/Lived through their vocations/From the past until completion/They will turn away no more."

10. "Except for Mondays" by Lorrie Morgan
I hadn't heard this for years before I made this list, and yet I still get it in my head regularly. I don't know what that means about it, exactly, but I had to include it.
"Except for Monday which was never good anyway/Tuesday I get a little sideways/Wednesday I feel better just for spite/Thursday and Friday take too long/Before I knew it,Saturday's gone/But it's Sunday now you can bet that I'm alright."

11. "Hey Julie" by Fountains of Wayne
Probably the best modern day "labor" song I can think of.
"Why must I spend my time/Filling up my mind/With facts and figures that never add up anyway?/They never add up anyway."

12. "Workin' for the Weekend" by Loverboy
Again, need some levity on this list.
"Everybody's workin' for the weekend/Everybody wants a new romance/Everybody's goin' off the deep end/Everybody needs a second chance."

13. "16 Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford
I know I said no labor songs, but I couldn't resist. Besides, the parallels to our modern debt-based system keep it relevant.
"You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?/Another older and deeper in debt/Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go/I owe my soul to the company store."

14. "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" by Jimmy Buffet and Alan Jackson
Well, maybe it's just me, but Monday makes me want a drink...
"Gettin' paid by the hour and older by the minute/My boss just pushed me over the limit/I'd like to call him somethin'/But think I'll just call it a day."

15. "The Job That Ate My Brain" by The Ramones
Amen.
"Five o'clock rolls around/I feel so glad I kiss the ground/Ain't enough hours in the day/There's go to be a better way."

Happy Monday, y'all.

Editing to try to embed it...

In honor of Super Tuesday, and by suggestion of my friend Frog, today's play list is Super Songs:

1. "Superhero" by Ani DiFranco
"I used to be a superhero/no one could hurt me/not even myself/You are like a phone booth/that I somehow stumbled into/And now look at me/I am just like everybody else."

2. "That's Really Super, Supergirl" by XTC
"Hurt like kryptonite/Put me on my knees/Now that I've found out just what you're doing.With your secret identities."

3. "Superman's Song" by The Crash Test Dummies
"Superman never made any money/For saving the world from Solomon Grundy/And sometimes I despair the world will never see/Another man like him."

4. "Superstar" by Tegan and Sara
"Hardcore superstar by far/You're the ultimate star/Hardcore superstar by far/You're the ultimate star/Do you wanna be a superstar?"

5. "Super Duper Love" by Joss Stone
"Your love is super/Are you diggin on me coz im diggin on you/I'm just trying to tell you/Oh this love is super duper."

6. "Super Hyperspastic" by Sugarcult
"I'm super hyper spastic, yeah.I lost my sex drive and I'm holdin' out on you."

7. "Superfreak" by Rick James
"That girl is pretty wild now/The girl's a super freak/The kind of girl you read about/In new-wave magazine."

8. "Superman (It's Not Easy)" by Five for Fighting
"It may sound absurd/but don't be naive/Even heroes have the right to bleed/I may be disturbed/but won't you concede/Even heroes have the right to dream/It's not easy to be me."

9. "Super Trouper" by ABBA
"Super trouper beams are gonna blind me/But I wont feel blue/Like I always do/cause somewhere in the crowd theres you."

10. "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" by David Bowie
"Scary monsters, super creeps/Keep me running, running scared."

11. "Super Disco Breakin'" by The Beastie Boys
"Money Makin Money Money Makin Manhattan Super Disco Disco Breakin'"

12. "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" by The Kinks
"I need you, but I hate to see you this way/If I were Superman then we'd fly away/I'd really like to change the world/And save it from the mess it's in/I'm too weak, I'm so thin/I'd like to fly but I can't even swim."

Today's play list is inspired by Ash Wednesday, and by the first song on the list, which is, to my mind, hysterical. All the songs contain ash references/imagery.

1. "Mary Catherine's Ash Wednesday Journal Entry" by Christine Kane
"Easter's just around the bend/Once again it is Lent/And my face is smeared with ashes/And either I will run away/Or I'll stay and sit through/Another hundred million masses."

2. "Ashes to Ashes" by David Bowie
"Ashes to ashes, funk to funky/We know Major Tom's a junkie/Strung out in heavens high/Hitting an all-time low."

3. "Ashes by Now" by Leanne Womack
"Baby, I can't go through this again/I don't need to go down more than I've already been/Just like a wildfire, you're runnin' all over town/As much as you've burned me baby, I should be ashes by now."

4. "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning" by Gram Parsons
"We know it's wrong to let this fire burn between us/We've got to stop this wild desire in you and in me/So we'll let the flame burn once again until the thrill is gone/Then we'll sweep out the ashes in the morning."

5. "Northern Star" by Hole
"They run to the pines/It's black in here, blot out the sun/And run to the pines/Our misery runs wild and free/And I knew, the fire and the ashes of his grave."

6. "Ashes" by Rufus Wainwright
"But now there's ashes, from exquisite eyelashes/So far away, past the border, past the turnstyle/And even I know, and I do believe, and I do believe that there was a morning/I saw your true love burning next to me."

7. "Smoke and Ashes" by Tracy Chapman
"I've got a red hot heart/And your heart's as blue as the blood in your veins/I say there's fire down below/You say it's only smoke and ashes baby."

8. "All Apologies" by Nirvana
"Find my nest of salt/Everything is my fault/I'll take all the blame/Aqua seafoam shame/Sunburn with freezerburn/Choking on the ashes of her enemy."

9. "Ashes to Ashes" by Steve Earle
"And someday even man's best laid plans/Will lie twisted and covered in rust/When we've done all that we can but it slipped through our hands/And it's ashes to ashes and dust to dust."

10. "Ashes" by KT Tunstall
"Everyday, like a power station/You know it isn't good/I know you're burning too much wood/Oh, and you burn out/The twisted irony is/Your ashes come home to me."

11. "So Tonight That I Might See" by Mazzy Star
"Come up crash with the muses fells dust into ash."

12. "Ballad in Plain D" by Bob Dylan
"All is gone, all is gone, admit it, take flight./I gagged twice, doubled, tears blinding my sight./My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night/Leaving all of love's ashes behind me."

13. "Mexican Wine" by Fountains of Wayne
"He was killed by a cellular phone explosion/They scattered his ashes across the ocean/The water was used to make baby lotion/The wheels of promotion were set into motion."

14. "Self Evident" by Ani DiFranco
"Even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution/is still hanging in the air/and there's ash on our shoes/and there's ash in our hair."

What did I miss?

With some help from some of my online friends, I've been putting together a list of resources for buying clothes that are organic and/or fair trade. Thought now might be a good time to share them.

American Apparel: Probably the best known U.S. "sweatshop free" clothing manufacturer. They also have a pretty good sized line of organic cotton clothing. Unfortunately, they are also a horrifically sexist organization (as well as being union-busting?) and not one I am much into supporting.

Bamboosa: Made in America bamboo clothing and baby products. Selection is not huge, and it's really basic, but the stuff isn't terribly expensive. I like the super lightweight long-sleeved v-necks. They are available in a variety of colors, xs-xl, for $26 (regular price).

I'm going to have something more serious to say about this later, but in the meantime, here is my response, through music, to the claim that I hate men. Why on Earth wouldn't I?

1. "Letter to a John" by Ani DiFranco
"Women learn to be women/and men learn to be men/and I don't blame it all on you/but I don't want to be your friend."

2. "Goodbye Earl" by The Dixie Chicks
"Well it wasn't two weeks/after she got married that/Wanda started gettin' abused/She put on dark glasses and long sleeved blouses/And make-up to cover a bruise/Well she finally got the nerve to file for divorce/She let the law take it from there/But Earl walked right through that restraining order/And put her in intensive care."

3. "Polly" by Nirvana
"Polly wants a cracker/I think I should get off her first/I think she wants some water/To put out the blow torch."

4. "Ballad of Yvonne Johnson" by Eliza Gilkyson
"I didn’t have a language for the pain I suffered through/escaping into marriage, but your past just catches up with you/until I had three children and a ragged family/a desperate urge to keep them from the wolves that got to me, boys/wolves that got to me."

5. "Cell Block Tango (He Had it Coming)" from Chicago!
"He had it coming/He had it coming/He took a flower/In its prime/And then he used it/And he abused it/It was a murder/But not a crime!"

6. "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman
"You got a fast car/And I got a job that pays all our bills/You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids/I'd always hoped for better/Thought maybe together you and me would find it/I got no plans I ain't going nowhere/So take your fast car and keep on driving."

7. "The Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks
"She's waitin' by the window/When he pulls into the drive/She rushes out to hold him/Thankful he's alive/Through all the wind and rain/A strange new perfume blows/And the lightnin' flashes in her eyes/And he knows that she knows/And the thunder rolls."

8. "Janie's Got a Gun" by Aerosmith
"They said when Janie was arrested/they found him underneath a train/But man, he had it comin' Now that Janie's got a gun/she ain't never gonna be the same."

9. "Luka" by Suzanne Vega
"They only hit until you cry/And after that you don't ask why/You just don't argue anymore."

10. "Behind the Wall" by Tracy Chapman
"And when they arrive/They say they can't interfere/With domestic affairs/Between a man and his wife/And as they walk out the door/The tears well up in her eyes."

11. "Caleb Meyer" by Gillian Welsh
"Caleb Meyer, your ghost is gonna/wear them rattlin' chains./but when I go to sleep at night,/Don't you call my name."

12. "Me and a Gun" by Tori Amos
"Me and a gun/and a man/On my back/But I haven't seen Barbados/So I must get out of this."

13. "Only Women Bleed" by Lita Ford (originally Alice Cooper)
"He lies right at you/You know you hate this game/He slaps you once in a while and you live and love in pain."

14. "Ladykillers" by Lush
"So he talks for hours about his sensitive soul/And his favorite subject is sex/I don't think he even wanted it/But, Christ this guy's too much."

15. "I Hate Men" from Kiss Me Kate
"But I hate men./Of all the types I've ever met within our democracy,/I hate most the athlete with his manner bold and brassy/He may have hair upon his chest but, sister, so has Lassie."

In honor of my kittens birthday today, I give you cat songs.

1. "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" from The Aristocats

2. "Cats in the Cradle" by Cat Stevens

3. "What's New Pussycat?" by Tom Jones

4. "Mean-Eyed Cat" by Johnny Cash

5. "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent

6. "The Siamese Song" from Lady & the Tramp (as performed by Hilary and Haley Duff)

7. "Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats

8. "Cat in the Window (Bird in the Sky)" by Petula Clark

9. "Leave My Kitten Alone" by The Detroit Cobras

10. "Cool Cat" by Queen

11. "An Cat Dubh" by U2

12. "Cats Without Claws" by Donna Summers

13. "All Cats Are Gray" by The Cure

14. "My Cat's Name is Maceo" by Jane's Addiction

15. "The Love Cats" by Tricky

(This is the final installment in the blog carnival hosted by the OTHER mother.)

C'mon, something blue? Of course I'm going to do a play list. It's just too easy. Especially if you happen to actually LIKE classic country.

1. "Blue" by Leanna Rimes
Remember when this came out? She was like 12 and sounded like Patsy Cline? It was amazing.

2. "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley
This one is a gimme.

3. "Looking for Blue Eyes" by Jessi Colter
I love this song. I used to listen to it on the Outlaws album. Heh. I thought Jessi Colter must be SO cool, since she was the only girl in that bunch.

4. "Blue Hotel" by Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak has a lot of "blue" songs. Goes with the depressing wish-I-was-Morrissey persona, I guess.

5. "Pale Blue Eyes" by The Velvet Underground
This song gives me the creeps. The way Lou Reed says "make me mad" chills me.

6. "Blue Bayou" by Roy Orbison
Another gimme. This song always reminds me of the movie "Steel Magnolias," even though it wasn't actually this song in that movie.

7. "Tangled Up in Blue" by The Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco
This is, of course, a Bob Dylan song, but like Chris Isaak, Bob Dylan has a lot of "blue" songs, so I decided to use a cover of this one. Always best to use a Dylan cover when you can anyway, I think. Plus I LOVE The Indigo Girls on this song. Can't you just see Amy Ray working for a while on a fishing boat just outside of Delacroix?

8. "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain" by Hank Williams, Sr.
Do you like this version better, or Willie Nelson's?

9. "Blue Skies" by Frank Sinatra
Heehee.

10. "Blue Highway" by Billy Idol
Mostly I just like the Frank Sinatra to Billy Idol transition.

11. "Blue Moon of Kentucky" by Patsy Cline
God I love Patsy Cline. This is not her best work, granted, but wow, I forget how amazing she is.

12. "Almost Blue" By Elvis Costello
An awful lot of my play lists seem to include Elvis Costello.

13. "Devil with a Blue Dress On" by Paul Revere and the Raiders
Remind me sometime to tell you about going to see Paul Revere and the Raiders at the county fair when I was a kid. It's actually one of my first really really clear memories.

14. "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen is another artist for whom I'll usually pick a cover, but I really don't like the available covers of this song.

15. "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle
Oddly, this is the first song I thought of for this list. Does Crystal Gayle still have super-long hair?

16. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by Bob Dylan
This would be the other Dylan song. Don't love it, frankly.

17. "The Grass Is Blue" by Dolly Parton
If you don't have this album, you should get it. Period.

18. "Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2
Apparently this list just wasn't depressingly pretentious enough.

19. "True Blue" by Madonna
OK, there goes the depressing pretention.

20. "Blue" by Joni Mitchell
Nice to bookend both ends with a song that's just "Blue," don't you think?

Clearly there could be 100 more songs on this list. What would you include?

I do so love a project...

As I was watching the 80th Annual Academy Awards last night, I realized that there are a whole bunch of "Best Picture" films I haven't seen. Hard to call myself a film buff when that is the case! So, I decided to embark upon a new project (because really, what do I love more than a project?). I'll watch all the Best Pictures that I haven't seen, all the way back to 1929.

This list is off all the winners, with the ones I have already seen bolded:

1927/28: Wings
1928/29: The Broadway Melody
1929/30: All Quiet on the Western Front
1930/3: Cimarron
1931/32: Grand Hotel
1932/33: Cavalcade
1934: It Happened One Night
1935: Mutiny on the Bounty
1936: The Great Ziegfeld
1937: The Life of Emile Zola
1938: You Can't Take It with You
1939: Gone with the Wind
1940: Rebecca
1941: How Green Was My Valley
1942: Mrs. Miniver
1943: Casablanca
1944: Going My Way
1945: The Lost Weekend
1946: The Best Years of Our Lives
1947: Gentleman's Agreement
1948: Hamlet
1949: All the King's Men
1950: All about Eve
1951: An American in Paris
1952: The Greatest Show on Earth
1953: From Here to Eternity
1954: On the Waterfront
1955: Marty
1956: Around the World in 80 Days
1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958: Gigi
1959: Ben-Hur
1960: The Apartment
1961: West Side Story
1962: Lawrence of Arabia
1963: Tom Jones
1964: My Fair Lady
1965: The Sound of Music
1966: A Man for All Seasons
1967: In the Heat of the Night
1968: Oliver!
1969: Midnight Cowboy
1970: Patton
1971: The French Connection
1972: The Godfather
1973: The Sting
1974: The Godfather Part II
1975: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976: Rocky
1977: Annie Hall
1978: The Deer Hunter
1979: Kramer vs. Kramer
1980: Ordinary People
1981: Chariots of Fire
1982: Gandhi
1983: Terms of Endearment
1984: Amadeus
1985: Out of Africa
1986 : Platoon
1987: The Last Emperor
1988: Rain Man
1989: Driving Miss Daisy
1990: Dances With Wolves
1991: The Silence of the Lambs
1992: Unforgiven
1993: Schindler's List
1994: Forrest Gump
1995: Braveheart
1996: The English Patient
1997: Titanic
1998: Shakespeare in Love
1999: American Beauty
2000: Gladiator
2001: A Beautiful Mind
2002: Chicago
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: Crash
2006: The Departed
2007: No Country for Old Men

The question, then, is whether to start at the beginning, with Wings, or whether to start at the most recent end and work backwards. The benefit of the latter is that it will give me time to acclimate to watching older films. The benefit of the former is that it will take me much longer to get to Titanic that way. What do you think?

For reasons I will disclose in a later post (possibly even later today), I have been poking around Etsy a lot recently. And, of course, I've come up with no fewer than a zillion things I want. But I'm not gonna buy them. For real. I'm not. Instead, I'm going to share them with you.

A fantastically named store, GracieDesigns, has lots of super-cool fabric products I am coveting, but none more than the cup cuddlers. The one shown here, in "At the Spa" pattern, is my favorite, but there are lots to choose from. At $6 each plus $2.50 U.S. shipping, it's not too spendy, either. Cute Easter basket addition for a coffee lover?

caughtredhanded sells fabulous resin pendants and other lovelies. I can't pick just one as a favorite, but the pink teardrop shaped one shown here surely is lovely. It even comes in its own little tin (but with no neck cord, so be forewarned) for $12 plus $3 shipping.

elfrida makes gorgeous patterned gift tags. As well as the spring green shown here, they are also available in yellow, pink, red, powder blue, khaki, and brown. For $3.50 plus $1.25 shipping, you get 18 tags. Each is a 2" card stock circle with a small hole already punched in it. I'd love to put these on packages.

I really want a print from studio mela. The one pictured here is called "I Love Your Egg Beaters," and it would be so great in my kitchen. She's also got "I Love Your Forks," "I Love Your Spoons," and "I Love Your Spatulas," as well as many non-utensil themed ones. The egg beater print is 8"X10", signed and numbered, for $20 plus $5 shipping.

Some day, a child in my life will get a gift from dressme. Each piece is totally original, made of recycled clothing. Now there is a premise I can get behind! The shirt here, made from recycled t-shirts, is size 6-12 months. It is spendy, at $21.50 plus $3.50 shipping and handling, but for one of a kind wearable art, I think it would be worth it.

BirdNerd makes collages and linocut prints on bird themes. She is extremely talented, and offers several sizes of prints, as well as postcards and note card sets. The set of five note cards shown here, which are prints of BirdNerd's collages featured birds on cherry bossom branches, are $15 plus $2.50 shipping.

electricboogaloo has more potential small friend gifts, including the fantastic nerdy ABC flash cards shown here (A is for Atom through Z is for Zoological Oddity!). The full set of brightly colored 5"X7" printed cards is $18 plus $5 shipping. I'm so there.

Reach for the Sky Designs is another fantastic Etsy jewelry maker, with the interesting twist of using Scrabble tiles as the basis for her pendants. I like several of them a lot, but this one, made from a $.04 stamp with a ship on it, is my favorite. It comes on a 18" silver plated chain for $11.50 plus $2.50 shipping.

Ahpeele makes limited edition screenprinted t-shirts, and they are so damn cool. I'd wear just about all of them, but the pine bonsai one shown here is my favorite. The shirt is a longfit v-neck, available in sizes xl-xxl, for $28 plus $5 S&H.

Finally, one more necklace. I've been eyeing the lovely pendants at Ling Glass for months, particularly the stained glass ones, like the the spiral one shown here. The price, $17.50 plus $3.50 shipping, is for the pendant onlly, but the store also sells cords and chains for between $2.50-$4.

There. I feel better now.

So there's good news.

1. Eden has taken NaBloPoMo monthly.
2. There are themes.
3. March's theme is lists.

So the idea, then, is to post a list every day for the entire month of March.

I could not possibly be more in.

Okay, it's March 1, and that means it's time for my first list, as per this month's NaBloPoMo theme. Since I spent the better part of the day today hitting a string of thrift stores with my good friend The Princess, seems natural that my list should tell you where we went and what I thrifted!

1. Goodwill South Lamar was our first stop. This isn't a store I frequent often, since it's way out of my neighborhood, but it's a nice store and usually has something to offer. Today wasn't any different--our first stop was the most worthwhile, at least for me. My best find was the two tin recipe boxes you see here, for $.99 each. No idea what I am going to do with them, but aren't they great? I also came home with a brand new Bodum French press for $1.99 (and we don't really need another one right now, but given my propensity to break them, it doesn't hurt to have a spare), a shirt for Mark for I think $4.99, two of these great calendars for $.99 each (and again I am not totally sure what I am going to do with them), and a princess book for a project I'll tell you about later for $2.99.

2. Our second stop was Savers South Lamar. I am not a huge Savers fan, but it was very much worth my time to stop there today. I found the cat condo you see here being enjoyed by Atticus and Illy, which is brand new, for $25. I thought maybe I'd overpaid until I looked for something similar online and found prices around $90 for something not so cute. At the cats love it so far. I also got a couple more princess books and an Easter Seals calendar (I needed flower pictures for a project I'm working on), for $.99 each.

3. Stop #3 was at Thrift Town. I've reviewed this store before. Nothing there for me today, though I considered buying a big bag of cat toys for $4.99.

4. Next, we hit another Goodwill, the Cherry Creek one. I've reviewed this store before as well. Today it was better than last time, though still lacking in the organizational department. I picked up a bunch of princess valentine's for $.49/box (again, I will explain why at some point in the future), some chi-chi bath sets from Target for $2.99 each, and the world's cutest salt and pepper shakers, new in the package, for $.99.

Then The Princess had to go home and tend to her wee one. Boo hoo!

5. On the way home, I hit the Norwood Goodwill, a store I haven't visited in some time (though I did review it a while back). Like last time, the store was very nice, but didn't actually have anything I wanted. The only thing I even considered buying was a plastic ladle for $1.99.

6. Finally, I went by my weekly stop gold-standard store, the Goodwill at MacFarlane. There wasn't anything there for me today either, but that's not surprising as it's been less than a week since I last visited.

All in all, a very good day. Had a wonderful time, got good stuff, and didn't spend an exorbitant amount. I really like visiting the stores that are off my usual beaten path. Looking at the GW website, I remember my plan to visit every GW in the area. I still haven't been to the Balcones location or the one on Brodie, or any of the ones in the burbs. Maybe next weekend...Princess, are you up for an adventure?

Top 5 things I love about Sunday morning:

1. Not having to get out of bed on a schedule.
2. Extended pajama time.
3. Really good coffee, consumed at my leisure, out of an actual clay mug.
4. Watching soccer on the couch with Mark.
5. Knowing that I have the whole day in front of me.

So I have all this stuff to tell you! And, in honor of NaBloPoMo's March list theme, I'll try to do it in list form.

1. Remember those odd princess things I said I'd justify purchasing? Well, they are fodder for my new crafty project, Subversive Princess Boxes. My favorite one so far, the blue Cinderella box, is at left. It's actually part of a set, with the green Cinderella box, that I made for a swap. I've also made a purple Tinkerbell box and a larger pink Cinderella box. They get nicer with each incarnation. Making them is labor intensive, but fun. They may at some point be available for sale, but for right now they are for swapping/gifting only.

2. Speaking of sale, that brings me to my second new project, Crushworthy (huge nod to Turtle for the name!). Crushworthy is the Etsy shop I've opened to sell the homemade bath products I am churning out like a mad woman lately. I have no idea if this venture will ever be profitable, but it's fun and I think worth a try. Right now, all I have up is oatmeal bath. As soon as I get pictures taken, I'll add bath melts. Those are the only two recipes I have right now that I feel confident enough in to sell. I'm experimenting with making other things as well, though, including bath bombs and bubble bars. We'll see.

3. Last night, I made amazing curried chicken salad. We had it for dinner on toasted pita and will be having it for lunch today (and tomorrow).

I think that's all I've got. For now.

In November, I posted about I Live Here, I Give Here, which is an Austin campaign to make people aware of local charitable organization and non-profits and increase giving. As one of my giving goals for 2008 was to increase local-level giving, it's a great resource for me. In honor of NaBloPoMo: The List Edition, here is a list of some places I'd like to give to this year, many of which I discovered through I Live Here, I Give Here:

So even though I've stopped taking and posting pictures of my clothes every day, I am still thinking a lot about style, about dressing in a more put-together way, and about reducing my wardrobe to fewer pieces that I feel better about. I'm still reading Allie every day, and taking her advice. One of the best posts she's written, to my mind, was not on her daily style diary, but on Wardrobe Oxygen, where she wrote a couple of years ago about staples for every woman's wardrobe. After reading the post, along with her updates "Wardrobe hints for warmer climates" and "Updating your wardrobe for spring 2008," I made a list (word of the month!) of things I wanted in my wardrobe, especially with spring/summer approaching.

As I've mentioned, I've been spending some time lately with Disney princesses. And wow, they piss me off. I mean, them pissing me off is why I started the subversive boxes in the first place, clearly, but now that I am looking for them I see them EVERYWHERE, and I really, really hate them.

Here is a list, chronologically, of the Disney princesses and why they suck.

1. Snow White (1937). Disney's first princess. Stock story--wicked stepmother, Garden of Eden-style poison apple, handsome prince. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Then there's Snow White's turn as a subservient house maid for the dwarves, the racism implicit in the good character being "white" and the evil character "black"...What bothers me the most about Snow White, I think, is the sick emphasis on her "purity." It makes me want to retch.

2. Cinderella (1950). My guess is that Cindyrella is Disney's most popular princess. You know the story: another wicked stepmother, this time with sisters to boot, another beautiful maid, another handsome prince. With freaky 50s class implications! The thing that pisses me off the most about it, though, I gotta tell you, is the conflation of big feet=ugly horrible woman and small feet=lovely perfect princess. Gah.

3. Aurora (1959). Princess Aurora, also known as Sleeping Beauty, has the distinction of being the Disney princess who takes the longest nap. The wicked stepmother becomes an evil witch, but once again we get a wake-up kissing prince, this time one to whom Aurora was betrothed at birth! And requisite sexless protector women (the good fairies), whose vanity over whose signature color will reign ends up getting Aurora caught--they are the most irritating part, I think. There's also a weird class aspect here--Aurora has to give up her class/crown in order to be safe, and there's a feeling of "noble poverty" that bothers the shit out of me.

4. Ariel (1989). Ariel is the Little Mermaid. I have no idea why Disney decided to pick the princesses back up after a 30 year hiatus, but when they did, they put her underwater. Possibly just so the princess could wear a bikini. Again we have a handsome prince and a stepmother/witch, and talking animals (they're a must in the previous stories too). Ariel is a bit different from the previous princesses in that she's more headstrong and has a bit more agency, but the script is really still the same. And still annoying. The man who saves Ariel is her dad and not her prince, but the stupid trope of falling in love with a handsome prince reigns supreme.

5. Belle (1991). Ariel was so successful Disney had to follow her up, so they kicked it old school with Beauty and the Beast, which is possibly the single most irritating and horrifiying Disney movie ever made. Belle isn't actually a princess, she's just a girl, and she is trades herself for her imprisoned father and is held hostage by the Beast. With whom she, of course, falls in love. Falls in love with her captor--yay. Then of course she "breaks his curse" and he becomes handsome and lovely. Because there ain't nothing worse than being ugly. Gag.

6. Jasmine (1992). Not only did Aladdin give Disney the chance to feature another navel-revealing princess, this time she got to live out basically the same story while being non-white. Yeehaw! Like Ariel, Jasmine is a bit spunkier than the early princesses, and she gets herself in all sorts of trouble. Jasmine's rescuer, Aladdin, is a commoner not a prince, and she never takes a big nap. The film also continues a trend away from female villains (the stepmother role), with Jafar. Which is all well and good, but it's still a racist piece of shit.

7. Pocahontas (1995). How excited were Disney execs when they realized how profitable non-white princesses could be? So excited that they followed Jasmine up with Native American princess Pocahontas! The story line does change up some here, with no evil older man/ugly dude/stepmother and a princess who doesn't get married and live happily ever after in the end. However, Pocahontas still bugs me, because it's racist and reactionary and historically inaccurate. It's almost progress, though.

8. Mulan (1998). Disney continues its run of non-white princesses (and inaccurate co-opting of other people's legends) with Mulan, about whom I have lots to say over at Heroine Content. Again, there is almost-progress here, but not quite.

Apparently, the next Disney princess will be Tiana, from The Princess and the Frog, upcoming in 2009. Unsurprisingly, Tiana will be the first Black Disney princess. My hopes were low to begin with, and only got lower when I saw Tiana's picture. I'm sure Disney will pat itself on the back for its cultural sensitivity (that's four non-white princesses in a row!), but will she possibly be anything other than another horrible stereotype (now with gender AND race!)?

For the purpose of the boxes, I am also making a honorary Princess of Peter Pan's Tinkerbell, just because I hate her so much. Disney released their version of Peter Pan in 1953, and in it Tinkerbell was jealous, mute, and possibly stupid. Gah. To go along with the revenue-generating Princesses, Disney has built a Fairies franchise around Tinkerbell. Interestingly, the other fairies are new characters, young hot fairies from Neverland. The company didn't chose to incorporate its old fairy godmothers from Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Can't think of why that would be...

You can take a quiz to find out which princess you are here. I honestly wasn't sure which one to hope for when I took it. I got Pocahontas, which I guess is about as well as I could hope to do.

Bath products I can make successfully at this point:
bath melts
oatmeal bath

Bath products I want to try to make this weekend:
oatmeal bath bombs
bath bombs
bubble bars
sugar scrub

Current favorite scent combinations:
rose/clove
orange/clove

Suggestions?

Stealing a page from Eden's book today and listing my previous jobs.

Age 14-15: Arlene's Cafe. Started as busser/dishwasher and moved to waitress on slower shifts, or second waitress on busier ones. I worked only once in a while during the school year (my freshman year in high school) and I think four days a week over the summer. The job ended explosively in August when the boss man screamed at me and called me a very, very bad name for spilling some salad dressing, a story I've told here before.

Age 15-17: Tomaselli's Cafe & Pastry Mill I started just a couple of months after quitting my previous gig. Better food, better atmosphere. I had a lot of fun at this job (and sometimes it was a total drag too, obviously). Again I started as a dishwasher/prep cook/pastry maker and ended up waiting tables. This cafe still says family to me, and I am warmly greeted by the owner whenever I make my way back into it. Here I worked 2-3 days a week during school and full-time over the summer all through the last three years of high school, until I left for college.

Age 18: Reed Residence Life. My first year at Reed my work study job was in the office of Residence Life, which oversees all the dorms. I mostly filed and made copies, answered the phone when the full-time admin was taking a break, that kind of thing. It was part-time, but I can't remember exactly how much I worked there. I recall very clearly that I didn't like it--it was boring.

Age 18: North Douglas Parks Community Pool. The summer after my first year at Reed, I lived at home and worked at a public pool in the next little town over. I don't know what my title was, but I did a little bit of a lot of things. I worked the early shift, getting there to open the doors at 5:30. I took money and scheduled swimming lessons at the front desk, cleaned the locker rooms (ew), and was done every day in the early afternoon, which left ample time for sunbathing and moping, which were the other two activities I engaged in that summer. Towards the end of the summer, I took a class and became a certified lifeguard, and then I worked a lifeguard/swim lessons shifts before returning to Reed.

Age 19: Reed College Pool. I spent what seemed like the majority of my second year at Reed sitting at the Reed College Pool, sniffing chlorine, watching people swim laps. It couldn't have been that much time, but it certainly seemed like it. I had a radio, I remember, and listened to the bulk of Clinton's impeachment proceedings on NPR. Still, it paid better than other campus jobs, and you could read if there was nobody swimming (which happened sometimes), so it wasn't too bad.

Age 19: Multnomah County District Attorney's Office. The summer after my second year in college, I interned at the DA's office. At the beginning of the summer, I got very, very sick with what turned out to be a pelvic/ovarian infection, and I missed three weeks of work, so it got off to kind of a bad start. It was a cool job, though in retrospect it was clearly more charity than work. I got paid well (for that time in my life, anyway), had to dress up, and had my own office. I helped misdemeanor trial lawyers with prep work and wrote briefs on new research in minority relations in DA's offices. I also created a promotional booklet about the history of the DA's office in the county. It was the first job I had where it became clear that this whole getting a degree thing was a really, really good idea. And I also learned that I definitely did not want to become a lawyer.

Age 20: Reed College Pool. Repeat age 19, only with $.25/hr more for my "experience."

Age 20: Reed College Annual Fund. I did a brief stint my third year at Reed of calling former students and their parents and asking them for money. I have seriously never done anything I hated as much as phone solicitation. And I SUCKED at it, too. I think it was politely suggested that I quit.

Age 20: Reed College Conference and Events Planning: The summer after my junior year, I stayed on campus and worked as the "summer conference coordinator" for Reed. It wasn't a bad job, though being on-call sucked. I basically coordinated between outside groups who wanted to rent Reed facilities for their conferences or meetings and the Reed offices that they'd need to deal with (janitorial, food, AV, etc.). It was the most responsibility I'd had to date, which I enjoyed, but event planning was and is clearly not my calling.

Age 21: Reed College Prospective Host. Not wanting to lifeguard again my senior year, and also not wanting to co-habitate with my boyfriend again, I wrangled my way into a job as a prospective host and got a free dorm room. Basically, I babysat prospective students, picking them up, taking them to dinner, showing them around, and having them spend the night in the other half of my split freshman-style dorm room. I averaged less than one student per week, so it really wasn't bad. I was pretty terrible at it, though--by that time I was so down on Reed and becoming so anti-social that I can't possibly have been any fun, or much information.

Age 21: Adjunct instructor I graduated into a really bad economy (2001 in Oregon), so the first job I could find was a two nights/week gig teaching business English at a technical/business college. It was a job for which I was way too young and completely unprepared, and I was worse at it than almost anything else I've ever done. To say I am not proud of that performance would be a vast understatement.

At this point we start jobs that are actually on my resume, and so I get a bit less specific...

Age 22: Art Museum. My first real post-college job. For the princely sum of $17,000/year, I scheduled school tours of the museum's collections, assisting in managing the docent program and the teen program, assisted in creating and distributing educational materials, etc. I worked with great people, with whom I am still in contact, and learned a huge, huge amount. I also learned that $17,000/year is not enough to live on.

Age 23: Medical School. My first and last true administrative assistant job. A huge pay bump (up to almost $30k, if I remember correctly) led me to take the job, and that was the right decision, as I really needed the money. The job itself, however, sucked in such a huge way I can barely articulate it. I spent a lot of time entering procedures performed by residents into a huge tracking database. I also typed dictation notes, made copies...the real admin stuff. Once I was there for a bit longer, I got to do a little more interesting stuff, including research for a breast health education project, but it was mostly pretty brain-numbing, and I was happy when we were leaving for Austin so I could quit.

Age 24: Non-profit. I started at the non-profit at about the same time I started graduate school. I was a "Research and Policy Intern." The work itself was fabulous, really interested and I learned a ton. And I met one of my best friends, The Princess, there (she was my supervisor!). There are downsides to working for a small non-profit, though, and some of them definitely came to my attention during my year there. Suffice it to say that I think I am finished with non-profit work.

Age 25-26: Contract company. This is the job I temporarily left graduate school for. It was a very well-paid (the most I've ever made) gig as a technical writer, working on a contract basis with a technical team at a state agency. One of the easiest jobs I've ever had. Never asked much of me and didn't give me much to think about, but it wasn't a totally unpleasant experience. The most frustrating thing about it, I think, was just the going-nowhere feeling it gave me. I just couldn't see what would be next from there.

Age 26-28: University. This brings us to the present. I work at a University, managing grants. For the most part, I like my job. I've learned a lot and gained what I think is a very useful skill set. It's not my passion, but it doesn't bore me too much. I'm earning a very decent living, and next month I will have worked in the same position for two years, which (as you can see) is something of a record.

OK. This is a list of all the area Goodwills, the ones I have visited in bold.

1. Balcones
2. MacFarlane
3. Norwood
4. North Lamar
5. Airport
6. South Lamar
7. Cherry Creek
8. Brodie
9. Lake Austin
10. Blue Hanger
11. Blue Hanger North
12. Cedar Park
13. Parmer Lane
14. New Hope
15. Georgetown
16. Hutto
17. Oak Hill
18. Round Rock
19. San Marcos

1. It is raining.
2. I haven't done a list yet today.
3. I haven't done a play list in a bit.

So, of course, a rain songs list. Now, rain is a pretty damn common trope in music (so emo, you know?), so I limited this list to songs about rain I actually like. Hence no Gene Kelly (I'm sure he's very upset). Please note my (judicious?) use of hair bands.

1. "I Remember You" by Skid Row
"Woke up to the sound of pouring rain..."
This was my oh-my-God-very-favorite song for quite some time in my teeny bopper years. Sebastian Bach was just. so hot. in the video! I'm happy, actually, to see that Sebastian Bach is at least kind of still around, and not so skinny anymore. And I still like the song. Sometimes, only a power ballad will do.

2. "It Can't Rain All the Time" by Jane Siberry
"It won't rain all the time/the sky won't fall forever."
From The Crow soundtrack! And at this point, I become a goth. For you kiddies, that's what we used to call emo. ;)

3. "Purple Rain" by Prince & The Revolution
"I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain"
The best line in the song, though, is "I don't want to be your weekend lover." I am not actually old enough to truly appreciate Prince for when he was hot, but I still love him. As a side note, Ani used to cover this song every now and again, which was fantastic.

4. "I Can't Stand the Rain" by Tina Turner
"I can't stand the rain against my window/bringing back sweet memories"
This song rules just for the way Tina sings "rain."

5. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain? by Credence Clearwater Revival
"Someone told me long ago theres a calm before the storm,/I know; its been comin' for some time."
CCR is probably one of those bands that proves my dorkiness. Oh well.

6. "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain" by Hank Williams Sr.
"Love is like a dying ember/Only memories remain/And through the ages I'll remember/Blue eyes cryin' in the rain."
Doesn't get much cooler than Hank Sr. Usually, though, I think of Willie Nelson when I think of this song.

7. "November Rain" by Guns N Roses
"Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain."
Another one from the power ballad period. I can't help it.

8. "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun" by Beth Orton
"I wish I never saw the sun shine, then maybe I wouldn't mind the rain."
This song makes me bawl. Seriously.

9. "Rush Hour" by Ani DiFranco
"Rush hour/at the day's dawning/the rain came/and pushed me under the awning."
I love the sound of this song, it's intensity. And the very basic guitar line.

10. "Raining in Baltimore" by The Counting Crows
"It's raining in Baltimore, 15 miles east, but everything else is the same."
Another sad one. Surely I've mentioned before how much I LOVE this album?

11. "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" by Merle Haggard (and others)
"I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison/and I went to pick her up in the rain/But before I could get there in my pick-up truck/She got runned over by a damned old train."
This is a favorite of my mom's. She sings it. Often. Not this version, but the live Steve Goodman one. But I couldn't find that one online. And this one is pretty amazing. The perfect country western song.

12. "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" by Nina Simone
"Human kindness is overflowing/and I think it's gonna rain today."
This song reminds me of Beaches, when Bette Midler sings it. This is Nina Simone's version, though. The whispered "lonely" just kills me.

13. "It's a Hard Rain Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan
"And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard/And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."
Another uplifting one. This is Dylan-as-poet though, and it's so lucid and beautiful. ("Saw a room full of men with their hammers bleeding.")

14. "Done Wrong" by Ani DiFranco
"It's a hard rain, it's a cold rain, the kind that you find in songs/Guess that makes me the jerk with the heartache, here to sing for you about how I've been done wrong."
I love the sound of this song, but it's the self-awareness and meta-ness of it that really kills me.

15. "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor
"I've seen fire and I've seen rain/I've seen sunny days I thought would never end/But I always thought that I'd see you again."
This song is cheesy and reminds me of Running on Empty and I love it.

16. "No Rain" by Blind Melon
"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain/I like watching the puddles gather rain."
I know, 16 is a weird number. But there wasn't one I wanted to leave out. So there you go.
Incidentally, I used to have a flannel with "Blind Melon" stitched into the back. Rad.

Have you heard of Six Word Memoirs? The concept is pretty simple--tell your life story in only and exactly six words. Some of my favorites:

1. I slept through most of it.
2. I asked God. He said nothing.
3. Hoping for just one extra day.
4. I'm beginning to think it's me.
5. Dotted i's, crossed t's, now what?
6. Inspired hired fired tired retired expired.
7. Suddenly, something happened... No, false alarm
8. Suggestions wanted for new interesting vices.
9. 78. 45. 33. 8-track. MP3. Next.
10. THIS IS JUST MY DAY JOB.
11. God Called, you have 1 message.
12. Being a grown-up is more fun.
13. Zoloft daily, beer often, fuck yoga.

I am trying desperately to think of a clever one of my own, but coming up totally blank.

I am home sick today and not really up for thinking of a new list. So I'm stealing this meme from Bomboniera.

The rules

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.

My movie lines:

1. "Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel's life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted." Fight Club (Noble Savage)
2. "...never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!" The Princess Bride (Marta)
3. "Sand is overrated. It's just tiny, little rocks." Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Jess)
4. "And then there were the crypto-homo rockers: Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, David Bowie--who was actually an idiom working in America and Canada." Hedwig & the Angry Inch (Jenny, Bomboneria)
5. "I'm the most dangerous man in this prison. You know why? 'Cause I control the underwear." American History X (Howell)
6. "Anybody not wearing 2 million sunblock is gonna have a real bad day." Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skylanda)
7. "If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking and you beat love down." Romeo & Juliet (Melinda, Noble Savage)
8. "Speak for yourself. You may be a sinner, but I ain't yet had the opportunity." Brokeback Mountain (Ganymede)
9. "I'm just trying to be honest about being a misanthrope." Dazed and Confused (jaysee)
10. "I've always known I was meant to dominate your sex and avenge my own." Dangerous Liasons (Bomboniera)

OK. Guesses?

Same meme as Wednesday, only with song lyrics. These aren't my favorite, though, just the first lyrics from each of the first 10 songs to pop up in my iTunes. Guesses?

1. "I pulled out of Shaky Town, goin' up-country, sinking down."
2. "I walked into a honky tonk, just the other day." "Juke Box Blues" by Reese Witherspoon (originally June Carter Cash) (Delia)
3. "If I have to go, will you remember me?"
4. "Because I love you I get tongue-tied around you." "One Dance" by Dan Bern (Jenny)
5. "Life in the circus ain't easy." "Freakshow" by Ani DiFranco (Chips)
6. "Mamma Svetlana, I know you wanna, shriek at what your daughter done done."
7. "Well my friends are gone and my hair is gray." "Tower of Song" by Leonard Cohen (Chips, Nella)
8. "What is that you're saying, you roulette girl?" "Roulette Girl" by Mary Prankster (Melinda)
9. "Well it's early in the A.M. and I'm feeling kind of blind."
10. "Last night I stood at your doorstep, trying to figure out what went wrong." "Long Walk Home" by Bruce Springsteen (Amanda--close enough!)

I love covers of songs. Love them. Never met one I didn't like. Here are some of my favorites:

1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Tori Amos (originally Nirvana)
I don't like most covers of this song. I like this one.
2. "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson (originally Gloria Jones)
3. "Wild Horses" by The Sundays (originally The Rolling Stones)
Gah. The prom scene in Buffy. Always.
4. "Hurt" by Johnny Cash (originally Nine Inch Nails)
Still my pick for best. video. ever.
5. "Mad World" by Gary Jules (originally Tears for Fears)
And I bawl and bawl.
6. "Come On, Eileen" by Save Ferris (originally Dexys Midnight Runners)
This is just silly.
7. "Angel from Montgomery" by Bonnie Raitt (originally John Prine)
This song reminds me of "Into the Wild" now.
8. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Cat Power (originally The Rolling Stones)
9. "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles (originally Simon & Garfunkel)
10. "Helpless" by k.d. lang (originally Neil Young)
I actually like Patti Smith's version of this song as well if not better, but I can't find it online.
11. "It Ain't Me, Babe" by Lucy Kaplansky (originally Bob Dylan)
I like her cover of Lyle Lovett's "God Will" even more, but I can't find it anywhere.
12. "He Was a Friend of Mine" by Cat Power (originally Bob Dylan)
13 "King of the Road" by Rufus Wainwright (originally Roger Miller)
From Brokeback Mountain. All the best covers are from movies or TV, seems like.

There are so, so many more...some of which I have told you about before (Patti's Smith's covers from Twelve, all the great Dylan and Leonard Cohen covers...). What are your favorites?

That last list got me thinking about great songs featured on TV shows I love. Here's a list of a few. Do you know what shows they are/were from? Put guesses in the comments. Shouldn't be too hard to guess--there aren't/haven't been all that many shows I like.

1. "Way Down in the Hole" by Steve Earle (originally Tom Waits) Theme song from The Wire, last season's version (Kelly Cat)
2. "L.A. Song" by Christian Kane
3. "Goodbye to You" by Michelle Branch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tabula Rosa episode (Amanda)
4. "Keep Me in Your Heart" by Warron Zevon
5. "Woke Up This Morning" by A3 Theme song from The Sopranos (Melinda)
6. "Out Of This World" by Bush
7. "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones My So-Called Life (Kasia)
8. "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley (originally Leonard Cohen) The West Wing, the episode when Simon dies (Frog)
9. "Teardrop" by Massive Attack Theme song from House, M.D. (Melinda)
10. "Have a Little Faith in Me" by John Haitt

We are a cranky bunch around my house tonight. I don't think the dogs or cats are actually cranky, but the humans definitely are. Mark is having a back issue, and I'm just so tired and not quite not-sick yet.

So I am hard pressed to think of a list. Instead, I'll share with you the things that are on my "43 Things" list (broadly, my list of goals, which is always in flux).

1. Get out of debt.
2. Travel.
3. Get a Ph.D.
4. Get Lasik surgery.
5. Keep in touch with friends better.
6. Get lots of tattoos.
7. Learn to knit.
8. See Gustav Klimt's art in person.
9. Remember birthdays and send cards.
10. Blog every day (hey, I'm doing that--sorta).
11. Stop buying things I don't need.
12. Keep my house cleaner.
13. Save money.
14. Watch more movies.
15. Learn boxing.
16. Pay off my student loans.
17. Donate more to charity.
18. Stop biting my nails.
19. Publish writing.
20. Develop my own style.

I got this meme from Sarahlynn:

Not necessarily accurate, but funny anyway. And made me think, what are my favorite dog breeds? If I have to hold it down to say, 10, which ones do I choose? Thus, today's list.

Grace's Top 10 Dog Breeds
10. Akita
9. Rottweiler
8. Beagle
7. Otterhound
6. Great Pyrenees
5. American Staffordshire Terrier
4. Anatolian Shepherd Dog
3. Mastiiff
2. Bernese Mountain Dog
1. Irish Wolfhound

Gee, do you think I maybe have a type?

Once again I am too addled to actually write. But here are some recent Etsy covets:

1. Skip To My Lou Clothing has the cutest outfits for little girls. Shirt and skirt sets are in the $25-$30 (plus $5 S&H) range, which isn't bad for full handmade outfits! My current favorite, shown here, is a set with a chick motif in size 3/4.

2. It took me a while to start appreciating the apron craze, but I'm on board now, and there are some fantastic vintage-inspired ones at Boojiboo. They aren't cheap (the dog print one shown here is $23.75 plus $3 S&H), but still, so adorable!

3. Matte Stephens' Brainiac art just kills me. In both subject and style, it's just wonderful. Limited edition prints run from $35, for an 8.5"X11" (plus $4.60 S&H) to $60 (plus $10.60 S&H) for a 13" X 14" print. Most are available in both sizes. I particularly love this owl.

4. Hey Peanut makes soft toys and shoes for babies, some with vintage fabrics, and they fantastic. For the most part, the booties are $18 plus $5 S&H and the stuffies are $25 plus $5. I really want to think of someone to gift this vintage plaid baby elephant toy.

5. I really want a lunch kit from Glue and Glitter. For $40 (with free shipping!) you get a handmade, machine-washable tote, a stainless steel lunch box, five tote-coordinated cloth napkins, and a set of reusable utensils. How much does that make bringing your lunch to work?

6. Simple Song Designs is definitely on my list of potential gift sources in the future. The custom stationary products are classic and gorgeous, with just enough of a twist. This set of ten custom-made mod-style cards with envelopes is $12 plus $1.50 S&H, and for another $3 you can get your return address printed on the envelopes. Looks like Mother's Day to me...

7. Finally, I have to call your attention to the genius that is Courtney Courtney. Last time I did this, I featured dressme, a shop that makes one-of-a-kind tees and dresses for little ones out of recycled garments. Courtney Courtney is similar, with "entirely new, partially new, partially repurposed and recycled pieces" for kids and adults. The adult stuff doesn't really work for me, but the kids' stuff is fabulous. My favorite pieces are the embellished recycled tee shirt play dresses, like the one shown here. A 5T dress made out of a recycled Thai beer tee and custom screen printed sleeves? How could it get cuter than that? This one is $25 plus $2.15 S&H.

So I think I'm entering a depressed period. Well, I don't think I am--it's clear I am. And I have a telltale sign now, too--when I start watching lots of Buffy, I'm depressed. There are worse ways to deal.

Anyway, even though I missed yesterday and am now out of NaBloPoMo for this month, I thought I'd favor the three readers I still have with a list of my favorite Buffy episodes. These are the ones I re-watch at random.

It was clear I was going to do this, right?
10. Fool For Love (5.07)
9. Becoming, Part II (2.22)
8. Out Of Mind Out of Sight (1.11)
7. Normal Again (6.17)
6. Graduation Day, Part II (3.22)
5. Lovers Walk (3.08)
4. Hush (4.10)
3. I Only Have Eyes for You (2.19)
2. Restless (4.22)
1. Once More With Feeling (6.07)

I am working on compiling a list of critical work on Buffy. It's definitely in-progress. Leave suggestions in the comments?

So inevitably, when I go on that rant about how great TV is, someone asks me what I mean about quality television. No, I'm not talking about Discovery and the History channel (though you can find quality shows on both of those networks). I mean that there is quality fiction on television. Television literature. It's even on the networks occasionally. And so, yet another list. These are only shows I have personally experienced as "television literature" at some point--I'm sure there are others.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (duh)
2. Joan of Arcadia
3. The Wire
4. Gilmore Girls
5. M*A*S*H
6. My So-Called Life
7. Roseanne
8. The Shield
9. The Sopranos
10. The West Wing

This one is too funny not to share. I'll admit it, I love hair metal ballads. Love to sing 'em at the top of my lungs. You should try it. I know you remember the words.

Have you ever thought about what was on the radio the year you were born? I was actually born into kind of an interesting musical moment--disco was still king, but it was failing, there was still a punk undertone, but Sid Vicious died. And some legendary country songs were released, too. It's fascinating. I had no idea, until I started making this list, that 1979 gave birth not only to me, but also to London Calling and The Wall.

What about you? What was playing the year you were born?

I was making lists in my head last night when I couldn't sleep (I do that). And I am just narcissistic enough to share them with you.

Someone on a message board I frequent posed this question today, and it seems like an excellent blog prompt. Maybe I'll start trying to do it every Friday, a la the Friday Love Lists Meg Fowler does.

Things I've learned this week:

• Some people are actually annoyed by receiving paper thank you notes
• If you piss Illy off, she'll bite you and draw blood
• Garden of Eden blue corn tortilla chips are sadly salt-free
• My new clothes lines hold more than one, but less than two, loads of laundry
• My stimulus check should come in a couple of weeks
• I don't mind drinking coffee black anymore.

What did you learn this week?

So. Are you more bored by my Etsy obsession or my Buffy obsession? Don't worry, I'm back to watching 2-4 eps of Buffy a night, so I'm sure those posts will be back soon.

In the meantime, I've been looking for plus-sized clothes on Etsy. And I've been pleasantly surprised at what I've found. Take a look:

Sutara sells handmade clothing, including lots of hippy-style skirts with drawstring waists fitting up to 48" and wide-leg pants. My favorite of her offerings are the custom hippy patched pants show here, which she collaborates with the customer on in terms of size and style. They're $38 plus $7 S&H.

From the Fig Tree offers clothes made from mostly recycled materials (other clothes). Again, most of the clothes are drawstring "size free" affairs.

Cinnascents has a whole section of plus sized aprons, which (God bless her) look just like her other aprons, only bigger. I like the sunflower blues apron shown best. It's not a bad price, either--$19 with free shipping.

Sandmaiden makes sleepwear and lingerie in a wide size range, from 02/-18/20. It's a bit pricey but SO cute.

Jane at Bon Bon is an actual plus-sized designer! She stocks some dresses in plus sizes, but most of her stuff is made to order (you send her your measurements), and it's the same price regardless of size. She's got a wide range of prices, depending on the piece. The amazing sun dress shown here is $89 plus $7 US shipping.

Miss Bombshell offers up super-cute vintage inspired duds, all of which are available from XS-XXL. Again, not cheap (most dresses are around $85).

YodaMoon says that her clothing is "sized for real people." Things run from XS-XXL. I'll admit a fondness for her flannel bloomers--I think they'd make great lounge/PJ pants. They're $35 plus $6 shipping.

Panda Sewing is another site offering custom sized clothing, particularly dresses. Right now she has a couple of sun dresses available, up to size 24, for $46-$69 (depending on dress pattern, not size).

Six Gun Sally has a plus-sized section, mostly featuring shirts. This belted tunic is a 1X. It's $34 plus $3.50 shipping.

Second weekly edition!

This week I learned:

• Season 3 of Buffy really is as good as I thought it was.


• No matter how many times I wear them, my cute high heels give me horrible blisters.


• Three lemon bars in a row is too many.


• There is a cute US-made alternative to Crocs (thanks, Krup!).


• Etsy is a great place to buy cards.


• The Duggars are having another one.


• Gilmore Girls ended well.

Yesterday, I had occasion to have lunch with a group of people who are a lot different than the people I generally choose to spend social time with. This group was mostly older than I am by a generation or two, mostly had kids, and was mostly fairly "mainstream." During the course of the lunch conversation, it really began to feel like I had nothing in common with them. They talked about the rising price in groceries and which of the two national chains of grocery stores we have locally is better (Mark and I buy the bulk of our groceries at the local co-op). They talked about how to get toddler stains out of upholstery (we use natural cleaning products). They talked make-up (which I don't wear) and sitcoms (which I don't watch). Mostly, I kept my mouth shut unless asked a direct question--as I felt like anything I could say on any of these subjects would sound self-involved and holier-than-thou. Even so, the conversation ended with one person exclaiming that she had no idea I was so virtuous.

Virtuous? Me? As if. I know some absolutely virtuous hippies, people whose consumption actually matches their morals, who are really living lightly on the Earth. Me not so much. So, a list.

Ways in Which I am NOT a Virtuous Hippy

1. I like fast food. A lot. And I don't just nostalgically look back on it, either. I eat it, frequently, generally while driving alone in my SUV.


2. I may not have ever seen Lost or Desperate Housewives, but there is a flat screened TV at my house that cost more than my first car, and we have extended cable. No lack of TV watching.


3. Gallons, tankard trucks, absolute rivers of Pepsi.


4. I love modern medicine. If there is a shot or a pill that will make something unpleasant go away, I'll take it. If I ever have a baby, I want to do it while high as a kite on the best painkillers they can give me, and I want that baby to be fully and completely vaccinated.


5. I don't exercise. Ever. And I cannot and will not ride a bike.


6. I eat meat. I don't plan to stop.


7. I believe that violence, while never pleasant, is sometimes necessary. I also find cinematic violence extremely entertaining.


8. I have really really tried, but I don't like yoga.


9. I consider my period an annoyance.


10. I am scared of Waldorf schools.


11. My dogs can't leave the yard without a leash.

OK. I feel absolved.

Third week in a row!

This week, I've learned:

• The first two Indiana Jones movies are indeed as racist and sexist as you'd expect


• Many Waldorf schools have dress codes forbidding the children to wear specific clothes, including anything synthetic or black


• I really do like some of the t-shirt styles from Old Navy


• How to felt wool (though I can't actually do it)


• The soundtrack to Juno, which worked great in the film, is really annoying outside the film context


• It doesn't matter if I hang up my clothes outside at night or during the day, the birds shit on them either way

My friend Jenny sent me a link a few days ago to this blog post, "100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man's Library." Challengingly, she wrote, "care to try a female version?"

Oh do I.

But, to begin, let's have a look the books that post lists as "the top 100 books that have shaped the lives of individual men while also helping define broader cultural ideas of what it means to be a man."

OK, next step. These are the books from the man's list that I'd put on the woman's list as well:

1. The Republic by Plato
2. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
5. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
6. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
7. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
8. The Politics by Aristotle
9. Hamlet by Shakespeare
10. A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway
11. The Stranger by Albert Camus
12. The Bible
13. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Over on the future spinster librarian manifesto, there's list up of Entertainment Weekly's 100 "New Classic" films. How many have I seen? They're in bold.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998 )
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988 )
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998 )
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988 )
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988 )
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988 )
53. The Truman Show (1998 )
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There's Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Yeah. I see a lot of movies.

This is from Suebob.

Accent: Not much of one, but whatever the PNW sounds like when it lives in Texas

Breakfast or no breakfast: Breakfast, these days. Yogurt and granola is the staple. And always, always coffee.

Chore I don't care for: I will not, do not, cannot vacuum.

Dog or Cat: Both in my house, but dogs are first for me.

Essential Electronics: I currently have a Mac laptop through work that I lurve. I want one of my very own.

Favorite Cologne: I got Mark Burberry's' Weekend for Christmas, and I like it a lot on him. I don't usually wear perfume/cologne.

Gold or Silver: Silver, though I think gold is better for my skin tone.

Handbag I carry most often: From here.

Insomnia: Almost never.

Job Title: Not something I find to be all that important.

Kids: I love other people's.

Living Arrangements: With Mark and the packpride

Most Admirable Trait: I am really, honest-to-God, trying

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Too many to name--I was really awful

Overnight hospital stays: Never happened.

Phobias: Too many people in too small a space

Quote: "The degree to which you resist in the degree to which you are free."

Reason to smile: The pets

Siblings: Two, one XX and one XY

Time I wake up: Theoretically 6:45. In reality, between 7 and 7:15

Unusual Talent or Skill: Picking dog show winners

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Beets. Don't even talk to me about beets.

Worst Habit: Endless navel-gazing

X-rays: Chest, feet

Yummy Stuff: Rum cocktails

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Monkeys and elephants

For reasons too boring to go into, I no longer have a blog roll on my blog sidebar. I do, however, love to read other people's blogs. I use a feed reader (Google) to keep up with them, and try to read new entries every day. I'm also working on making more comments, so the folks I'm reading will know that they have me as a follower.

Periodically, I'd like to share the blogs I am reading with you all, since I don't have them up full time. The point here is two-fold: first, maybe I can introduce you to a blog you haven't been reading and will enjoy; second, maybe you can suggest some things to me in the comments that are missing from my list?

Here are the blogs in my feed reader:

Craft blogs

• allsorts


• angry chicken


• artsy-crafty babe


• Bella Dia


• betz white


• cherry tomato


• Constant Dreamer


• Craftapalooza


• Crafting a Green World


• disdressed


• Echoes of a dream


• HELLO my name is Heather


• hoola tallulah


• little cotton rabbits


• Making Good Use


• Molly Chicken


• not martha


• Posie Gets Cozy


• Practically Necessary


• Ravenhill


• Sew, Mama, Sew!


• soozs


• SouleMama


• Susan B. Anderson


• tiny happy

Thrifting blogs

• Apron Thrift Girl


• Living Without Money


• Secondhand Nation


• The Shopping Sherpa


• Thrift Shop Romantic


• Thrift Candy


• Thriftaholic: A Tale of Two Addicts

Shopping blogs

• A Girl Must Shop


• The Windowshoppist


• Want Not

"Mommy" blogs

• Attack of the Redneck Mommy


• Breed 'Em and Weep


• chookooloonks


• Confessions of a Pioneer Woman


• dooce


• Finslippy


• Fussy


• I, Asshole


• julia {Here be Hippogriffs}


• Mighty Girl


• Noble Savage


• Peter's Cross Station


• Suburban Bliss: Birth Control Via the Written Word


• Superhero Journal


• the adventures of leelo and his potty-mouthed mom


• Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Misc blogs

• 10Notes


• beauty that moves


• LaurieWrites


• linkateria


• Live Lightly Tour


• megfowler.com


• My Wardrobe Today


• Pound


• Red Stapler


• The Hathor Legacy


• Vegan Lunch Box


• Waiter Rant


• Walk Slowly, Live Wildly


• Wardrobe Oxygen


• We Don't Buy It


• Whedonesque

Friends' blogs

• Biblelicious


• Bomboniera


• Ceci n'est pas un blog


• Fjordward


• flooded lizard kingdom


• frogblog


• Gray Goose Watch


• It's a Candice thing


• Name that Mama


• Nyarlathotep's Miscellany


• One Good Thing


• Our House


• Rant-o-Rama


• the future spinster librarian manifesto


• The Coracle and other small crafts


• The Edit Barn


• The Gimp Parade


• The Summer Chronicles


• Triumphantly Jenny


• Yeah, but Houdini didn't have these hips

It's been a long time since I have posted a list of things I am currently loving. And it's that kind of day, so...

Old Navy Ruched V-Neck Tees. I am trying not to buy any new clothing (thrift only). However, plain colored tee shirts are hard for me to find in my size and in good shape. I think they're just something people hold on to, and they are made so cheaply that they don't last long. So, I sucked it up and ordered some shirts from Old Navy, and I love them. This style is very flattering, they come in tall so they are long enough, they are super lightweight but not transparent, and the colors are fantastic. They were also on sale for I think $7.50 each when I bought mine, so I got one each in hyper blue, French violet, bright guava, and brown earth. Sweet.

Weight Watchers. I never thought I'd be saying this, but the program works. I've lost 18 lbs in 9 weeks, I'm not feeling deprived (at least not very much), and I feel better about myself every day. I am not going to meetings, just using the online function, but it's amazing how helpful the points system is. Somehow it is easier and more intuitive than following calories on Fitday, even though it's based on the same stuff. I got a three month initial membership, which means I only have about a month left. After that, I'll have to decide if it's worth paying for more months, or if I should try to lose the rest on my own. So far, it's been very worth it.

English Premiere League Football. The English Premiere League season started last weekend (soccer-football, for the uninitiated). Mark's been following it for a few years, and recently I've gotten very into it as well. It's a great way for us to bond, and I am really looking forward to months of Saturday mornings sitting on our couch, drinking coffee, yelling at our respective teams (Arsenal and Liverpool).

Sabra hummus. Mark and I are both picky about our hummus, and we agree that Sabra with the roasted pine nuts on top is the best you can get at a store. It's also widely available and inexpensive. Can't beat that.

Audubon Birds. I got a bunch of these little guys at the bins for $0.25 each the other day. They are stuffed birds that make natural bird sounds when squeezed (from real bird recordings). The dogs LOVE them. They aren't the world's best dog toys, as they have plastic bead pouches inside, so the pets have to be supervised when playing with them in case of disembowelment, but to watch the perplexed look on their faces when the birdies sing is worth it. The Purple Martin is my favorite.

Hope Solo. The USA Women's national soccer team goalkeeper who saved the gold against Brazil. I will never be as cool as Hope Solo. My heart still belongs to Abby, but I don't know that I've ever even seen anything as cool as Hope Solo. Just her name is cool. Hope Solo.

Hearthsong Under the Sea Hideaway. I thrifted one of these little babies for $3 and it made me $61 on EBay this week. Love that kind of profit margin.

Chipotle. They're giving free burritos to all the employees of the university where I work today. Good promotion! The line was too long and the points too high, though, so I passed.

And so ends my list of cool stuff for now. What have you noticed being especially cool lately?

Got this over at Frog's. These are 75 must-read books, as per Jezebel. The ones in bold are the ones I've read. The ones in bold italics are the ones I actually liked.

• The Lottery (and Other Stories), Shirley Jackson


• To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf


• The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton


• White Teeth, Zadie Smith


• The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allenden


• Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion


• Excellent Women, Barbara Pym


• The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath


• Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys


• The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri


• Beloved, Toni Morrison


• Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert


• Like Life, Lorrie Moore


• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen


• Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë


• The Delta of Venus, Anais Nin


• A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley


• A Good Man Is Hard To Find (and Other Stories), Flannery O'Connor


• The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx


• You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down, Alice Walker


• Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston


• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee


• Fear of Flying, Erica Jong


• Earthly Paradise, Colette


• Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt


• Property, Valerie Martin


• Middlemarch, George Eliot


• Annie John, Jamaica Kincaid


• The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir


• Runaway, Alice Munro


• The Heart is A Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers


• The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston


• Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë


• You Must Remember This, Joyce Carol Oates


• Little Women, Louisa May Alcott


• Bad Behavior, Mary Gaitskill


• The Liars' Club, Mary Karr


• I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou


• A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith


• And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie


• Bastard out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison


• The Secret History, Donna Tartt


• The Little Disturbances of Man, Grace Paley


• The Portable Dorothy Parker, Dorothy Parker


• The Group, Mary McCarthy


• Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi


• The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing


• The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank


• Frankenstein, Mary Shelley


• Against Interpretation, Susan Sontag


• In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez


• The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck


• Fun Home, Alison Bechdel


• Three Junes, Julia Glass


• A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft


• Sophie's Choice, William Styron


• Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann


• Love in a Cold Climate, Nancy Mitford


• Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell


• The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin


• The Red Tent, Anita Diamant


• The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera


• The Face of War, Martha Gellhorn


• My Antonia, Willa Cather


• Love In The Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez


• The Harsh Voice, Rebecca West


• Spending, Mary Gordon


• The Lover, Marguerite Duras


• The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy


• Tell Me a Riddle, Tillie Olsen


• Nightwood, Djuna Barnes


• Three Lives, Gertrude Stein


• Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons


• I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith


• Possession, A.S. Byatt

Yikes. Not terribly well-read, am I?

I've been thinking for several days about what I want to write about poverty for Blog Action Day 2008. I started writing a personal story about poverty at least 10 times, but honestly, that doesn't feel the right thing to do today. I want to actually offer a resource, rather than just talking about myself like I always do. So, being as I've had some success in the past offering lists of recommended books, I thought maybe I'd use my Blog Action Day platform to offer a brief poverty studies book list. Hope it's helpful.

1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
   No surprise here. A lot of people consider Steinbeck's 1939 novel about the Joad family's journey to California during the Dust Bowl the best book about poverty ever written, and I can't disagree. This is a fantastic book, trite as it may be to say that, and I think it should be required reading.
2. Homecoming and Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight
   These are children's novels about four children, the Tillermans, who, led by eldest sister Dicey, make their way across the country to find their grandmother after their mother abandons them. Homecoming gets them to their grandmother's house, Dicey's Song is about them living with her. Both books are, in part, about living in poverty, and even though I read them in elementary school, they've stuck with me. I can still remember the passage in Dicey's Song about Dicey and her grandmother eating at a restaurant and Dicey's concern at the meal's expense. Excellent stuff.
3. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
   Though this book was widely acclaimed, I know a lot of people who really didn't like it, saying Ehrenreich, even after her experiment, doesn't actually understand the working poor and makes stupid decisions and assumptions in her book and the experiment she writes about. I don't 100% disagree with this assessment, but I still think this is a brave and important book. The fact is that most people who have never themselves been poor have no idea what it's actually like, or why poor people might make the decisions that they do. Ehrenreich gives some explanations. Would I like it better if these explanations could come from someone who has actually lived in this situation and isn't just trying it on as a journalist? Sure. Do I think people would listen as well as they listened to Ehrenreich? No.
4. The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler
   Shipler's book has much the same task as Ehrenreich's, but instead of building a fictional life in order to have "working poor experiences" himself, Shipler extensively interviews a bunch of working poor families and mixes their first-person stories with an academic analysis of the life of the American working poor. The only really bad thing about this book is that it is outdated (it was published in 2004, but even since then things have changed radically, and the research was done for years before that). I'd like to see an updated version.
5. Don't Call Us Out of Name: The Untold Lives of Women and Girls in Poor America by Lisa Dodson
   This is another book built much like Shipler's, mixing first person accounts of poverty with academic analysis. What makes it more interesting to me, though, is that it addresses the interplay between poverty and gender. Again, the book's major failing is being out of date, as it was published in 1998.
6. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
   Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina is one of the most amazing and most difficult novels I've ever read. Poverty is only one of the things its about, but it is in many ways the most salient. Just as Bone's tale of the violence of men is a call to feminism, her tale of the violence of poverty is a call to class activism.
7. The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
   Jeannette Walls' memoir is mostly about her childhood, growing up very poor with negligent and unstable parents. Walls' family was at times homeless, often hungry, and usually without running water or electricity. She recalls middle-of-the-night dashes from collecting landlords and page after page of experiences that make the reader's skin crawl. It's a hard book to read, but a good one. I only wish Walls' discussion of how it feels on the other side of that poverty, as an upper middle class adult with a world of both gratitude and guilt, was more prolonged.
8. Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks
   bell hooks as written a lot about the intersection of race, class, and gender. This book is a conflation of memoir and social theory, and although it's a bit tough to read, it's completely worth it.
9. Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood by by Jay MacLeod
   Ain't No Makin' It is one of those books that I read and never forgot. I read it for intro pol sci my first year at Reed, and I've come back to it in my mind often since then. MacLeod wrote it about the kids he encountered while working as a counselor in a program for low-income youth. It focuses a lot on way poverty is spirit-crushing even at a very young age, and on the obstacles the kids have stacked against them. Once again, this book is out of date (and out of print), but it's still a good read if you can get a copy.
10. Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class edited by Michelle Tea
    The final book on my list is an essay collection written by women who grew up working class. The topics of the pieces range pretty broadly, from discussion of class jumping to explorations of how much worse poor people are treated in day to day life.

Obviously there are a lot more books about poverty that are worth reading. These ten are just the first best ones I could come up with. Please feel free to leave other suggestions in the comments, and thanks for reading my Blog Action Day 08 post!

And in honor of all of those bloggers who regularly use Friday to list things they love (and make all of our days brighter), I give you a playlist of songs I unabashedly and completely love. Enjoy.

I'm in a bit of a mood today, so I am going to make a Christmas list of items from Etsy that I wish lived at my house. Feel free to use any and all ideas. And not just this for me--it's all about supporting handmade this Christmas!

Editing on 12/5/08: This list is in progress. I keep adding to it every day. So I made categories. To make it easier. Because I'm retentive like that.

Jewelry/Accessories

• oktag XL Frame Pouch ($47): I'm not really a clutch-carrying type, but I swear if I had one of these I would be. I like them all, but the pears on gray are my favorite.


• Modica single circle wood and resin necklace ($35): I love how simple and stunning this is. I think I'd want one of the warmer, red-toned colors, to compliment the wood. I like some of the more intense stuff on the site too, but keep coming back to this basic necklace...though I really dig the three circle one as well.


• Bluevivor Altered Ephemera Dangerous Cowgirls pendant ($5): Again, I love all of these. However, this cowgirl one speaks to me.


• Lillyella Lily of the Valley Brass Necklace ($18): This necklace would be a departure from my nearly all-silver jewelry, but I really love it. It's so chunky and yet so fragile looking. Nice price, too!


• Polarity Grace Recycled Magnetic Locket Set ($16): These magnetic lockets are SO cool, and how much cooler to have different interchangeable faces? And that they're made from recycled materials? And that this one is my name? I want.


• Everdreamdesigns Multi Color Glass Bead Wrap Bracelet ($8.99): I want this in my stocking! I don't usually wear bracelets, but this is so gorgeous and unusual, I'd make an exception. I love that it's flexible and made with memory wire, too. And what a great price!


• Javagaldesigns Brew Bags - Hawaiian Flowers - Upcycled Burlap Coffee Purse ($50): Cool bags made out of burlap coffee sacks! Is it just me, or does that rule? My favorite is this colorful mid-sized Hawaiian one.

Visual Art

• Mt Joy School Mixed Media Painting/Collage ($46): Isn't this beautiful? And, unlike my usual taste in art, it's decidedly happy. I want it to be in my house. Maybe in my bedroom.


• Swallowfield A Room of One's Own Archival Print ($18): Honestly, there isn't a single thing in this shop I don't covet, but I *think* this is my favorite.

Dada Dreams "Why Buy The Cow When You Can Get the Milk for Free?" original collage ($20): Again, I love just about everything on this site, but this I reaalllly want.

• Dogartstudio Custom Watercolor Pet Portrait ($250): I would so love to have one of these done of Leo. I love this style, and to have it be a watercolor would be fantastic. Maybe one day.


• Yumiyumi Wild Garden (kaleidoscopic) print ($20): Do you think maybe I have a thing for brightly colored prints?


• Matteart Charlie Bird Print ($35): Question: do I ever get sick of quirky prints? Answer: no. This is another artist whose work I can't get enough of, but Charlie Bird is my favorite.


• Dazeychic "I Love Your Utensils" Prints ($75): I feel very strongly that my perfect kitchen will be built around these prints. I just need my cohabitant to buy into that dream.

Household

• Artgoodies Block Print Bird Towel set ($85): Yes, I know, $85 is too much to pay for a half dozen kitchen towels. But these are so, so gorgeous.


• Skinnylaminx Borrowed Spoons Tea Towel ($12): Like prints, I seem to have a thing for kitchen towels right now. I love the mod look of this one.

Stationary/Office

• Dozi 2009 Pocket Planner ($11): So lovely, so minimalist, so useful, and not too expensive, either!


• Bill O'Neil Surfer King Mod Abstract Mousepad ($15.95): Isn't this just cool? I actually have a custom photograph mousepad that I love at work, but this would be great for home.


• Annacote Botanical Note Set ($18): I'm such a sucker for stationary. And for minimalist prints inspired by the natural world. And for saturated colors. Can I just have these, please?


• oiseaux Personalized Blue Bird Vintage Bookplates ($15.25): I love the idea of book plates. I have no idea if I would actually use them if I had them, but I think I would if I had these ones.


• 3SistersLove 2009 Desk Calendar ($20): Isn't this letterpress calendar beautiful? I want one on my desk.


• SimplyEmbellish Botanical Block Print Wall Calendar ($15): Yes, it's another printed botanically inspired calendar, but this one is done with wood block printing. Isn't it just completely gorgeous? I'm in awe.


• Sugarskull7 Roots hand-carved rubber stamp ($8): I'm really into the idea of stamps lately. I don't actually own any, so I don't know if I'd like them in reality or not. This shop has some great ones, but this tree is my favorite. I feel sure that if I found it in my stocking, I'd stamp up a storm. Other fantastic ones are the Happy Monster ($8), Dewey the Corgi ($10), and Mason jar ($6)

Bath and Body

• MoonsHarvest Bath Bomb Gift Set ($22.75): I realize I am supposed to take care of my own needs in this area, but I'd so like someone else to do the work for once, and these are particularly fetching and VERY well priced.


• ShopRed Leaf Women's Spa Gift Set ($48): ShopRedLeaf is the Etsy store I wish Crushworthy was. The packaging is so beyond gorgeous. I want. And I especially want to try their "bubble bath dough," which is included in this nice gift set and also sold separately. I do wish the ingredients were listed, though.

That was fun! I'm in a much better mood now!

My non-sucky Christmas play list. It is still under construction, but I've been listening to it.

Remember the other day when I was going on about how great it is that everyone's blogs are full of resolutions and goals this time of year and we're all bright and shiny-eyed and committed to bettering ourselves in 2009?

Well, I'm kind of over it.

I'm all about betterment of the self. I probably write more about my own efforts at self-betterment here than about anything else. I'm goal-oriented. But I'm 100% sick of my goings on about it right now, and of all of yours as well. Not because I don't think we should all be committed to being better people, but because I'm starting to freak out about our collective need for perfection.

So today, I'm going to tell you a few of things that are wrong with me that I'm not trying to fix. This is the stuff I'm not working on, the stuff that you are just going to have to accept about me as is if you want to be friends. If you want to do the same, either in the comments or on your own blog, I encourage it. I think we could all use a little time out to embrace our flaws.

1. I have zero hand-eye coordination. Seriously. It's pathological. I had to take a special class in elementary school for what was then referred to as "physical retardation" or something like that. Basically, it was three half-hours a week of trying to get me to learn to throw and catch. I hated it. My coordination hasn't improved much since then, either. I can drive adequately, but that's about the end of what I've learned. I am bad at all sports. I bump and bruise myself daily. I can't even play Tetris.

2. I don't floss. Ever. And I'm not going to start.

3. I can't sew. I've tried, I've failed, I'm done.

4. I only finish what I start about a quarter of the time. My follow through is severely lacking. I am a much better plan-maker than plan-doer.

5. I am not above picking fights to entertain myself when I'm bored.

6. If I don't like you, I probably won't bother to hide it or even be civil to you if I don't have a pressing reason to be.

7. I have a strong tendency to think things are not worth doing simply because I'm not able to do them.

8. If you grew up wealthy, I'm likely to take an unfair automatic dislike to you.

9. I bite my nails, and my cuticles.

10. I'm incredibly lazy and will sleep 12 hour stretches if allowed.

11. I drink, often to excess, and I'm a lousy drunk.

12. I quite regularly don't answer my cell phone just because I don't feel like it.

OK. I feel better now! You?

Since I wrote this post about my addiction to fancy bath stuff and perfume, I have had it in my head to write something about the smells I prefer and why. Obviously, since I make my own essential oil scented products, as well as spending an embarrassing amount of time picking out the smells I want from other people's stuff, I have preferences. There are a set of smells I love and a set of smells I can't stand, and some of it is probably just random taste, but a lot of it does have to do with the feelings that those smells invoke in me. I don't know if I really believe in aromatherapy or not, but it seems undeniable to me that smells do have bearing on your feelings. Bad or overpowering smells are distracting and irritating, while subtle and pleasant smells are calming. Smells can make you nostalgic, obviously, but also tense and troubled. Smells can help you to relax or energize you. But not all smells work the same way for all people, so please don't think of this as instruction or advice. This is just what works for me.

Smells I Love
Lavender: For me, lavender is probably the most overall useful and pleasant scenting agent. I use it everything from bath stuff to cleaning supplies, combine it with nearly everything, and it is almost never wrong. My laundry soap is lavender lemongrass, with a lavender dryer sachet; there is a lavender and sweet orange spray near my cat boxes; and if I am making bath products for myself, they are more likely to contain lavender than any other single smell. Lavender makes me feel calm and relaxed, and it also gives me the sensation of being clean and fresh (which is why I love it so much for laundry and cleaning).

My favorite lavender products: There are a ton to choose from, but the first two that come to mind are Aveda's Balancing Infusion for Sensitive Skin (which contains lavender, patchouli, geranium, and rose oils) and EO's Lavender and Sweet Orange Room Spray, which I believe is found at Whole Foods.

Orange: Like lavender, I find orange to be a versatile and almost univerally pleasant smell. It has to be a natural orange smell, though--the kind that smells like an actual orange, not like orange candy. Many people find citrus smells invigorating and energizing, but I don't particularly (probably in large part due to the blends I choose). For me, orange, like lavender, invokes feelings of calm and cleanliness.

My favorite orange products: My own orange and clove bath stuff has to be up there, but I like other people's orange products as well. One I've been enjoying lately is the Orange Sherbet Bubble Bath Dough from Red Leaf. It's a nice warm orange scent with a little bit of vanilla in it that smells very natural and I find both cheerful and soothing.

Fig: Though it is slightly more esoteric than the first two scents I mentioned, I'm nuts about fig scented products. I love fig because it's a natural, fruity smell that has some earthiness to it and isn't too sweet. For me, it's a very grounding, centered smell. In particular, I love bath products with a fig element.

My favorite fig products: The product that introduced me to my love of fig was Lush's Figs & Leaves soap, which is made with actual figs as well as orange and ylang ylang and is my hands-down favorite thing from Lush. More recently, I have been crazy about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Carnal scent, which pairs fig with mandarin.

Rose: It took me a long time to warm up to rose, mostly because there is so much badly done rose stuff out there. Nicely scented rose products should smell like an actual rose, not your grandmother's underwear drawer. There is a weird underlying power or talculm scent in some rose stuff that I just cannot get behind. Real rose, though, is a pure, beautiful scent, and not just a floral but also an earthy, almost spicy note. I like to wear it because it makes me feel not only feminine, but somehow more mature and confident.

My favorite rose products: Once again, BPAL does an amazing job with rose. Their The Rose perfume is probably the perfect pure rose scent. I love the blends with rose even more, though, particularly Catherine, which is rose, rosemary, and orange blossom; and Mata Hari, which is a five rose blend with jasmine, vanilla, fig, tonka bean, mahogany, and coffee.

Clove: The more I experiment with scents, the more I realize that I strongly prefer "warm" scents to "cool" ones. I like spicy, rich scents. And nothing adds spicy and rich to a combination faster than clove. I mix clove with nearly as many things as I do lavender (though I do not mix them together!). I love orange and clove, rose and clove, vanilla and clove...I could go on. The smell of clove makes me feel warm and safe and at home.

My favorite clove products: Once again, I am awfully fond of my own clove blends, but nothing I've made can hold a candle to Villainess' Embargo. Embargo is a complicated scent, "Indonesian Patchouli spiked with imported spices - cloves, sandalwood, and cedarwood, and a drop of perfume - Tunisian jasmine, tuberose, lily of the valley, grape and Tahitian vanilla," but mostly, to me, it smells like a warm library. BPAL's Madrid is another great clove scent, mixing clove with red wine and mimosa.

So tell me, what smells do you love? Why? How do they make you feel? Do they invoke specific memories, or just general feelings? How important do you think they are in your life?

My good friend and mistress of all thing blogging Skye just sent me a list of search terms that have led people to my blog. Quite a few of them are obvious or make sense, but some are too damn funny not to share. A few of my favorites:

• man hating songs: this actually brings people here all the time, to my great joy
• erotic stories/making love ata drive in movie: this one took me a minute, but it must be the "ata" that does it
• girly badass tattoo: hell yes!
• short brown curly haired actresses from 1930's: specific! I like it!
• in 'girl interrupted' 1999 what song do susanna and lisa sing to polly outside her door
: Hrm...Downtown, I think?
• disney's belle is a whore: I'd say she's more a rape victim with possible Stockholm Syndrome, actually
• where can i buy malibu musk: good God, why would you want to?
• is reed college stressful? Haha! Yes. But worth it.
• evil beagle tattoo: this just makes me laugh
• every single god damn disney movie ever made: again, hysterical
• smith college vagina: this is one that probably shouldn't make me laugh, but does anyway
• what place in shreveport bossier louisiana deals with stories walruses hills and rainbows? Again an odd and specific question.
• why do i drink more when i get my period: reasonable question. I do, too.

Strange, in light of my last post, but this is my annual pre-birthday stuff I want post. What can I say--I'm an enigma.

• Sandmaiden Bamboo and Organic cotton jersey pj set: I know paying $100 for pajamas is insane, but I'd love a handmade-to-my-measurements set like these.

• Prep bowls by Lynn Cardwell pottery: I absolutely love these small, vibrant prep bowls. I think I'd use some of them as candle holders and some to corral jewelry on my dresser top. But I might cook with them, too. You never know. I really like the cereal bowls as well.
• Water color painting by Jennifer Comstock: Though we have a growing art collection, we're bereft of watercolors. I'd like one for my new office. Hard to choose a favorite, but I think Sun Scorched Tomato might be mine.

• Florence Nightingale necklace: Tell me you don't love this necklace from Mod Cloth. I love it. I want it.
• Modica three circles wood and resin necklace: Modica's wood and resin jewelry has been on my wish list for years. I love the way they are sort of natural meets manmade, and I particularly like the blues and greens and the linear setup of this one.
• Gothic curiosities locket: I love this antique locket--it's so big and bold and plain. I'd probably try to use it as a scent locket.
• Original Tree illustration by Carambatack Design: More office decor I'd love to have. I loved mixed media. Especially with re-use of words. This is such a great piece.
• The Gazette Dress: I have no idea if it would fit me, but I so love this dress. it's got that whole updated retro thing that I like, plus it's in my favorite palette.

There is so much great indie stuff out there. I want to hug it all.

For a couple of months, I've been reading along as Karen Walrdond works on her Life List. As someone who is already really into goals and the importance of writing them down, I've always wanted to make one myself, but never actually done it. So, yesterday, I started.

I'm not finished. This list should have at least 100 things on it. But this is a start, and I'll amend it as I think of more.

Do it. You'll feel better.

1. Skydive.
2. See a Klimt painting in Austria.
3. Sit for a portrait.
4. Run a dog rescue.
5. Be someone's mother.
6. Write a novel I'd want to publish.
7. Visit Freida Kahlo's house in Mexico City.
8. Ride in a hot air balloon.
9. Do a major art installation project.
10. See the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in all four seasons.
11. Throw a wine-tasting party.
12. Go to a barn-raising.
13. Learn a new sport.
14. Attend an artistic or spiritual retreat.
15. Be a godparent.
16. Speak at my alma mater.
17. Visit the Elephant Sanctuary.
18. Get a Ph.D.
19. Volunteer for disaster relief.
20. Have a rose garden.
21. See the Northern Lights.
22. Sail on a sailboat.
23. Teach someone to read.
24. Eat 100 local foods in the regions to which they are local.
25. Tuck my hair into my waistband.
26. Go on a trip with my mother.
27. Organize a major charity event.
28. Work with a dog visiting elderly hospital/hospice patients.
29. Throw a surprise party.
30. Have a dress custom made.
31. Got to a dog show.
32. Attend the birth of a child.
33. Visit the sites of 5 revolutions.
34. Have a cocktail named after me.
35. Ride a motorcycle.
36. Stay overnight at the Chelsea Hotel.
37. Visit Rogue brewery.
38. Observe the Supreme Court.
39. Be in a movie.
40. See the sun rise in Spain.
41. Drive an American muscle car.
42. Go zip lining in Costa Rica.
43. Have a beignet in the French Quarter.
44. Take Mark to Crater Lake.
45. Attend an EPL football game.
46. Write a collection of short stories based on the old women I've known/heard stories about.
47. Stomp grapes.
48. Take a road trip alone.
49. Attend the Sundance Film Festival.
50. Host a big family holiday celebration.
51. Write a song.
52. Have a non-canine or feline pet.
53. Publish an article in a national circulation magazine.
54. Plant a tree and watch it grow.
55. Embroider or cross-stitch a sampler.
56. Collect over 100 bottles of wine.
57. See an animal being born.
58. Visit Jim Morrison's grave in Paris.
59. Do 108 sun salutations for Globa Mala.
60. Take a trip by train.
61. Learn to make doughnuts as amazing as my mom's.
62. Go to thrift stores in/around every major U.S. city.