New Toys

We got our new laptop today and it is incredible. We have spent the evening getting better acquainted. I cannot get the wireless internet to work though and its got us pretty frustrated.

Continuing with our Block Music Party Week, today is all about the songs that got us through our angst-ridden middle school/high school years:

Meghan:
1. "Swing, Swing" by the All-American Rejects
2. "No Such Thing" by John Mayer
3. "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls
4. "Bug A Boo" by Destiny's Child
5. "Summer Girls" by LFO
6. "Screaming Infidelities" by Dashboard Confessional
7. "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys (I had an undying love for Kevin Richardson for pretty much all of middle school)

Andrew:
1. "Dolphins Cry" by Live
2. "Clumsy" by Our Lady Peace
3. "Frank Sinatra" by Cake
4. "Glycerine" by Bush
5. "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails
6. "Clouds" by Cibbo Matto
7. "Asshole" by Dennis Leary

Blog Music Party Week

Andrew didn't have to work tonight for once so we took advantage of it by spending some quality time together. And we got our taxes done. I feel confident in the fact that we are so amazing and productive.




This week is also Blog Music Party Week at some of my favorite blogs! And that means a week full of our favorite music. Fabulous.

Monday is "Happy-Go-Lucky songs-Songs that put a smile on your face" and here are our picks:

Meghan:
1. "Life in Technicolor" by Coldplay
2. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings
3. "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn
4. "One Week of Danger" by the Virgins
5. "The Resolution" by Jack's Mannequin
6. "Marching Bands of Manhattan" by Deathcab for Cutie

Andrew:
1. "Medicine Man" by Nico Vega
2. "No Sunlight" by Deathcab for Cutie
3. "If You C Jordan" by Something Corporate
4. "Us" by Regina Spektor
5. "Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World
6. "Gives You Hell" by All-American Rejects

Easy like Sunday Morning

Meghan and I have been working hard these last few weeks and with hard work I think it is very important to find simple pleasures. I have two in particular that helps me get my mind off things. One is a good solid blues beat. I love how a good blues tune can capture up all of your troubles and make one melodious masterpiece out of them. The second is wine. I've always liked a good glass of wine but it is the perfect end to my days lately. These two things go wonderfully together. I seem to appreciate one more when I've had a little of the other.

Tillie has been pretty sick today. Not the, "Aww, she's sick!" but the, "Oh Gross! Tillie just got sick over here!" I won't go in to details but we fed her some white rice and pumpkin filling in hopes to settle that stomach. It seems to be working, for now.

There is an already famous speech that was made the other day by Daniel Hannan, a member of the English Parliament, that I found inspiring. I have a great love for the way well educated Englishmen articulate themselves and I can accredit that affinity to one of my favorite heroes of all time: Winston Churchill. The speech isn't long and I love reading it so I'm going to quote it here:

"Prime Minister, I see you’ve already mastered the essential craft of the European politician, namely the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate. You’ve spoken here about free trade, and amen to that. Who would have guessed, listening to you just now, that you were the author of the phrase ‘British jobs for British workers’ and that you have subsidized, where you have not nationalized outright, swathes of our economy, including the car industry and many of the banks? Perhaps you would have more moral authority in this house if your actions matched your words? Perhaps you would have more legitimacy in the councils of the world if the United Kingdom were not going into this recession in the worst condition of any G20 country?

The truth, Prime Minister, is that you have run out of our money. The country as a whole is now in negative equity. Every British child is born owing around £20,000. Servicing the interest on that debt is going to cost more than educating the child. Now, once again today you try to spread the blame around; you spoke about an international recession, international crisis. Well, it is true that we are all sailing together into the squalls. But not every vessel in the convoy is in the same dilapidated condition. Other ships used the good years to caulk their hulls and clear their rigging; in other words – to pay off debt. But you used the good years to raise borrowing yet further. As a consequence, under your captaincy, our hull is pressed deep into the water line under the accumulated weight of your debt We are now running a deficit that touches 10% of GDP, an almost unbelievable figure. More than Pakistan, more than Hungary; countries where the IMF have already been called in. Now, it’s not that you’re not apologizing; like everyone else I have long accepted that you’re pathologically incapable of accepting responsibility for these things. It’s that you’re carrying on, willfully worsening our situation, wantonly spending what little we have left. Last year - in the last twelve months – a hundred thousand private sector jobs have been lost and yet you created thirty thousand public sector jobs.

Prime Minister, you cannot carry on for ever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorgement of the unproductive bit. You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we’re ‘well-placed to weather the storm’, I have to tell you that you sound like a Brezhnev-era apparatchik giving the party line. You know, and we know, and you know that we know that it’s nonsense! Everyone knows that Britain is worse off than any other country as we go into these hard times. The IMF has said so; the European Commission has said so; the markets have said so – which is why our currency has devalued by thirty percent. And soon the voters too will get their chance to say so. They can see what the markets have already seen: that you are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government."

Something on a Stick

Today is something on a stick day. What is your stick food of choice? Mine is probably the pancake wrapped breakfast sausage on a stick dipped in maple syrup, thanks to my brother.

Today my mom and I went in search of some decent patio furniture -- found one possibility and an adorable planter that would be perfect next to our front door. We also got a new rug for the kitchen and some new pillows for shams. Nice.

Tillie spent the evening getting better acquainted with my sister's dog and my mom's cats. It was pretty entertaining. It was like watching a bunch of little kids.

Finally

OMG TGIF.

Went to dinner with the rents @ Famous Dave's and then picked up Tyler -- he just got back from his spring break trip in Gulf Shores. I heard all his stories. He got a tye dyed shirt and now he thinks he is a hippie.

Andrew just got home -- we will finally get to spend some time together and catch up on episodes of Scrubs, The Office, and 30 Rock.

Oh and Happy Birthday to my sister today.

Tillie's got a brand new bed

Tillie got a new bed today and it is so comfortable, I wish it were big enough for me.

The library gave me a nice surprise today when they called to let me know the DVD I requested had been delivered to my local branch via the Interlibrary loan system. I am now currently in possession of PBS version of Anne of Green Gables (the best version, in my opinion). I have such strong memories of watching these movies with my mom over the years, it's a great joy to be enjoying them again.

Andrew is working again. He works so hard, he doesn't even really get to enjoy his spring break, which is over at the end of this week.

We stayed up late last night and I have been extremely tired this entire day. I think I'll go to bed early tonight.

Waffle Day

This week's book: Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. This is the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series -- one of my very favorite as a kid.

Today is National Waffle Day. I didn't celebrate by eating waffles; I ate pizza at my parents' house instead. Tillie and I spent the evening over there watching ANTM and playing with Bullet. They got in a fight over a bone and I enjoyed another piece of mom's birthday cake.

Andrew worked but that's nothing new.

I am really loving this designer lately and am putting almost their entire spring line on my wish list.

Happy Birthday Pootie!

Today is my mom's birthday! We sent her some beautiful tulips and a really funny card this afternoon followed by a copy of one of her favorite childhood books (Gone with the Wind), a necklace, and dinner at Mimi's. Oh and I also made her a homemade chocolate cake. Andrew helped with the frosting. It was delicious, of course.

Today is also the anniversary of me getting a big girl job. It feels good to have a year of experience under my belt. I am excited to see where my future career endeavors lead me.

Lauren, I miss thee. Plain and simple.

Capturing souls with better resolution

Today we upgraded our several year old 6 mega pixel digital camera for the new Samsung TL 100 that sits right at about 12 mp. It is a really big step up from our old camera and is a lot of fun to use. We haven't really bought any new gadgets in a long while and it was cool to get this one.
On the other hand someone really hates our little purchase.



I'm convinced there is a plot to destroy our camera.

Anyway-
Work is good. School is boring. And life is passing a little too fast.

Meghan sent off to receive her passport today and the whole experience was a little too... funny. First of all we were getting ourselves all worked up and laughing about different ways to disturb the people that were before us while we were waiting. So we were already pretty giggly but THEN when we finally got in there Meghan had to take the picture for her passport. This is where we lost control. If you have ever seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite you'll know why it was so funny to us. Meghan sat in the chair and smiled. The lady asked her to move her head "a little to the left" which is a line from a small scene in the movie. It was pretty funny. I kept imagining Meghan "slowly easing her fist under her chin" and Meghan was thinking the same thing. Then she asked Meghan to open her eyes wide. Imagine Meghan with her head tilted slightly to the left, trying not to smile with HUGE eyes. Hysterical . That woman must have thought we were on something.

Today-
If a genie appeared to me and offered to grant me one wish I would ask to be a musical genius. I know that is selfish but it's true. Tomorrow I'll ask him to feed all the starving people, assuming I can play a righteous little ditty.

Until then ...

A work in progress

Spent some more time at Home Depot today -- exchanged a knob for the dresser.
Planted the flowers in the back flowerbeds. I'm excited for them to start growing.
Worked on the kitchen shelves some more. I never knew how hard it is to cover the entire inside of a cabinet.
I started ripping up the disgusting carpet that is on our back porch. Mom had to help me because it is practically cemented down. Its hard work. It is still a work in progress. Hopefully we'll have it done before next weekend and we can borrow my dad's pressure washer so we can really get things cleaned up.
Made dinner for myself (saved Andrew some) and then went to support my friends' kickball team. I saw a guy with a dislocated shoulder -- gross.

Things we love today:
rubbermaid containers
Blues music
white wine
Butterfinger blasts
sunglasses

I am the busiest of bees

Mom and I went to Home Depot today to get stuff to fix up the apartment. I got some flowers for the back flower bed and am so excited about planting them. Now that it's officially spring, I have my fingers crossed that I will get to do that soon.

Today I helped my mom bathe my sister's dog and clipped his claws in addition to both of her cats. Apparently, I am the only one in my family that isn't afraid to clip an animal's claws. I should charge for my services.

I also finally got the frame painted on this picture and hung it in the kitchen. I think it's cute. It definitely brightens it up a little.

My mom made homemade lasagna for dinner tonight and I went over to enjoy some. It is one of my very favorite dishes. Every time I came home from college, it was all I ever wanted my mom to make. It is incredibly delicious.

Now I am off to listen to Grease and work on the kitchen cabinets. Watch for pictures coming soon.

Fridays are exhausting

Andrew didn't have to work tonight. We spent the evening getting dinner, deciding on stuff to get for the apartment, and perusing the books @ B&N. And we also almost bought this camera. I think we will actually end up getting it. And I think tomorrow we are finally ordering our new laptop, so that is really exciting.

Andrew and Tillie are laying on the computer room floor and I am completely exhausted so I think we will all call it a night and go to bed. Tomorrow I've got some major DIY projects going on and Andrew is working. Boo.

Making the Most of the Thursday Blahs

Things about today:

My eye hurts
I wish it were Friday
I am sad that Natasha Richardson died.
I have reignited my childhood love for Anne of Green Gables
Sonic Happy Hour
Tillie wet the bed in her sleep @ 3:00a. Maybe we should invest in rubber sheets

You Are Falafel For The Soul

Our herbs are finally sprouting and we are thrilled.

Also, I am loving this website right now. These people have started a project called Free Encouragement where people from all over the country entered motivating words for the people that they love and booooooom.com has incorporated them into their super neat project. I have spent countless hours reading these and even, per their suggestion, sent a few out into the universe myself.

And finally, we've been sitting on a couple of great ideas for a while and are now putting one of those ideas into action. And two lucky family members will be getting a surprise very shortly.

BFFF

Tillie and Lola finally met today. And they were instant friends. They've really been BFFs all this time, just like me and Kat, only they never knew it until today. We had a good time but Tillie wore herself out with all the running that they did.
Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day. To celebrate, Chick-fil-a dyed their lemonade green. How fun.

Today I love:
the picnic in the park and then nap on a hammock in the sun weather
friends
sweet tea
track jackets
locks on doors that actually work

Just a little break

Woke up this morning with a migraine so I stayed home for work and slept it off. My mom bought me a copy of Anne of Green Gables, a book I loved as a kid -- what a nice surprise.
I had also been working on changing the ribbon on our bedroom lampshades but I had been having problems so she took them, fixed them, and then brought them back over. She's so great.
Anyone happen to see DWTS last night? Melissa was incredible. Her salsa was phenomenal. I thought she should have had the top score. She was totally the best. And Shawn Johnson did beautifully as well.
I am thankful for my little break from work today. It gave me the extra rest I needed and I feel so much better. And I'm actually excited to get back to work tomorrow and finish out this week strong.

Family Dinner

Andrew worked at Yia-Yia's this morning but this evening we hung out at my parents' for family dinner. Mom made roast, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and homemade fresh bread. It was delicious. We also got to spend a little time playing Lego Star Wars with Tyler, watching Planet Earth on Discovery, and playing with some of Tyler's toys, including his huge hulk hands. They make noise when you hit things with them and are super fun to play with.

So, Katherine has been in St. Louis all weekend for a hair show and I have to admit I am completely jealous. I love that city and I really want to move there. I think I've had a really hard time with the thought of moving away from my family, especially with everything that's happened, but more and more everyday, I really just want to move away and start something new. And I would love nothing more than to do it there.

Rim, if you're reading this, it has been FOREVER since we've talked. I miss you. Please let's catch up soon.

Today productivity is my best friend

I really feel like I got a lot done today. I cleaned. Tyler came over and we played games and had lunch. I played a pretty fun game that Andrew introduced me to. And then I went over to my parents' house. We had dessert, played Mousetrap, I got my Easter basket from my childhood, my old passport, and a fun reproduction of my favorite painting, "Starry Night" by Van Gogh, that one of the Walkers got me a few years ago. And then I came home, spent some time with Tillie, and redid the lampshades in the bedroom. And I enjoyed chocolate and season 6 of Gilmore Girls while I did it. It was fun.

Andrew worked. Again. But he has tomorrow night off so I'm excited about getting to spend some time with him.

A cold day at the races

Today Meghan went to the horse races again for work and won four dollars on her bet! She took her father because she knew he would have a good time and he won somewhere around 29 dollars. Pretty cool. Other than that it was a pretty boring day. Cold and wet. We went to Larry's Pizza tonight for dinner b/c it is buffet night. Buffet night actually means they walk around and offer you these crazy pizzas like Honey Mustard Chicken and Loaded Baked Potato. We like it there. Except this one creepy girl who stares at us extra hard when she asks us if we want the pizza she has. I think she may be lonely...or totally into Meghan, I haven't decided.

I'm not sure if it was mentioned or not but we've planted our own herbs and I don't think I've been more excited about anything coming up out of the ground, or a pot in this case. I watch them every day and serenade them with my harmonica. Though that may be keeping them in the ground. Probably deeper than we planted them, it defiantly makes Tillie leave the room. Anyway, I can't wait to cook with fresh herbs.

Chocolate Cake

Andrew got me some delicious chocolate cake today and I enjoyed a piece with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and a nice cold glass of milk. It was incredible. Now normally I'm not a huge chocolate fan but this cake is incredible. I recommend a slice to anyone who is having even a slightly down in the dumps day. It will cure anything you've got. That, and NBC's Thursday Night Lineup.

We cleaned the apartment tonight and while I am feeling guilty about not working out and then eating cake on top of that, I did clean for almost an hour, so that has to be some calories burned there.

Andrew got a headset for the computer game he plays today and he thought I would be mad at him for it. He is silly.

I'm headed to Oaklawn again tomorrow for work only this time I'm going alone. But I get to take my dad with me and that should be exciting because he's never been. I have a really cute outfit to wear but it is going to be raining (again) so I might have to sacrifice the shoes for rainboots at least. I hate when it rains. And I hate this weather. 2 days ago, it was 80 degrees. This morning there was a layer of ice covering everything. This is ridiculous.

Our First Vet Visit

Today was Tillie's very first vet visit. And after all the questions I asked, I was quite relieved to find that she is very healthy and completely normal. She did get a shot though and some new flea/tick medicine. So when we came home, she slept all evening. I'm not sure if she just got wore out from all the excitement or if the shot made her feel bad or what, but she hasn't really been herself tonight. Hopefully she feels better soon. But I feel better knowing that she is protected from contracting all kinds of things.

I am so tired tonight too. I think I might turn in early. Today has just been a weird day. Andrew is going to play some game online and Tillie and I are crashing in front of the TV. Maybe tomorrow I"ll get back to working out.

Life in the Cracks

I am loving the Polaroid Project download right now. I have been playing with it nonstop. I have also found some really neat tools for Photoshop that I will share as soon as I have played around with them a little more.

So today we worked and then I ate dinner at the rents'. And then Tillie took me for a little adventure in the dark but I didn't mind because it feels so good outside right now. We have had our windows open every day and I love it. There's just something about having your windows open and letting the breeze in -- the air feels different -- it makes me feel different.

I think it is going to rain because my head has been hurting all day. Boo.

Today also happens to be the Festival of Life in the Cracks Day. Find a creative way to celebrate and then let me know what you did because I really can't even begin to understand how you would celebrate that.

Manic Monday

So we got these cute metallic plates a few weeks ago but I just got plate hangers for them this weekend and finally hung them this evening. They are hanging by the dining table as we speak and they are pretty cute.

Didn't work out today, I watched Dancing with the Stars instead. Now, I never watch that show but I have to this season because Sean Johnson is on it and so is Melissa Rycroft from the Bachelor. She went from getting dumped on national television last Monday to competing on Dancing with the Stars this Monday. I'm pretty sure that girl is having the best week ever. Not to mention she did really well for only having 48 hours of practice under her belt. Nice.

There might be a little surprise for your viewing pleasure here in the next few days. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. I hate Mondays.

Lazy Sunday (The Chronicles of Narnia)

We got our oil changed today and it took 4 hours so while we were at Wal-Mart, we picked up this cookbook called Silly Snacks filled with healthy and fun recipes for kids that won't eat their vegetables. But it is surprisingly cool. Andrew really loves the breakfast mice (pictured above) but I can't wait to try the veggie wedgies and the maraschino-lemonade pops.

We also planted our herbs in the pots I made yesterday. I'm really excited to see how they grow. It will be so nice to use our own fresh herbs in all of our cooking.

I also made this fudge cake for my parents in their crock pot this afternoon and left it there for them as a surprise. It looked really good. I hope they enjoyed it.

Tillie got a bath today because well, for one, she was stinky, and we also found a tick on her the other day. Super gross, I know. But now she is squeaky clean and tick free. Tomorrow I am going to call and schedule her first vet appointment for later on this week.

I hope the time change wasn't as hard on everyone else as it was on us. I have just felt very off this entire day. I am not looking forward to getting up early tomorrow.

DIY Saturday

Had lunch with Laura and Dan @ Purple Cow while they were in town for Laura's volleyball tournament. Then did laundry at the rents' and decided to do more stuff to the apartment. I got some new knobs for the dresser in our bedroom, got plate hangers to hang these cool new plates in the dining room, and got some terra cotta pots to plant herbs in. I painted them with chalkboard paint so I can write right on the pot which plant is which. I think I am going to paint the bottom parts bright colors to help brighten up the kitchen. And mom and I are working on making a new roman shade for the window. I've just gotten sick of it not being cute. Plus, my boss grossed me out on how dirty a house really is and just how much bacteria is everywhere so I've been disinfecting everything and I guess with that comes decorating.

Okay, story from yesterday that I promised. Kristin got a new desktop at work and her keyboard wasn't working so she went to get a new one and when she got back, there was this white liquid all over her desk. Well, it turns out it was milk and Kristin is not a fan of milk. They let the kids there at Urban Promise use the computers and I guess some kid just spilled their milk. So, she got a little upset about it but tried to let it go. And then that day she got on our blog and read the post for that day and it turns out, it was National Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day! How fun is that?! Great story.

I ran into Brent @ Home Depot today in the Garden Department. You know you're getting old when you start running into your friends at places like Home Depot. Gross.

More photos from my DIY fest coming soon.

Tonight Daylight Savings Time starts. Don't forget to turn your clock ahead an hour before you go to bed!

Happy Friday!

It's finally the weekend! And per our conversation, Kristin, here is a picture of Tyler with his current no-front-teeth status. He says he wishes his front teeth would never come back. He likes not having them around.

We just got back from having dinner @ Larry's with Kat and Gary. Now we are going over to their house to watch a movie and hang out.

Tomorrow I will recount a very funny story that Kristin told me today. So, that's something you can look forward to.

Happy Friday everyone, have fun tonight!

Work It

Worked out again today. And got to fit a little shopping in. I am in love with this store. Oh and Kath&Kim, The Office, and 30 Rock were all new and super hilarious as always. I have to say today was a pretty good day -- for a Thursday anyway.

I am excited about Andrew having tomorrow night off for a change. We can finally hang out!

A few good things about the past few days

This week I have wanted to eat nothing for dinner except for Shells & Cheese with brocolli -- and with Andrew at work every night this week, that is exactly what I have been doing. Not too terribly bad for me and it hits the spot wonderfully.

Kat and I have hit the gym every night this week and I feel incredible. I haven't had a coke in I don't know how long, I'm only eating red meat once a week, and trying get up earlier every morning. I'm just tired of not ever having any energy.

If you haven't been reading Rim's blog about her adventures in Seoul, Korea, you really should. Check out the link to the right.

Time to take Tillie out. I swear, that dog goes to the bathroom more than any other dog I've ever met.

Yeah I'm alive but I don't need a witness

Ahh the classics. I remember turning on my sister Sophia's old IBM machine, hitting the 50 mghz booster switch and getting settled for hours of demon killing adventures; A ball mouse in one hand (also known as my faithful shot gun) and a can of coke in the other. Games were much simpler then, but then again most of life seemed more simple when I was younger. This is DOOM by id Software on XBOX 360 Arcade and after all this time this golden oldie is still great fun to play.

I had a wonderful expierience the other day right here at my computer. I'll start by saying that I spend a lot of time on YouTube. Some of the best stuff you'll ever watch on a screen of any type can be found there. (Just in case you didn't already know) Well I happened across a video that was really funny all by itself but it also reminds me of some wonderful memories from my childhood. Maggie and I used to hang out and play all day and it was the greatest thing ever. One of the things I would always beg her to do to entertain me was to read (or look at) with me one of our many ZOO books that we had in the library and make the pictures of the animals talk. I loved it. It was so much fun to me, not to mention hilarious. This is a video of an adorable little girl doing that same thing but with a book about kittens! It is pretty great.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. My favorite Dr. Seuss book is "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut." It's where I learned how to spell Mississippi and all about pickle color. Read it if you haven't. It will change your life.

Kat and I went to our first yoga class. It was pretty fun. I think it kind of kicked my butt. I can tell I am going to be sore tomorrow.

Andrew finally got certified to wait tables @ Yia-Yia's. He officially starts Wednesday.

Sunday Almonds

Today is National Pig Day. I'm not really sure what that means or how to celebrate it. I would say eat some bacon but that just seems wrong.

Andrew has been obsessed with Jordan Almonds for as long as I can remember but they are so hard to find. Well, today we found them at Cracker Barrel and we haven't been able to stop eating them all day.

Rim finally posted on her blog! Read it here.

Also, I got a new yoga mat and water bottle. They are very fun. I also some some of the new stuff from Orla Kiely at Target. I love these mugs. You know, if someone wanted to buy these for us as a surprise gift, I couldn't stop them. I'm just saying.

Today, this video has us laughing. It's by the same people as one of my favorite SNL skits of all times. Check it out.