Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter!

Well little children, it's that time of year again. Time for cinnamon hot chocolate, snuggies and Christmas lights. I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit (maybe because I lost my seal ornament). Even though I've been busy with Christmas stuff, I haven't had time to process that it's really happening THIS week. Glad we got to do holiday specs and Framily Christmas, so thanks ladies. I've exchanged presents with my family three separate times now because my plans for the holidays have been up in the air until now. Happy to report that I'll be spending this Christmas with Forest and his family, so here I come Georgia. I hope it turns into a tour of the state after the short visit with the kids is over, as I'm headed to see my aunt in Decatur. I get to make up my own Christmas plans so who knows how long I'll stay or where I'll go. But while we're on the subject, here is a nice treat from a ghost of Christmas past:


This is a tribute to Forest and my small frame. I'm going to date this as being 20 years ago, and that's really weird to say. And no, that Christmas present didn't belong to either of us.

And now on to real business. It's almost 2010 and I think that means we need to look back at the year in music. Yes, this is going to be a list of music, but not all from the calendar year, so go ahead and shut up about that. I've tried to narrow it down, but I've had a hard time, so deal.

Does This Mean You're Moving On? - The Airborne Toxic Event
Fireworks - Animal Collective
Murder In the City - The Avett Brothers
Sugarfoot - Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Brackett, WI - Bon Iver (Dark Was the Night)
Dying Day - Brandi Carlile
We're Here To Save The Day - The Constellations (feat. Asher Roth)
Little Bribes - Death Cab for Cutie
Ain't No Thing Is Perfect - Derek James
Pony (It's OK) - Erin McCarley
Look For Me Baby - Fiction Family
The Chain - Ingrid Michaelson
Young Forever - Jay-Z (feat. Mr. Hudson)
I'd Rather Be With You - Joshua Radin
Never Gonna Happen - Lily Allen
Paper Planes (DFA Remix) - M.I.A. (Slumdog Millionaire)
Daylight - Matt & Kim
Electric Feel - MGMT
Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead (feat. Cherine Anderson)
Guilty Cocker Spaniels - Modest Mouse
Girl Named Tennessee - Needtobreathe
Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn and John
Lisztomania - Phoenix
Beat It - Pomplamoose (Covering Michael Jackson)
Ghost Under Rocks - Ra Ra Riot
Laughing With - Regina Spektor
Blood, Pt. 2 - Buck 65 (feat. Sufjan Stevens & Serengeti)
Shut Up And Let Me Go - Ting Tings
Percussion Gun - White Rabbits
Tightrope - Yeasayer
Bitter Heart - Zee Avi

Looking over this, it doesn't feel complete. I don't know why I feel so limited by this, but I'm cringing at the thought of this summary. Let's add some honorable mentions from 2008 (and let's not talk about the hippity hop songs I'm embarrassed to add) and maybe that will help.

Tired - Adele
You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds (feat. Regina Spektor)
OK, It's Alright With Me - Eric Hutchinson
Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis (feat. Chris Robinson)
Jack Killed Mom - Jenny Lewis
Forevermore - Katie Herzig
When It's Good - Marc Broussard (feat. Leann Rimes)
Jenny Don't Be Hasty - Paolo Nutini
Against All Odds - The Postal Service
You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne
Inní mér syngur vitleysingur - Sigur Rós
The Con - Tegan and Sara
Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

Okay, I feel better about this now; it feels more complete. Hope you agree with me on some of these. AND I hope you have a great and safe holiday break. I don't know if I'm ready for another year yet, but I look forward to the challenge. 2009 was equally bad and good (if you leave out the month of May) and I hope 2010 will bring me a social work job. Maybe I should find a mall Santa and ask him for that. But then again, mall Santas might need a job more than me. So here we go... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

iPhones and Texas! Woot woot!

present? present.

well, I've certainly been lacking in giving this blog the attention it deserves. so, I've stared at it for the past 20 minutes, gave it a couple winks and now I'll write a little something. it seems that it's December 11, 2009. I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm looking forward to the new year. I mean, I think it's a little cheesy and unecessary to feel like you can make a fresh start just because we're using different numbers to designate the year, BUT I am looking for a fresh start. to be honest the past few months have been kinda blah. alternate spellings/definitions can also be found under "blaaaaah," "blaaaaachh," and "uuugggggh." I'm tired of not doing much and feeling unmotivated, so I'm trying to make a conscious effort to focus and move forward. although, I do like going backwards sometimes, but that's usually only in my car. since, you know, it decided not to do that for a couple weeks back in October.

so to now give a little humor to this post, I will share that I have been asked to be a part of the "unofficial" morale committee at work. this effort is being spear-headed by our new business guy, and I'll be honest with you, our first meeting was a little Michael Scott-esque. however, I always applaud someone trying to put a positive spin on something. and I definitely will never turn turn down a free lunch that involves Mexican food. or Mexican people. unfortunately the majority of the staff at Pablo's was Asian (or as my dad likes to say....."oriental"). but I digress. our new business developer is new to the agency and is trying to get a feel of how we work, what our "culture" is and what we can do to improve "work enjoyment." I suggested instituting a "take 10 seconds" or "don't be an asshole" policy, and I probably got most excited when someone suggested we start playing intramurls. I don't know how long they will keep me on the committee.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. many fun things ahead, and it means that we're even closer to Christmas and Christams vaca days! I'm really excited to be with the fam and experience our first C'mas on St. Simons Island! I was hoping I could get everyone to wear hawaiin shirts and play ukuleles, but I don't think that's gonna pan out and the island isn't quite as tropical as I make it out to be.

and in keeping with the Christmas excitement, I will close with this little treat I found this morning. halleluia!!! shhhhhhhh.

keep bundled up and keep breathing,
mj

p.s. Amy, I promise to post the requested pics very soon.

finals

Finals are here, and I have been doing homework for WAY too long already this weekend. I see no light at the end of the tunnel. My eyes kind of feel like they are crossing and I didn't interact face-to-face with another human being until after 6 today....oy vey. I like that yiddish word and shall continue to use it.

So yes, I'm MIA. Yes, it's cold. I'll try to take pics/video whenever we actually get a real snow around here.

Feel free to call and say hi! See y'all in a week or so! (unless you read this blog, and don't live in B'ham, then maybe see you never.)

Here's your culture lesson. In Korea, they don't t type LOL or haha, they type kkkkkkkkkk or if they're really tickled they'll type kyah kyah kyah. I like it!

Paz y felicidades!

Wednesday Scramble

Looky, looky, looky, here comes Ashley! Ashley’s Pest Control. Something in that doesn’t sound right, but I’m going with it. We’re excited to see Ashley tonight! Woot woot! And I’m ready to get my Thanksgiving on, so some time on Old Margaret Road will be a good intro to the holiday.

I started this Thanksgiving holiday a long time ago by trying to decide a month ago if my whole family could fit into a house we’ve out grown. That was festively followed by Seth sending me (Aunt Amy Art) a hand-print turkey. Also, you should know that Seth has already starting his Christmas reading. I asked him what his book was about the other day on the phone. And to my surprise, he said “Baby Jesus.” I laughed after realizing that my potty mouth had not rubbed off on him but he was indeed reading a story about Jesus’ birth, just in time for November. He flipped the page and exclaimed, “the innkeeper!” And what does the innkeeper say, according to Seth? “I sorry.” It’s my favorite.

I’m driving myself home for Thanksgiving, a first for me, and when there I will get to show my mom the newly pierced ears. I’m not contributing to the main meal, so my dish will be wit with a side of enthusiasm. But if you are cooking the meal this year, Tom Colicchio would like to help you out. I don’t need your tips Tommy, I need you to come to my house. This year we are exchanging Christmas presents at Thanksgiving… perhaps a new Schell tradition. So I scurried out to Baby Gap and spent all my money on baby gifts including some awesome glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas for the girls. Which led me to chat with a co-worker about footie pajamas – miss ‘em, regret not buying the adult ones when they were at Wal-Mart, and wish Jamie would wear hers.

Now on to more random topics, the first of which is Moss Rock. Didn’t go so well, nobody was pulling out their dolla dolla bills y’all. But it was great weather and I/we got to meet Alex Leopold, who is one of our favorites around the Birmingham art shows. Melissa about passed out when he came to my tent, meanwhile I didn’t know why MJ was flipping out. I would like to call us friends now. My other new BFF’s include the 100% cool girls (who sell awesome fabric wallets, scarves, purses, arm things and necklaces). Don’t be jealous, but they’re awesome and 100% cool. And last, but certainly not least, I bought something from my favorite Birmingham artist, Paul Cordes Wilm. I have one small piece from him, but he gave me a great deal on the following item:

It probably 24x36” and is so great. I’m very proud to own it and love that it’s Braille over his eyes (from a Braille bible he said). Speaking of sight, I spotted someone who magically appears like a sprite… Walker Yancey. Yes, indeed, the feral child musician himself. Since his performance at Bottletree last year, I’ve seen him twice at the art show with Paul and my brother spotted him in Barnes & Noble once. Check out his performance at the VST and at Bottletree.

While on the topic of music, I should tell you a little story from the Cage the Elephant show that MJ and I went to. It was wild and had two ridiculous openers, one of which had a cherry tree on stage. We left and came back to find a few limbs on the floor so I guess it got destroyed at some point. While we were talking about elephants, Melissa tried to tell me that the Skidamarink Song (skida marinky dink) was from this Nickelodeon show. I told her it wasn’t because my dead grandfather used to sing it to me. He wasn’t dead then but we didn’t have cable, so I knew it was an old song. We looked it up and I won, but Melissa returned the favor by showing me the video of the elephant show’s version of the song. It was awesome and kinda made me sad I grew up without cable.

I think that’s enough for now. Hope you enjoyed the thought scramble and have a sleepy Thanksgiving!

Blogariffic Teacher's Pet!

Um, ok, so the update of the week is that I've had TWO instances in my statistics class where my teacher emphatically responded to my answer in class...much to my embarrassment.

Friday:
We are working on hypothesis testing and he needs to know some information from the word problem he had read. I had answered questions LIKE this one earlier in class, but decided to sit back and let others participate (Don't want to be a eager beaver). Well, we sit for a good 30/40 seconds with no one answering or saying anything and my professor pauses....looks at me...and says "you wanna save us here?"
REALLY?! I just got called out in class. I could feel my face flush with embarrassment.
I gave the answer, and he moved on. I got some flack after class about Ed (the professor) liking me. awesome. "teachers pet"

oh but it gets better.

TODAY: Working on hypothesis testing, and we were trying to decide when to do an independent t test. So, he asks the class "when do you do an unpaired t-test."
Initially I say, "before and after scenarios." and he goes into a little rant about how yes, in most cases but what is the general rule.
I say "when you are gathering two measures from one sampling unit."
He POINTS, and screams "yes! exactly! YOU should be teaching the class! Come on up and grab the marker. You even used the right vocabulary!"
fml. The whole class laughed. So apparently I'm a little too eager in stats, and he later commented that "Ashley has her class participation points for the year." good grief.

Sorry I'm not blogging often. School keeps me pretty busy.

Went to eat at Xoco this past Saturday. a-mazing. Had the Cubana Torta, a hot chocolate, and churro. mmm mm GOOD.

This weekend: Ice skating in Millennium Park, hot chocolate, and the Chicago Christmas tree lighting. I'm excited.

In other news, highs in the 40s with winds that sometimes feel like they are 100 mph. ok, that's hyperbole, but it's starting to get cold!

Bella says hi!
Ash

Three hundred, seventeen thousand, four hundred miiiiiiiles…

How do you measure two decades of a car? I think Ashley had a good start with the Puffy song tribute. Thanks for that. So for those that don’t know, I got a new car! I’m super excited and thankful for it. (AND… to celebrate, I got my ears pierced. That’s right!) I was looking at some used cars, but my sister urged me to just get a new one for many reasons. My reaction: Fine then, I’ll get what I wanted all along… a Scion.

So after many years of driving scared, I have a car with brakes and all sorts of cool stuff. I’m not used to having nice things, so I’m trying to let the idea sink in still. And I’ve gone through 3 drive-thrus so far and they’re awesome. Ashley, since you haven’t ridden in it, here’s a quick video for you.

I got it just in time for Moss Rock Festival this weekend. I have to go set up tomorrow morning and leave everything until Saturday. I’m all nervous and busy getting my tent ready to set up. Hopefully everything will fit in my car and in one load. I think it’s going to be great weather for it, so I’m hoping for the best and maybe I'll break even. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Websites you need to check out:
1) My Life Is Average (There are so many good things and I wish they happened to me. You definitely need to check out the Halloween ones… best ever!)
2) Notcot (Cool ideas or just fun stuff to look at.)

Okay, have a great Thursday. Scion kisses!

The Great Pumpkin

Well, well... It's Friday Fright time! Even though I have more important things to do today (and this week), I still took some time to carve some pumpkins and blog about it. You're welcome. Please appreciate the progression...

2 weeks ago = bat from a stencil

one week ago = aubie (from camera and freehand)

Saturday = Elmo for Seth (from a coloring book that told me steps of drawing Elmo)

yesterday = work party pumpkin. it was MJ's face (see the glasses) but then it didn't work and his face caved in (like in real life) and so we gave up. I wrote "your mom" on it because it looks like your mom (at Halloween or during the off-season). We didn't win, but I have included the winners' pumpkin:

So that's about all I have to offer for today. Just sad I won't be dressing up with baby doll hands in Chicago this year. I'm off to buy a car, so wish me luck, if you want good things for me. And in the words of Modest Mouse, "Happy Halloween!" B-dubs!

candy corn. extra corny, please.

got a great piece of mail today...enjoy.

xoxo,

mj

Cloudy With a Chance of Being Blown Off of the Sidewalk

So I'm in the midst of midterms, and can't write much, but I often say "oh the weather sucks today, it's rainy and windy." This, friends, is what I'm greeted with to walk Bella in the mornings on bad weather days.

So yeah, there's the wind...and the waves....and the spittle rain....heavy rain just makes things more exciting. Side note: the car that looks like it almost hit me was further away than it looks. no worries, I didn't have a brush with death.

I can only imagine what it's going to be like when there's a blizzard or something. yikes.

Moment of silence for Trout Scout....

Moment of jubilation for Amy Schell driving around in a new car!!!!! wooo!

Moment of sadness that I'm not there to carve pumpkins with y'all tonight.

Moment of happiness at how awesome the Office and Flash Forward episodes were that I caught up on with the help of RCN on demand :)

Moment of happiness that Clayton visited last weekend!

Can't get enough of this.

Oh, and I just listed my first item for sell on eBay. I'm only how many years behind on being cool for doing this?

Miss you! See you soon!

Why The (Sad) Face?

So today is yet another historical day for me. As Joshua Radin says, I’ve “got some growing up to do.” I found out yesterday that I have to “surrender” my car to the insurance company because we’ve decided to total it. WHAT? I started tearing up because I thought I had another week with Trout Scout. So I’ve started the process of cleaning out the car and saying my goodbyes. I’m pretty sad and we had a nice ride into work together today, rain and all. I’ll go get a rental car for the week, turn in my car and then start the process of buying a car, which means loans and signing and make real decisions.

This leads me to continue wondering when I can call myself a real adult. Now? After I get a car? When I get a house? I don’t know, but I feel grown-up a little more every day because of this. But just when I’m starting to feel older, I get reminded that I’m not. This is the bathroom I use at work:
Make sure you catch the “good hygiene” poster on the wall, the training toilet and the step stool if you’re too small to use the sink. That’s right… I feel like a big kid when I go in there every day. I kinda don’t want to explain it, but if you need it, you should know it’s the bathroom that the childcare uses. I'm a reeaaallll boooooy!

I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, but glad that I’m sort of being forced into this change. I’m really excited about getting a new car because I’ve had a really hard time with the jeep since I got it. I’ve never felt safe and it’s cost a lot of money. So I’m glad to let it go but as you know, I’m terribly sentimental, so I think I’m headed to an early afternoon breakdown. But these are the things I’m looking forward to about getting a new car:

1) brakes
2) windows that roll down = drive thrus!
3) a transmission that actually works
4) driving up hills with ease or just driving up hills, period.
5) gas pedal that doesn’t stick
6) heater that works within 30 minutes
7) driving home or wherever I want
8) starting my car in the rain
9) no oil leak puddles in front our our house

So it’s going to be awesome! Watch out world. I’m excited and maybe I’ll have a new car very soon. And maybe you'll see my car parts at Pull-A-Part soon. Don’t worry, I’d love to take you for a ride, you won’t even have to ask. I’d like to finish with a moment of silence for Trout Scout. It’s been good… RIP.

1989-2009, 317,400+ miles. No survivors.

Raised on Rice and Gravy

I had a great time with Conlee, Frank and T-Frank this weekend. Hung out Saturday and Sunday with them, which means we were real fancy. Food, shopping, hitting the Birmingham tourist sites… the works. Here’s a restaurant review for you people who don’t have sisters to pay for your food:

Bottega Café for lunch = “Ham & Cheese” pizza (prosciutto with white cheeses)
Very good and quite salty, even for me, I know. Wish I had opted for the more complex chicken pizza, but I heard great things about their pizzas, so I got one. I give it 3 stars (minus points because they charged me $2.50 for each slice of the cake I brought in for my sister’s birthday, doubling the price. Geez).

Chez Fon Fon for dinner = Steak frites—grilled hanger steak with pommes frites, salsa verde and a small salad
Sooooo good. You’ll need to catch up on your French before you go, but it’s a great place. 4.5 stars and I could eat that meal every day of my life, if I could only afford it.

Little Savannah for lunch = Fried Pork Chop, White Cheddar Blue Corn Grits, Tatsoi, Redeye Gravy
I’ve wanted to go to this place since we went one night for Ashley’s birthday stop #1. But for some reason Ashley and Clayton didn’t take me there on their date. It was really great and like the previous restaurants, they do seasonal foods that feature the local organic farms. I’ve volunteered and gotten to know about the local Jones Valley Urban Farm (www.jvuf.org) and they had food from the Cullman one too. So that adds in some extra Birmingham-local-factor points. They get 4 stars because they did grits and something fried well.

My favorite part of these dining experiences was eating with T-Frank. He ordered Swordfish (because it’s his favorite, of course) and it was not as good as he was used to, so he was unable to finish his sandwich. Also, he uses tons of salt, and that’s meaningful if you have ever eaten with the Schell family. (No Family Song jokes needed here.) But heavy salt use is a genetic trait in our family, so it was good to see that it’s gotten into the fourth generation. We also went to Vulcan, Sloss (where dead bodies were left out from Fright Furnace), Reed Books. Frank was scared to go up to the top of Vulcan, but it was a pretty day, so we made him do it.


Going to AU game this weekend as they play Kentucky at home. We better win and let’s hope it doesn’t rain. Haven’t been to a game in 5 years, so it’ll be good. I was trying to meet up the Littlest Daughtry (don’t be jealous) to pass on the stuff I was making for Jamie, but it’s not going to work out. So looks like I’ll be finding one of her friends to pass that on… haha, I can’t wait. No really, that's what we're doing. I'll show you the picture when I'm done with the stuff. Thank you for being a friend.

Sammy's back!

I picked my car up yesterday from Wholesale Transmissions (AKA, that tranny place), and it was a pretty special moment to sit in Sammy again. it's crazy how much you miss having wheels after only one week. but, here's the problem: I get into my car, and they've moved the seat back. I understand. they're bigger guys, and I'm not 6' 2". however, when I pushed the switch to move it forward....it just sat there. I kept trying, and it wouldn't go forward. funnily enough, unlike my car last week, it will go in reverse. so I go back inside and ask the guy to come out and look at it. he pushed the switch back and forth and tried to manhandle my seat into scooching up a few more inches, but it didn't go forward. he said "yeah, you're just gonna have to take it somewhere." not the words you wanna hear after picking up your car from the shop.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled and thankful to have my car back. it's just a little frustrating to not really be able to reach the pedals. I think I'm just gonna continue to have a love/hate relationship with my car, because there are quite a few positive vs. negative points with this.

I have to stretch my right leg out pretty far if I want to continue moving.

negative: this kinda hurts my thigh, and the hypochondriac in me thinks I'll get a blood clot.
positive: I'm gonna have a rockin' hard thigh on my right let. get ready for competition, Beyonce.

my whole body looks pretty stretched out if my back is touching the seat.

negative: I look like I'm ridin' dirty.
positive: I look like I'm ridin' dirty.

I'm further away from my iPod and the a/c and heat.

negative: sometimes I have to continue listening to Scars if it comes on.
positive: at least I'm not fooling with my iPod as much and can instead look at the car in front of me.

a guy I work with just looked at it and thinks that it's the track that's messed up. he suggested a place called Pull-A-Part, but you have to bring tools and take the part you need out of the cars they have. I don't know...seems like a good option...mainly because it'd be a lot cheaper than taking it to Ford. so I may do that....or I may just keep ridin' dirty.

I hope all is well with everyone. Ash, I hope you and Claytong enjoy his Chi-town visit. I know he'd rather have me and Amy there, but y'all try and have fun anyway.

and I'm closing with this video. watch it. it's a song called Passerby. it's awesome. and beautiful. I love Allie Moss.

love, love, love you,
mj

whaaaaaaa haaaaaappen??

happy October 15th, 2009, folks. it is currently a tad chilly in the office, but it's more than a tad drizzly outside, so I'm gonna try to tough it out in here. speaking of drizzly, Finn (football jock/Glee member) on Glee last night suggested that he and his cheerleader girlfriend name their daughter Drizzle. awesome. I absolutely love that show. this preview has probably one of my favorite lines ever: "I'm about to vomit down your back." yeah, she said it.

so a few things:

-I'm hopefully getting my car back today. keep your fingers crossed that Brandon wasn't lying to me about that. I've missed Sammy. I'm probably gonna take her for some ice cream on Saturday. and by ice cream, I mean oil change.
-umm, the 6-year-old boy who is flying over Colorado in the homemade flying saucer/air balloon/really great idea.....whaaaaaaat? crazy, funny, sad, bizzare, entertaining, frightening...it's all of these things. hopefully he'll get back to the ground safely and have the mother of all "I walked on the moon" stories to tell at parties.
-Mama Jordan is in Pell City right now. this is good news, cause I'll hopefully get to see her, but bad news cause she's there because Weea isn't doing too great. she's fallen twice in the past week and has bronchitis. so keep ol' Weea in your prayers!
-I forget how much I love bagels and how much eating breakfast really helps your day. I know, who woulda thought? kudos to the chocolate chip, asiago cheese and everything bagels at Panera.
-I still haven't called the maintenance crew about my disposal not working, but the disgusting bits and "vomit down your back" smell that is coming from my sink is forcing me to finally call. seriously, it's bad. no, seriously. I kind of dislike myself a lot for putting this one off.
-the Cooley pumpkin carving/movie watching extravaganza is next Friday. I'm excited.
-OK, we just watched the footage of the balloon landing....where is the boy? what's going on? I'm sure this will all be resolved once you read this, but right now I'm just confused and worried.


that's gonna be it for now. enjoy your Thursday!

holla back,
mj

Winterizing My Life

First I want to have a moment of silence for Trout/Scout......

I literally gasped when I read Amy's post. Glad you're OK Schell. MJ, I'm holding my mourning to see if I should be sad for the transmission or the car. You and Clayton could get together and talk about how bad it sucks to have your transmission die in your car though. He just went through it.

In case you were worried that I might freeze to death this winter (as the rest of Chicago, Alabama, and I were.) Here is what I hope to be a bit of encouragement...the gradual building of my winter wardrobe! :)

First: coats.

Parka? check.

3/4 length down sleeping bag with arms. mmmm toasty.

Next: rainproof/warm coat...check!

check it! a 2 for one deal. Coat on the left fits inside the outer coat for extra warmth if needed. YES PLEASE!

Next: footwear. oh, but first, Bella. She wanted her pic taken to tell y'all hello!

My new boots arrived in the mail today! I kind of love online shopping.

London Fog suede waterproof fur lined boots on the left and some super sweet rain boots on the right.

In other news: I am going to class. They are going OK so far. I sometimes feel totally over my head in finance. Surprisingly, I'm following really well in Statistics and Market Research...go figure. Everyone around here is getting ready for Halloween. Better start thinking of a costume idea.

One of the men that teaches in our program writes this blog - Damn, I wish I'd Thought of That. Pretty cool stuff.

One of the dog owners that comes to the park Bella and I visit brews beer. He invited some of us over to brew some one day. I'm pretty excited about that. Should be fun.

Clayton visits next week. YAY!!

My radiator heaters are already on and running - high today was 50 degrees. The radiators sometimes make funny noises at me. Almost like they're complaining at me or something...What's it called when you give human characteristics to inanimate objects?? I do it too much.

that's all I got. I had Chicken Panang curry for lunch...think I need to sleep some of the rice off.

SIDE NOTE: If you're not familiar with Owl City - do yourself a favor and become familiar. me gusta. start with the song Fireflies.

Happy October!

Ashley

and

Bella

What we gonna have-- dessert or disaster?

Let’s start with the good. So, at Artwalk a director of Moss Rock Festival came by (the 5 minutes I wasn’t there) and asked me to apply for the art show. I thought it was a great opportunity to continue doing art stuff, so I applied. This came in the mail a few days ago…

Yeah, and the big font was in bright green. Sorry you’re getting the gray scale version. I would also like to congratulate Jill, whoever she is. Way to go, girl! But Moss Rock is November 7-8th so be there.

Also, some of you may already know about this, but it’ll be a treat if you don’t. I should start from the beginning. I work in a warehouse where there are big gym-like lights with giant 2000-watt light bulbs. I like to collect industrial things and scraps of old stuff. So of course when I found out that we recycle (and keep) these at work, they were immediately appealing. I wanted to do something with them for a little project. So I thought of 1) hanging them from the ceiling, 2) using them as table decorations, 3) making a non-functioning light fixture out of them and maybe illuminating it somehow, or 4) this:

I’m pretty excited about it. It’s a tad heavy would make a great table center thing or something to put on the wall if you’re feeling crazy. But I’ll just keep it for my future home.

Dessert:
I’m excited about Conlee coming to town this weekend. I see her about once a year, so this is a treat. Today is her birthday so we are going to get her a little cake when we meet her for lunch tomorrow. She is all fancy-like, so we are going to Bottega Café and then she wants for me to tour her around Birmingham. Then off to Chez Fon Fon for dinner because she loves Frank Stitt and I’ve never been to one of his restaurants. And then we’ll do Sunday brunch at Little Savannah. Three great places in two days…so I’m pretty excited about all of that and hanging out with T-Frank and BUI.

Disaster:
There is no way to break the news softly. Little Trout/Scout was in an accident yesterday. Don't worry, I'm okay... just a little sore and beat up. Some guy rear-ended me on Lakeshore and pushed in my bumper and thus my hatch won’t open. I need my hatch, it’s the most important part of the car for me, well other than the wheels. So the guy gave me his info and left. The police came almost an hour later and filed a report and may or may not have put a warrant out for him. As for the damage, I thought it wasn’t a big deal until I took it into the collision center. When she gave me quote for almost 3x what my car is worth, I got a little sad because that means the Jeep will be totaled. Really? I regret ever getting into that lane, geeeeeeez! I can’t afford a car. So me and Melissa are thinking about getting a van together… you know, something that will hold all my art show supplies and our kids. But really, I might have to get a car and while that sounds awesome, I don’t know how to do that, if I can, and how I’ll live without Trout/Scout.

And to end on a positive note, I’ll give you my favorite quote from yesterday:
Eron came by my office with stiff legs and asked, “What if we didn’t have knees?” I laughed a lot as she proceeded to try to run with straight legs and arms. Thank you, God, for giving us knees and friends that are completely ridiculous. I'm done. I can't offer anymore.

I put my thing down, flipped it but couldn't reverse it

I was really, really pumped to eat at Saw's BBQ today.  I had heard good things about it, and I was going to get to dine with good ol' Kimberly Holland.  so I thought Wednesday was shaping up to be pretty fine and fabulous.  and from a dining perspective, it absolutely was.  my pork "stuffed tater" was one of the best taters I've ever put in my mouth.  as you may remember, I spent the majority of my food court money at SU on BBQ pork potatoes and ICEEs, so I'm no stranger to the stuffed tater.  this one was loaded with BBQ pork, sauce, cheese, bacon, green onions and a super delectable glob of butter.  AND they have amazing banana pudding, which they call banana ana pudding.  sure, why not?  I would highly recommend that you make your way to Edgewood and, yes, get you some.  (Ash, we'll take you there over the holidays...cause I'm sure you're not getting any good food up there in Chi-town).  

anyway, onto what this world really needs more of....complaining.  so, we're finished eating, and I think "oh, I'll get in my car and head back to work."  little did I know that my car was thinking "oh, I'll let you get in and turn me on (rawr), but I won't let you go anywhere."  I cranked her up, took off the emergency brake, put it in reverse and heard "vrrrrooooooooooooom" but the car did not move.  not good.  so I tried a few more times.  and a few more times.  I believe the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  well, I didn't reach insanity, but I did receive some looks from people standing on the sidewalk.  the lady who brought us our food was outside on her phone.  she looks at me and says "is something wrong with your car?"  yes, ma'am...I believe there's something wrong with my car.  

long story short, I realize that there's probably something wrong with my transmission.  I'd like to give a shout-out to the mechanic at the Edgewood service station.  he was really helpful and came over and took a look at Sammy.  the owner of Saw's was also really helpful and friendly.  it's always nice to be reminded of strangers' kindness.  

but the best person I met today was Chris from Herbert's Towing.  I've been told that it's pronounced "eeeybear," and I'm really excited about that fact.  Chris was rockin' some sweet flowing locks, a backwards hat, some sweet tats and ended up blocking the entire street in order to get my car on the tow truck.  and he didn't do this slowly or safely.  Chris just pulled right across the lanes as cars were still driving; earning him some choice words from a particular driver.  Chris replied with "I've been cussed out plenty of times...and I've heard a lot worse."  he and I also discussed the other options besides the inevitable ones of replacing the transmission or buying a new car.  I strongly considered letting him release my car as it was being pulled up, but in the end I had to go with a "thanks, but no thanks."  seriously though, he was a really nice guy and made this annoying situation a little less annoying. 

so the folks over at Wholesale Transmission are going to take a look at it in the morning.  I'm really, really hoping that it will be something other than the transmission and will cost me only, I don't know, let's go with $37.  but, realistically this could really suck.  I really don't know what I'm gonna do if it is the transmission.  it's really not worth it to spend that much on my car at this point, but I don't think I could swing a car payment right now either.  it's actually pretty scary to think about, but we'll just have to wait and see how things go tomorrow.  MAJOR sigh.....

so let's hope for the best, eh?  but if not, yes, I would love a ride. 

and I'll try to list some positives to keep things in perspective:

- I've got awesome people in my life who help me out in tough spots. (Kimbholl, you're awesome...thanks for the rides and the laughs)!

- my parents are always there to help, and just knowing that helps a lot. 

- Glee and Modern Family are two fine new shows, and they made me laugh tonight. 

- if Brandi Carlile were a food, she would probably be a stuffed tater.  I still can't quit listening to the new album, and I get to see her live in four days.  well, as long as the Max bus goes to WorkPlay.  I'll have to check its route. 

- Halloween is not too far away, and we all know how much I love candy and all things scary.  but not creepy...I think we all know where being creepy leads you.  right, Dave?  you know what though, I think people care way too much about David Letterman's personal life.  I care way more about Paul Shaffer's life. he's bald and always wears sunglasses, but what do we really know about him?  but I digress.  

thanks for letting me vent, blog.  and thanks for reading.  hope y'all are having a good week!

high fives and awkward side hugs, 

mj

so I wake up, and I'm in this dumpster in Connecticut...

so I woke up yesterday and felt like I had dislocated my shoulder. have no fear, I think it's located in the correct spot, but it hurt like no other. I was pretty proud of myself for doing a one-handed hair washing. drying the hair is another story. I borrowed a heating pad from someone at work, which helped a lot throughout the day. however, I'm pretty sure I looked a bit of a fool trying to keep the heating pad between my low back chair and my banged up shoulder blade. good times. I also took a muscle relaxer, and I am not gonna lie to you....good times there too.

I'm feeling much better today. I got a lot of sleep, took some legal drugs, actually ate breakfast and took my one-a-day energy vitamin. this Tuesday could be pretty historic.

SUBJECT CHANGE: I finally used some of the painting supplies I bought, oh, about a year ago. I painted on a small canvas--an 8 1/2 x 11, I believe. I'll be straight with y'all--it's by no means good. it shows no true artistic talent. the drawing isn't even remotely original or creative. and it may look like something a 12-year-old would have done. but, I genuinely like it a lot, and I really enjoyed the time working on it. I want to keep playing around with painting and other artistic whatnots. maybe I'll take a picture of it and share it on this fine blog. I wrote a line from a new BC song on it.....I know, I would.

speaking of 'ol Brandi Carlile, the new album is so insanely good. it's been playing non-stop on the record player since last Tuesday. it definitely has a different feel than her others. I don't know that I like it better than her previous stuff, but it's absolutely just as good. Give Up the Ghost just feels a little more raw and vulnerable, and I appreciate that. the WorkPlay concert is this Sunday.....oooooooo OOOOOOO! i. am. ready.

alright, I'm gonna wrap it up. but I will close saying that, aside from the obvious trip to Chicago next spring, I really want to take a trip to California. and I want to pronounce that the way Arnold Schwarzenegger says it. AND, by going to Google to make sure I spelled his name correctly just now, I found this little treat:

http://www.crocopuffs.com/soundboard/arnold.html

my favorite is the teenage pregnancy sound clip.

I really have to go now. enjoy the week.

one love,
mj

From Soapy Hill...

In chronological order, I will attempt to recap the last week. Ingrid was awesome. Check. I ran to the Greek Fest in the rain twice this weekend for some pites (Peteys) and Andy Baklava. $15 later, I was feeling great and sick, all at the same time. There, I said it, I felt sick. Let me set the scene for this with a picture or two. You’re welcome in advance… First, you should know we ate in Melissa’s crazy car.
Things I’ll point out: Notice the slim area that was left for me to cram into the front seat, all the bottles that aren’t mine, my food spread, messed up armband, heavy rain, and my bib. But it was SO good.

Then there was Sidewalk. Saw a lot of documentaries this year, one actual movie and a few shorts. My faves were Forgetting Dad and Best Worst Movie. The first reminded me that I need to buy Dear Zachary and so I did that yesterday. It’s the best documentary I’ve ever seen. Check it out.

And, possibly my favorite part of the weekend was that I got to tour the old Lyric Theater. I’ve wanted to see it every since Joseph told me about it and some pictures he saw. I didn’t tell y’all but I was hoping to plan a fun little tour before Ashley left and had been talking back and forth with a lady at the Alabama who said she would open it up for us. Well, I walked by it on Sunday and to my surprise, they were having an open house. It was really cool to see inside but it’s kind of depressing to see it in its current condition. It closed in 1958 and has fallen from hand to hand, but now the Alabama Theater group owns it as is planning on restoring it to the tune of $20 million. I didn't donate anything. Here are some pictures from inside.

So, yeah, that’s kinda it for me. Donna’s in town so I’ve been yelling “DDOONNNNNNNAAA” a lot. It’s been good to see some old college friends lately. And Saturday is NeedToBreathe and that should be a great show. Missed them last time they were in town so I’m proud to be ticket owner this time around. I have more to share, but I'll save it until next time. Today is Football Friday at work. If you wear a team shirt, then you are entered to win a giftcard/prize. Wish me luck and War Eagle!

we love mexican food....

so here's the deal, music is making me really happy today (as it often does). so I'd like to share some musical treats with you guys. and mainly I'm wanting to make Ashley wish she were still here and going to concerts with us. jerk move? maybe. but so was hers. :)

I saw Ingrid Michaelson last Thursday at WorkPlay. you know, there are those certain artists that just make me incredibly happy....nay, joyful....to see them performing live. she's definitely one of them. I love the way she interacts with the crowd, and good goo, she's just phenomenal. she did a parody of her new single "Maybe" that shows the band's love and appreciation for mexican food while out on the road. love it. please love it here yourself. fajita with a hard "j"....gets me every time. I still need to get her new album. I'll be doing that soon. I've downloaded a couple from Allie Moss who has played with Ingrid for as long as I've known about her. good stuff as well.

OK, seeing needtobreathe this Saturday at WorkPlay. I'm excited about this one, too. I don't really know a whole lot of their stuff, but I do enjoy the ones I've heard a good bit. I really like their new single "Something Beautiful." I found this acoustic version and think it's pretty kickin'. I often wish that the studio albums would sound less manufactured and all that mess. I prefer my performances like I prefer my dates: raw and stripped down. get the rawness.

I'm trying conserve the moo-lah so I can see A Fine Frenzy in October. I'd really like to see her live, and Among the Oak & Ash are opening for them. this is the new band that Garrison Starr and Josh Joplin have formed. from what I've heard and seen online from them, I feel like they could become a huge new favorite. the album is mainly covers of folk music, with a couple originals. I'm a big fan of these two: The Water is Wide and Peggy-O.

and by far some of the best news I can give you today is that the new Brandi Carlile album should be waiting for me when I get home! yep, you guessed right. I could not be more excited! it's called Give Up the Ghost, and I'm ready to soak it up. listening party at my place tomorrow! Ashley, I expect you to be there in spirit. don't say you're too busy having your right leg blown into your left leg up there in the windy city. BCB concert October 11th! maybe I can get another pic like this one.



I'll give you my opinion of the new album soon, but all signs point towards me saying something like "good goo, it is absolutely amazing!" I mean, that just sounds like something I would say.

so there it is. good music. good times. Sidewalk was also good this past weekend. I wish the weather had been a little nicer on Saturday, but I really enjoyed the movies I saw this year. speaking of movies, I wanna see Whip It. and I wanna see Grey Gardens....the doc. I want a lot of things, but I'll try to give too. I still miss you already.

x's and a few o's,
mj

Why do they call it pop?

Greetings from Chicago. Um, I've been pretty terrible at blogging, but I guess that's what happens during a life change? who knows.

Learning curve is pretty steep - so I still feel like I'm trying to figure out how to live my life, but I like good 'ole Chicago thus far. Well, except that they call coke "pop." really guys? let's stop that.

I'm giving you guys a little video tour so you can see the place....I still have a lot to do, but I figure it's as good as the place is gonna get for a while. Sorry I look rough, hit a motivation streak today and have been cleaning/hanging stuff on the walls.

enjoy.

I also bought a new pair of shoes to walk...cause apparently they do that a lot here. go figure.

Hopefully I'll be better about writing more often....so Amy will stop dominating the blog.

Life After Artwalk

So it's just me again, guys. Don't get all crazy. Artwalk is over and I would like to give a recap of that. It went well, as you may have witnessed with your very own eyes. I sold 7 things in the weekend, including some unexpected sales. I got rid of my Birmingham cityscape painting which I kind of regret. But oh well and it's over and gone. I'll just have to do another one. I don't even want to think about painting right now though. I'm over it for a little while. I say that while I fill out an application for the Moss Rock Festival. But it's not until November, so put it on your calendar. Also, I would eventually like to pursue the other offers to display stuff and take full advantage of the Artwalk experience. Moral of the story, I would be willing to do Artwalk again. It's really weird to think I actually did it! Thanks so much for all of the support guys. I couldn't have asked for better peeps and family support. Here are some pictures:


And then Ashley left. I was pretty sad and I'll leave it at that. I still miss you already. But I would like to take the time to send some well wishes to Ashley as she is getting all settled in and making a little bird nest for herself. Hope Chicago is doing well and can't wait to come visit for Halloween. I watched the SNL again because it recorded again and I just sang along to "I put a squirrel in my bed and mustard in my bed and I slept in my bed... Is that bad? Da da da de da da da."

Um, so things I'm excited about:
1) Ingrid this Thursday. Listening to the new CD and I'm excited.
2) Sidewalk this weekend. Opening night and weekend pass purchased. Check.
3) Greek Fest this weekend too. I'm excited about getting way too full on great food. And while we are on the subject, I will go ahead and tell you my great plan for us. I plan to keep the Andy Baklava story alive by continuing the tradition. I hope that we invite a boy to eat with us each year and make the most of our time downtown. Deal with that.
4) The new A Fine Frenzy CD. It's fun and upbeat and a good progression from her first album.
5) Not having any more money after this weekend.
6) Being over the swine flu. I am feeling better but my mom said that if I don't slow down that I will relapse. It's not cancer, but I'm trying to regain some strength slowly. Might buy the "I survived Swine Flu '09" shirt soon.
7) Hurricane Season

Glad Artwalk is over. Glad we got to see Jamie for 18 hours. Glad to see all my friends that came in from out of town. Glad Ashley has moved in and started classes. Best of luck! Let's see some pictures soon, okay?

Bye Witch!

So, the going away party is over, but Ashley is still here and I like that. I think we pulled off a pretty great surprise party, full of lies and trickery. Here are some sweet group pictures from that evening. Funny followed by serious:


Highlights of the day:

1) My friend at work, Jenny, brought me back 2 little containers of sand from Hawaii. More specifically, Jenny got me sand from 2 locations of the beach where they shoot LOST. I was REALLY excited about it. One is from the plane crash beach site and the other from the campsite location.

2) I bought the new Ingrid Michaelson CD and it's good. It has 2 videos on there and I think it's going to be a good album, especially since we are about to see her in a few weeks.

3) The long-awaited photo shoot. I'm excited to take pictures tonight in my suit(s).

BW!

Your Mom Blogs

First things first. I have an adorable little family. Evidently my twin nieces take after us and take lots of pictures of themselves. I found this jewel on Forest’s FB and it appears as those little nuggets have learned the art of monkey arm photography. Doesn't it look like Kate is reaching out her arm to take the picture?

The caption would read:
Kate: “Hey, Lauren, get in this picture with me. I borrowed Dad’s camera. Okay… yeah, I think we’re both in it.” Right?

Subject change: Artwalk.
I got a letter Saturday to donate a piece of art by Wednesday for the Preamble on Thursday. Right. So I have to make that tonight. I’m feeling better about the new location but still really scared as time approaches and I haven’t had time to work on anything. Question: If I make that big cardboard piece into the bible page background/blk letter foreground, do you think i should cut it down or keep it one big piece?

Next, I echo MJ’s excitement about the fall. The concerts are going to be great and I can’t wait to dress up with baby doll hands for Halloween. I also hope I get my ears pierced this fall… maybe in Chicago. Tattoos anyone?

And finally, we went record shopping on Saturday and what wonderful things were found. I purchased two new records – Vampire Weekend and Fiction Family. VW is still one of my faves from the past year and FF is new to me, but the people are not… combo of Nickel Creek side guy and Switchfoot frontman, Jon Foreman. It’s good, or goode, as I might say. Also, I got the Animal House soundtrack and a Cure record. Both of those are great dance-around-the-house albums. Other things I’ve been listening to/ buying lately: Matt & Kim, Constellations, Regina Spektor, Michael Fronti (who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert and was awesome), Death Cab’s new EP and Phoenix. I also have bought my usual singles from the summer hip-hop hits, so I’ve been trying to rock it out in my new office. Maybe one day you will see my office. I have a giant (vagiant) poster of a Compassion kid outside my window and sometimes it scares me.

Thank you for being a friend!

put your thumb out, hitch it and reverse it

so like any good employee, the first part of my day consists of checking out the headlines on my Google homepage. and by headlines, I really mean my "Oddly Enough" and "How to of the Day" sections. please check out this "how to" treat for today.

it has to do with hitchhiking, but to sum up my favorite part, I will show this picture:




and please note that under "Take Precautions," what I would consider to be a pretty useful warning, is the last bullet.

"Pack some pepper spray, in case you encounter a shady character, on or off the road."

in case you encounter a shady character. yeah, just on the off chance that someone with less than honorable intentions picks you up on the side of the road. you'll probably be OK....you're wearing a bear costume and holding a sign that reads "won't kill you." good luck getting to Dollywood.

in other news, I'm absolutely loving the She & Him album. so flippin' good. this one is probably my fave.

mmm, good music on a Monday. delicious.

Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday

I think the most exciting part of my week has been discovering that Amy has a "back patio." had I known this before, we would have been hanging out there ALL the time. however, it was also exciting to see Amy's art. I think Artwalk is going to kick some major boo-tay. or ass, if you wanna put it that way.

so here's my random thought of the day. it baffles me how some people can be so completely selfless, caring and compassionate towards animals but treat people like (well, I was gonna say dogs, but they actually treat dogs with a very kind heart, so I'll choose something else), let's say, crap. I don't get it. and it's not that I don't think we should be there for our four-legged friends. I just don't understand how you can have such a heart for saving and caring for animals in need, and at the same time be so short and rude to our two-legged friends (well, and Heather Mills...her prosthetic leg counts). sorry, that was mean. maybe I should be saying these things to myself. so here's my suggestion: be nice to animals....and humans. let's all just give it a try. it's incredibly, incredibly easy to be nice to people. I promise.

OK, done with that.

some things I'm looking forward to:

visiting the folks at the new house in St Simons (Sept 7)
Artwalk (Sept 11-12)
Sidewalk (Sept 25-27)
Ingrid Michaelson concert (Sept 24)
NEEDTOBREATHE concert (Oct 3)
Brandi Carlile concert (Oct 11)
Halloween in Chicago (Oct 31)
car ride up to Chicago with Amy and Claytong (October...whenever he goes...probably leaving at 9:00 p.m.)

I'm also looking forward to doing more things that I say I'm gonna do. I really want to start writing more. well, let's be honest...start writing. so tell me to write. ask me if I've written. write me a story, and tell me to do the same for you.

good things to come. I'm excited about life. by the by, we're having banana split ice cream again today at Luckie....and we're playing Rock Band in the main conference room at 4:00. get. it.

give me an awkward side hug when you see me,
mj

Around the World in 60 Days?

As I sit here in the office of biology looking at a tarantula in an aquarium, I thought "Hey, this is a good time to reflect." I feel like most summers are just "blah" but the ones has yet to let me catch my breath. You know, it's not enough that I'm preparing for probably my biggest life change ever - let's throw in a lot of rando/awesome trips that just keep popping up as well.

Costa Rica was pretty stinkin awesome - it rekindled my desire to be a Spanish speaker. So, that's a goal for 2009/2010...and an already overwhelming goal at that. Hola, me llamo Ashley. There, that's a start.

Chicago trip 1 - Martin family adventure was everything a family trip should be - exciting to be able to show my parents my future home and place of learning - (ta da!)
while still dealing with the various frustrations of life together 24/7 after living apart for a number of years and the added stress of finding an apartment so I wouldn't be homeless.

Then there was the beach - which I can never get enough of.
(see photo evidence)

followed by a 6 hour drive to Atlanta to fly to NYC.
to rock out at All Points West Music and Arts Festival. More photos available on FB.

Came home and a week and 2 days later realized that it was time to go BACK to Chicago so that I'm not homeless. So, what better way to do that than drive 10 hours through the night without sleeping?! woo wee! After a weekend of greasy hair, apartment shopping (that didn't include being murdered by a craigslist killer), a Cubs game, Garrett's Mix popcorn, the El, the Bean, stuffed pizza, 22 hours in the car, and stop at a rando dairy farm in Indiana, I can confidently say that I feel much more like a Chicago resident (that has applied for an apartment) but I'm not any less sad to be leaving Birmingham.

Well, there you go....a reflection.

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

So I started my new job yesterday. It feels like a fresh start, but my employment was just resurrected at the same old place. So it will be an interesting transition. My new job title is Fulfillment & Inventory Specialist. It's a fancy way of saying that I'll be doing a lot of counting. Don't be jealous. As a part of my job, I will be working in the warehouse and managing inventory. This requires me to be trained on the forklift! So today I took my online training course and exam. I found it to be very humorous. This was a warning illustration of possible death by forklift.

I'm pretty sure that's a coffin. But the description was more about falling off the edge of the platform. But I guess having a coffin by your forklift just cuts out the middleman. Also, I have to learn a physics equation, the Inch Pound Forklift Equation. Watch out math geniuses... here I come!

Step 1:
You must first determine the maximum Inch Pound capacity of the truck. To do this, you must use the equation (A + B) x C = Inch Pound, where A = 18", B = 24", and C = 5000 lbs.
(18" + 24" ) x 5000 lbs. = Inch Pounds
(42") x 5000 lbs. = Inch Pounds
210,000 Inch PoundsWhat? My brain exploded because I haven't done math in a really long time. Well, other than to calculate the interest I could've gotten on the money Melissa owes me from 2006. (J/K MJ)
So I am off to go learn more things. I hope you all have just as much fun as me today. Coco crispies!

Bright Sides of a Suckfest

So this week has been filled with every type of frustration - personal, professional, and logistical. I've had those mornings where you realize you're already late and then knock over the basket of clean laundry that you just folded....or kicked an ant bed while walking across campus getting dirt AND angry ants all in your dress shoes. All-in-all....fabulous.

But there are some bright spots:
1. I just had cupcakes for breakfast, and I had cupcakes and Diet Sunkist for dinner after a run on Tuesday. That balances out, right?

2. Someone shared this video with me - and I really like it.

3. Last night I went to a wine tasting with dad, and then spent a large portion of the evening dancing around the house to Lady Gaga as I cleaned.

4. My washer isn't spitting stuff at me anymore. No more of this.

Friday is promising. One more week of work. Beach next Saturday and All Points West after that. Here's to July's exciting end.