"These burritos are for my feet" said the truck driver who had no heat

• It was so cold and windy over the weekend that the winter weather advisory actually said "If you don't HAVE to go outside, please do not." We didn't, at least on Sunday when the windchill was way below zero and everything was a blur of white. I'm tired of winter, and having snow inside my shoes and/or socks. Gahhh. You'd think I'd have invested in some big ol' boots by now.

• I notice that when I use conditioner, it not only makes my hair soft (duh) but it also makes a gob of it fall out when I rinse. What's up with that? Is it weeding out the weak hairs (and why couldn't it just take out the sneaky gray ones)? It seems to happen with whatever kind of conditioner I use, even when I just use a dab and don't leave it on for any length of time. Weird.

• Do you ever have dreams where you kind of morph between watching a movie and being in it? I had some warped Star Wars dream recently, and I was commenting (within the dream) "Huh, I don't remember that effeminate guard putting on lipstick while he's supposed to be watching Princess Leia, nor do I remember the words "bitch" or "vagina" being used in the original Star Wars movie." (Though some people would probably say that's not much worse than the stuff they added to the remastered versions in more recent years.) HA!

Halfway There

Not that you need an explanation, but sometimes I just can't bring myself to write or to write and actually publish something because my inner critic just won't shut up. I wish that could be used to my benefit - to make me a perfectionist and really good at something. Instead, it makes me want to retreat and not do anything because I don't think it'll be good enough. Even the most trivial of things, like writing an email or a post or telling people at work that I have an idea. I second-guess, and ultimately just tuck it away and don't do it. I know, it's stupid and I'm having a hard time explaining it. So I'm just trying to type and not immediately go back and pick it apart. So what, ya know? It's my frickin journal to an extent and should be treated as such. It's not worth getting all fussy over. I've got to remind myself of that.

So, ANYWAY let's move on.

American Idol was sort of disappointing this week. I'm only slightly embarrassed to tell you that out of the guest coaches on the show, I was actually really looking forward to Bon Jovi week. Shit, who didn't love them back in the day? Well I guess you have to be of a certain age to appreciate it, like Jordin's MOM (I love how she pointed that out.) But then the performances just - well, left me wanting to hear better performances of those songs. Even when Bon Jovi performed, I was thinking "They're not even gonna ROCK? WTF?!" I kept waiting for that song to pick up and it never really happened. Bah! Plus the two guys that I kind of liked are both voted off now. I do have to say though, that even though I liked Chris and most of the song was pretty good (he even did a bit of a raspy voice thing there that I liked) there is no excuse for not putting all of your energy into the most badass line: "I've seen a million faces, and I ROCKED them all." Damnit if he didn't sing that like he rocked them all gently to sleep. Ah well. I'll still miss Chris and Phil, but I'm sure they'll do just fine.

The dieting is going alright. It's kind of depressing sometimes - like when you look at the amount of calories in everyfuckingthing - but we're also getting to try a variety of healthy foods that really don't taste all that bad. And getting some exercise - I can't believe I'm saying this - actually feels pretty good. But I feel like I shouldn't talk about it too much or I might jinx it or start sounding like one of those people, you know - those healthy types.

I can't believe that I actually sent my fiance an email yesterday concerning the status of our cat's butt. Seriously. I can only imagine the conversations that actual parenthood will cause us to have someday. Whoo boy!

I told ya I was trouble

Yeah, that's right - I'm old as hell! Well, comparatively...
So I added a new CD (yeah, I got it all legit from a store and everything!) to my collection, it's by Amy Winehouse. She's pretty badass, but other than that I don't know how to describe her really. She's British, and at first I thought she was like a Nelly Furtado but with edge, but I'm sure that doesn't do her justice. The music has kind of a jazzy, old-school R&B feel sometimes, and her voice tends to remind me of Lauryn Hill but with even more 'tude. Anyway. Here's a link to her video "Rehab" which is one of the catchiest tracks on the album. Oh! But the whole point was that I got CARDED before the girl (probably high-school age) would even ring it up! I'm assuming because it had an explicit lyrics sticker on it? Pshht. Bollocks, I say!

Snarky "Idol" Notes
Ok, last time I mentioned it, I was a bit harsh on Gwen Stefani. She was pretty nice and subdued with the coaching though. It's too bad that the people who did choose her songs picked the worst possible ones - I think even she thought so. And apparently no one has ever heard The Cure's "Lovesong" as performed by 311? Because that's all that Blake did - and not even very well, so please quit telling him he's so fresh and original. But unfortunately, one of my personal faves, Chris Richardson (you know - the Timberlake wannabe) wasn't too impressive either. I was also sort of hoping that Haley would start maybe doing better - but her performance was totally WEAK, and I'm starting to think she's probably kind of a bitch. I'm actually liking Phil more and more - as long as I just forget about that revolting Leann Rimes song he did a while back. And I already told you I wouldn't really miss Chris Sligh if he left, I was surprised other people felt the same way.

Thinly-Veiled Criticisms
They're right up there with back-handed compliments. Don't do it. Just don't. Especially around me, because I'm fucking paranoid and self-conscious and on the lookout for criticisms anyway. Some people may think they can do this cleverly, but it's usually just immature and obnoxious. Example: Former friend & co-worker, whose hobby was inflicting as much psychological grief on others as possible (um, yeah - I have no better name for her) would say things loudly to other people, but in my direction, such as "well the only color I can't stand is pink - I HATE pink, I don't know how ANYONE could wear it" knowing full well that I'm standing right there with a pink shirt on. Ahaha! Good one, bitch! What're we in, 4th grade? Oh, her comments got better than that, but it's one of the most blatant remarks that came to mind. So when my boss goes on for half an hour about what a lazy piece of crap his cousin (seemingly nice guy, btw) is because he sleeps in on the weekends (God forbid!) and is too selfish to have children, therefore has no purpose in life, (don't get me started!) I will of course, think that it's the same kind of shit he thinks about me. And now that I write it out, I don't care so much - just proves that he's the kind of dick who feels better about himself saying shit like that about other people. Nevermind.

My head hurts when it's rainy out, like today

• Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? Did things get weird? Do people even do that anymore these days? There was a guy on the side of the road with a sign that said "airport" yesterday on my way to work and I felt horribly guilty because I was going right past the airport, but didn't stop. But you know, I have to say that whole unabomber look he had going on didn't help his chances.
• My man brought home some Mayan Chocolate Haagen Dazs last night (because yeah, he RULES!) I normally don't get too excited about chocolate ice cream, but it's dark chocolate, plus it has a gooey ripple and cinnamon in it - it was different and actually quite tasty.
• And for the usual American Idol notes: I don't think I'd miss Chris Sligh or Gina Glocksen too much if either of them got the boot, along with the obligatory Sanjaya. But you know, I do think that last night Sanjaya really did "bring it" as much as he possibly could, and at least he let go a little bit - not to say that made the singing much better. I'm not as big a fan of Haley's as I had been earlier in the competition, but like everyone says she did look pretty foxy up there. I kept wondering if we were going to get a glimpse of some side-boob in that shirt - nope! Right now, I'm really hoping Jordin Sparks stays up there as one of the top contenders. And my god, did they get enough shots of that starstruck girl crying in the audience? But I remember that feeling and probably would've done the same thing - but then again I'd nearly hyperventilate even over boys in the highschool talent show.
  
• Our cat has The Softest belly fur ever. And he'll even let you pet it without attacking your hand, unless he's really pissed off.
  
• Yep, I really am this boring.
  

Someone's got dirty ears!

Well, we'll see how much the sweet kitty likes us after 2 frickin weeks of ear medicine twice a day. He's been really good about it so far though, considering. Can't say I wouldn't be a little pissed about having a bunch of refrigerated oily medicine dropped into my ears either - ughh!

We've pretty much decided on the name "Jonesy" for him. Though I do think "Mr. Furley" would be a pretty damn cute cat name too, though I'd probably be worried if he really had much resemblance to Don Knotts (no offense to the deceased, but you know what I mean.) But anyway, I'm just silly like that.

I'm not sure if I like this stage of American Idol that much. I mean, I guess a lot of them picked pretty shitty songs to begin with but at least they knew the songs a bit better that way when they weren't confined to certain selections. Still, I can see how that may keep the competition exciting. If the kids are going to work with Bon Jovi that should be um, kind of interesting - just don't let them do any songs off that most recent album PLEASE. Oh and you'll probably hate me for saying this, but how the fuck is Gwen Stefani going to coach anyone? Unless they all really need advice about how to perform with the expression of a bratty, pouting 4 year old. Will Chris Sligh try to be funny and pain us with his take on "I'm Just A Girl"? I guess Chris Richardson could probably kick it with "Hella Good" (but more likely my lesser favorite Blake Lewis would take that one) and maybe the girls could sing some of her other songs better than the original, so maybe that would be entertaining after all. But alright, I'll digress with my grumblings and just see what happens.

Did I ever tell you that one of my former coworkers would repeatedly call Justin Timberlake "Jason Timbaland"? That would crack me up every time. She'd also refer to Kurt Cobain as Kirk Colburn or something like that. We were joking about that last night while watching... what's his name? Bryan Seachest? Anyway, maybe it was funnier after throwing back a few.

Alright, I'm even boring myself at this point. See ya.

Sunburst & Snowblind

Well, the winter storm advisory is over, but picking up where that left off is a wind-chill advisory (it's 10 below but the wind-chill is at a painful 30 below) - which means you best bundle that ass up, for reals now!

We stayed in all weekend, not that we HAD to, but who wants to go out in this shit when you've got food, booze, and all the comforts of home right there, you know?

This morning was a frigid, white-knuckled drive in to work but it's been worse. You get really thankful for spots where you can actually see the road. And stop. Very grateful for stopping abilities.

I finished reading Fear of Flying by Erica Jong and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Sex, relationships, psychoanalysis and insight = good stuff. Even though I think this was originally published in '73 and was quite "shocking" at the time, it's really held up over the years, and even though it doesn't seem so controversial now, it's just a great read. I think a lot of you blogging buddies would enjoy it too. But you probably already knew that, it just shows I've got a lot of catching up to do on books I've wanted to read for years.

I need more coffee. And maybe a couple of pipin' hot burritos to put in my shoes. Brr!

I'll take my music uncensored and my pants untapered, thanks

Oh you know, same ol' same ol' over here. The dull headache that comes with Mondays is in effect and I'm just gonna ramble to you...

Irish Creme was not a good coffee choice. I don't know about you, but while I do enjoy some flavored creamers in my coffee, I'm almost always disappointed when the coffee itself is flavored. Huh.

The hair-coloring hiatus I had been on for a year is now over (not just because of the boss/gray hair incident, but that was a painful helpful reminder) and thanks to the fiance's handiwork I'm back to rockin the reddish-brown hair again instead of my natural golden brown. Probably will just end up being more obvious when I do have a lingering gray hair, but for now - whatev.

Is it nice to live in one of those states where you don't have to give a shit about recycling aluminum cans? With a ten cent refund each, it's like a lame-ass savings plan for us, just one that creates clutter and hassle instead of earned interest.

We ventured out to the WalMart this weekend - which, as usual, turned out to be a bad idea. You go in there and it's like you're sucked into this strange vortex that transcends space and time. I mean, I wonder if you were just dropped into any one of these stores across the country if you could tell at all - by checking out the merchandise and your fellow shoppers - what state you were in, or even what year it was? Speculation says that once inside it is permanently backwoods Indiana 1989. Oh, I kid, I kid. But there is even a specific dialect to this store along with it's own breed of disaffected, disgruntled employees. I don't know how many other places in Michigan we've ever heard this much use of "y'all" and "dudn't" - while it's endearing coming from an actual southerner, it just feels sort of awkward and out of place when you hear it from people up here. It's not like I think I'm above this store or anything, if that's where it seems I'm going with this (not much of anywhere, really). I'm all about the bargain & clearance shopping, I'm just saying that this place makes my beloved Target seem like even more of a peaceful utopia by comparison.

Oh, I know - so negative! And I didn't even get to the parts about the dumping of snow we've had, financial woes, premarital woes, or pending car issues! I'll try to end this on a positive note by saying that yes, the Nintendo Wii really is as cute and amusing as they say it is. And that it doesn't have to be summertime to enjoy a nice strong mojito.

Assorted Fried Vegetables

So, I finally was given word that it was MY turn to switch over to the beta version of blogger. I'm kind of surprised that they really didn't come up with much in the way of NEW templates (what is there - one?) but at least they've made it somewhat easier to change the colors in the existing ones. We'll see how it works out.

I don't know what our holiday plans are. I don't know what our wedding plans are. I'm not a good planner.

Another weekend came and went. I didn't get Christmas shopping accomplished (including but not limited to completing the package that I need to send to Australia - like that's not gonna be late or anything, shit!) but I did get the fake tree put up and decorated, so it looks a bit more festive around the house. We had a coffee pot die (what, the coffee pot can't withstand a spill of [you guessed it] COFFEE on it's display? Weak!) so we bought another cheap one. It's like our history with toasters - they were practically a disposable commodity in our house until we finally just bought a toaster oven which was well worth the slightly higher cost and eventually we'll break down and spend a little extra on a coffee maker too - just not this time around. J made a delicious roast chicken (which isn't really news as his cooking is always delicious) and I made us some chocolate chip cookies (not festive, but still quite yummy). We had 2 visits from friends, which totals 3 whole people who like us enough to can hang with us. You know what company means: drinks may have got drinked and pots may have been smoken, but all in the spirit of being FESTIVE! Or something. We didn't end up watching any of our Netflix movies (Beerfest, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, X-Men 3) but at least we have some good ones ready when we get around to it. I finished reading My Friend Leonard by James Frey (really good) and started Little Children by Tom Perrotta which so far seems like it'll be good too. We got some Indian food last night - while we were eating I couldn't help envisioning myself today, clutching my stomach and saying "ugh, we had Indian food last night" but actually haven't had too many unpleasant after-effects. I've gotten more adventurous about food over the years and can even handle spicey to a certain point. Everything was SO seasoned though that it was almost like sensory overload. Good stuff though, interesting. So there's the weekend in a messy, unformatted nutshell.

A pu-pu platter of postings

Since I always seem to get into shows when they're past their prime (or already cancelled) the latest show I've been diggin on is Arrested Development. Love it! I think I must favor shows that use the "uncomfortable humor" like The Office, so this is quickly being added to the all-time favorite, can't-miss-an-episode category. So, yay for reruns and DVRs!

I'm planning on making a whole mess o' cookies for the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities. Suppose I will at least attempt a pumpkin pie as well, but I feel safer with cookies as I'm still a newbie in the baking department. My fee-on-say, as I've mentioned before, is quite gifted wit tha kitchen skillz which is hella cool for me (and anyone eating with us). But I want to at least contribute something, even if it's just cleaning up the place and making an offering of cookies. Eh? Does that count? I wish I was craftier and more talented with domestic abilities to impress company, but moreso I just want everyone to have a good time, which hopefully they will.

I haven't mentioned anything about wedding plans in a while because A) I didn't think you'd be that interested and B)I have had almost no ideas other than what I don't like. But! We looked at a reception site we actually like, and for a comparably reasonable price! And if the idea of getting married in a church doesn't work out, there are options available for having the ceremony at the reception site as well. So that's a bit of relief for the moment.

I haven't been writing as much but I've been reading a bit more. Trouble is, I like to check out a whole stack of books from the library and then start more than one of them at the same time, so it really takes me longer to get any one of them finished. So right now, for example I'm almost done with Bleachy Haired Honky Bitch by Hollis Gillespie which I should've been through much faster as it is actually a compilation of short essays. I see that she's a contributor to NPR and perhaps her stuff is better that way, in small doses. Just because as I'm reading these all at once, it seems a bit repetitious. While the stories can be amusing at times, I think there's also some overkill with telling us about what her guy friends said and did and commented and suggested - I don't know if there's a chapter that hasn't mentioned them. I mean, I'm sure I'd love some gay guy friends as much as the next girl but it seems like it makes it less of her voice, ya know? Then I'm also reading Faithless by Joyce Carol Oates, which is another compilation of short stories. I think I'm gonna be about DONE with short stories in the near future, because now these seem more like stories that just got thrown together in a book because she had some drafts lying around but didn't want to bother giving them proper endings. Great character descriptions and suspensefully leading up to something, and then it's just blah blah the end. I mean, JCO is a respectable author with a shitload of books and all - I think I was just intimidated by some of her bigger novels and chose the short stories unwisely. Ah well, I still have 5 or 6 more books lined up to read next if these don't work out!

We actually had a "Pu-Pu Platter" at one of those combined Asian cuisine restaurants this weekend. Always wondered about that term. It's just a combo of somewhat americanized appetizers, but it was good stuff.