the time has come...
i've finally set up a blog on my own domain. :) yay!
so update your favorites or bookmarks, or let me know if i need you to email you the address (HEKD)
http://www.brownshu.com
see you on the other site.
i have a million things to update... cause i love lists, i'll write one.
1. SNL tickets. it's august.. time to email into the lottery. this is the only month they accept emails for free tickets... email all your contact info to this address.. and you can only submit once.. snltickets@nbc.com. even if you have no intents on going, enter and give me the tickets if you get them!
2. VA Beach next summer. a week long beach house rental is being planned for july 24th-july 31st in VA beach (VA is for lovers ya know!). i'm considering it.. anyone else interested? kids are invited. dogs are not.
3. funny people. i will see this by weekends end. possibly with a boy. ;)
4. mow the lawn. ugh. its that time again. my yard is so overgrown it's making my house look abandoned. i think leaving the hose in the front yard all week long doesn't help either.
5. do websites. i have at least 3 websites to create/maintain this weekend, and seeing as this is really my only entirely "free" weekend, i need to power through them.
6. watch shows. my dvr is piling up with good shows... did you know that there is a new real chance at love? it's called "back in the saddle". :) i love those boys.. and i'm sure that i'll end up watching the megan wants a millionaire too.. and i heard this weeks real world was a good one... not to mention about 17 jimmy kimmels. plus i'm trying to watch all the MadMen season 2 commentaries ahead of the new season starting on august 16th. i've successfully got the PA hunts and my parents hooked on the show. :) it's so good though, that was easy.
7. guests gone. my guests have left... it was fun while it lasted. and i'm happy to report that my plumbing has held up with NO problems. it totally was those baby wipes. i have photos from their stay here...
8. next weekend summer party. i'm going to an annual summer party in chelmsford next weekend.. i hope the usual characters are going to be there.. one has been facebooking me... i hope he ends up coming, he's always entertaining. i also hope HEKD comes too.. i'd like to catch up and see young master nate again!
9. restaurant reviews. i have two restaurant reviews waiting to be written.. i've been eating out too much!
10. show at the everson. i got VERY LITTLE notice about the opening reception of my drawing at the everson. it's this coming friday aug 14th, 5:30-7:30. my NY family can't be bothered to come and celebrate with me, so anyone that wants to come is welcomed with open arms. there will be snacks/beverages provided. come one, come all, it's not everyday (or ever really) that i have artwork in a REAL museum.
11. bad patty. ugh. i just turned around to look at p-head cause she is barking for seemingly no reason, and i see that she has dragged a pair of my underware into the computer room to chew on. lovely.
12. dentist, doctor and vet. tomorrow i have 3 back to back appointments. i'm going to insist that my dentist fix my crappy crown. it's never been right since he made it. i have to floss that tooth about 4 times a day. wish me luck.
tomorrow my house guests come to town. i could not be more excited. we've got all kinds of fun things planned, dinner tomorrow night, a baseball game & tailgate, pizza making party, then the reunion/camping up at sandy pond.. it's going to be an exciting next 9 days!
this weekend however i was able to steal away to new england.. and apparently so did the rest of the driving world. traffic was unbearable. i think i spent more time driving then i did visiting. :(
PMB's formal living room
it was great catching up with PMB and JK in their newmarket, NH home. it's absolutely gorgeous, i want to decorate my place just like PMB did hers. she's my hero.
father and baby
spending a night in sandwich, MA also afforded for some good times. i got to meet the new K-D addition. he is precious! very squirmy and has an extraordinarily strong neck for a 5 week old, but such a good baby, even if he does have blue poop.
rounding out the NE tour was a tour of another type. JBPs new house in centerville. they are JUST moved in, but the place looks great! i am so happy for them. they have a lawn that was made for entertaining, so i look forward to many good times on nottingham road in the future.
here are the pics i took....
i have today off!! wooo who! i feel like i haven't had a day off in a long time. :)
today i am driving to visit an old friend who lives near my favorite NH town, portsmouth. i have nothing but great memories of portsmouth.
tomorrow morning i drive down through boston and pick up miss NYC and we head down to the cape for a relaxing stay on lower hog pond, the new addition to the KD family will be there too!! i can't wait to see his cute little dimples in person.
sunday i'll get a preview of the new JBP compound.. i can't wait, from the pictures i've seen it looks like a dream house. :)
i'm sure this weekend will be chock full of old stories and many laughs. hopefully no vomiting.. :)
meanwhile back at the ranch, i've been furiously preparing for my houseguests next week. i was thinking how my house only really gets scrubbed when i have guests coming. :) thank god for guests.. i washed the off white rug in the living room for like the 4th or 5th time since i've moved in. cath had the brilliant idea to scotch guard it this time... so i am doing just that. i hate this rug, with fervor.
the cleaning/groc shopping will need to continue when i get back on sunday..
yesterday my gardener (cath) came by my house and planted all the plants i've been buying.. she tore out these bushes that the previous owners had in the front planters...
here is the left side before and after...
here is the right side before and after...
alright, i'm off to buy all the things i need to buy to bring with me at the grocery store.
really barb grogan? are people really going to be able to contact you at www.barbgrogan@aol.com?! what kind of address is that? the people making your sign didn't point out to you that it was wrong as hell?
here are my pics from july so far. there are a bunch in the beginning that you might have seen already.
today has been nice... i have been free forming it.. waking up when i wanted to, finished up my laundry, shopped real quick for a mortar and pestle. i also found that the "Price Stabber" on midler carries my ortega salsa verde. i bought up three jars.
i've been thinking about pizza since last week when cath ordered some and didn't bring me a piece... i am very tempted to order some myself.
the ESPYs are on right now..
i was really not prepared to write this post. so this is what you get blog readers. :)
i am looking forward to not having anything much planned this weekend. i have some things i need to get done:
1. mow lawn. i am THAT neighbor, the one with the white trash lawn bringing down the property value of the street. i can't help it though, i found i HATE mowing the lawn. no wonder it's a boys chore...
2. laundry. i couldn't really do laundry last weekend for obvious reasons.
3. sleep in. this is also something that i didn't have time to do last weekend.
4. paint. i need to get my ass going on EBHs painting... shiiiiit.
5. draw. i started 3 drawings ages ago and on my wall they hang, waiting to be worked on.
6. walk patty. she loves it, and my foot feels better when i do it. but i rank walking the dog slightly higher than mowing my lawn. i have a bad attitude.
7. get last seasons Entourage. i never saw last season cause we got rid of HBO right before it came out last year. they are only 30 minute episodes, shouldn't be hard to bang out.
8. catch up my DVR. i have a handful of shows to watch, michael phelps was just on conan, did anyone watch? shiiiiit.
9. go to the middle eastern festival with mike. i have never been to this, but it looks very similar to the greek festival.. and i love that food.
i guess i do have more planned than i thought. this is my last "free" weekend for a while. i have a trip to MA and NH planned for the weekend of the 25th. then it's CO guests and family reunion time. a possible trip to NYC in early august, back to MA mid August, then before you know it it's fair time and some MA friends are coming out to visit. damn, summer is almost over!!
i just felt like declaring that. i think it's because i can't believe how easy it is to manipulate my new hosting account, and i am LOVING tweetdeck for my desktop. that program is really quite awesome, if any of you tweet and follow people with any regularity, this is a must have.
i also enjoy that some of the madmen characters are starting to follow me because i started following betty draper. :) i know its fake (or is it?) but i like it. i think i could probably follow just about every character on the show. hee hee.
another thing i really love is routing my brownshu.com mail through googles app. i never realized how much i would love their email sorting/labeling/archiving system. i was always skeptical of it, but now, it's the bees knees.
i also love the auto spell checker a'la word and their squiggly underlines in my blogger wysiwyg editor.. i wonder if it's a function of firefox or not... i don't recall having that in IE. speaking of which, firefox is infinitely more stable in vista than IE ever was. if you haven't made the switch yet. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? do you like your browser window to crash every session?
i see that LK beat me to the punch and launched her new blog before i did. maybe i'll have some time to spend on it this weekend. i've been concentrating really hard on setting up my new profile with google. still can't get my new calendar to work right in google desktop, nor are my subdomains working properly, but i am confident i will be able to get it to work at some point... but anyway, check out LKs new blog.. it's not password protected, so anyone can read it! yay!! www.smilingonfoot.com bookmark her.
let me tell you this flower story.. (Aunt C you are going to like this, it's about flowers.) cath always gushes about how much she likes to garden, and how she would "do it everyday!" so i offered her to do whatever she wants with my gardens in the front of my house, she agreed. we were supposed to go to her 2 favorite garden stores after work last week cause they were open till 7, but i had to come straight from work so we would have time to make it to both.. cath assured me that they BOTH close at 7. we didn't end up going last week, and planned to go sunday after the guests all left town. well, the casino called cath, and the raw sewage in my basement couldn't be ignored, so sunday turned into tonight, right after work! so i hightailed it to her house, as we are driving over to cazenovia (or chittenango i don't know which) at 540, she tells me, oh, bad news, debrouques closes at 3pm. WTF! well, at least we could still go to sorbellos. we pull in at about 545. what time do they close? 6!!! jesus!! cath assured me last week they were BOTH open till 7. SHE NEVER CALLED EITHER.. liar. needless to say we didn't get much, we didn't have time, nor the stomach to peruse the merchandise because the manure smell was so bad in the air you could taste it. i have certainly had my fill of shit smell for the year this week.
so after last nights debacle, the city was supposed to come to my house between 8-10am. at 730, i hear patty barking her fool head off... they were early, and i was in bed. i jumped out of bed, threw some clothes on, limped my way to the door and was greeted by three men. one wanted to see the water standing in my basement. i led him downstairs to the dried up bit of TP and shit in my utility room... great... so i suggested we flush the toilet.. we see some water in the other room, in the hole, but it's not bubbling up like before.. so i run upstairs and flush that toilet.. it spurts up into the shower. one of the men takes a strange looking plunger and tried to plunge the hole in the utility room.. he says he can't get any suction because of the drain in the shower... they say the road looks clear to them, and i need to call a plumber. i tell him i called on yesterday and they told me to call him (the city) first.. then he asks who i called. i tell him the name of the first plumbing company that showed up for my zipcode with a website in google. he suggests another plumber even though he says he's not supposed to..
so i call his suggestion and and their motto is they will "drain your pipes, not your wallet".i leave him a message, it's 10 of 8. at 8:15 i get a call from this plumber, he can be here in an hour.
i shower and check my emails. he shows up promptly at 9:15. he is smoking and has a friend that pulls this contraption that looks sorta like a snowblower, or small lawnmower out of the van, plugs it into the van and it starts snaking down into the drain at the curb. he puts 10s and 20s of feet into it while the smoker checks out the basement and asks me to flush the upstairs toilet. i over hear the friend saying it took him 3 trys and i see him pull the snake out completely and there are white sheets of paper stuck to it.. baby wipes i later learn.
the smoker comes back into the house and gives me a bill for $135. i write him a check and watch him leave. it's 9:30.
as i am getting ready to leave the house i see that patty has thrown up in her cage over night.
i left it, i am a bad mother. i reached my bodily fluid clean up max for the day. maybe tomorrow. maybe i'll leave her cage unlocked tonight in case she can't take sleeping next to vomit for another night.
ugh...
mike and i just snaked a bunch of drains with his 30' snake and didn't get much accomplished. in fact, we might have made it worse. it smelled like sewage in the basement this morning when i went down to get BreeD a yinyer-ale and i found out this afternoon it was because there was some standing sewage water on top of the drain in the utility room in the basement. mike and i snaked that drain and did get to a point where we couldn't push the snake through anymore, and were able to pull some raw sewage out on the end of the snake, but that didn't seem to make the problem go away. i am afraid to take a shower, but i need to because i got some backed up unpleasantries on my forearms, and hands and probably elsewhere.
i've emailed a plumber. i didn't want to call the emergency number and pay extra because it was a sunday evening.. hopefully they email or call me tonight.
:( this is crappy, pun intended.
**UPDATE**
i got an email back from a woman at the plumbing place (ironically named luann) and she suggested i contact the city and ask them to "power flush" the lines. if that doesn't solve the problem she said that they could come out..
woo who.. i hope there is no cost from the city. isn't that what taxes are for?
however... i have to wait for them to come between 8-10 tomorrow morning..
i like having visitors to my house, because it usually means i have most of the day sunday to myself. i get to see and visit, and still relax.. this is the life!
BreeD and MK came to visit for a wedding they were going to. we had a couple of really late nights. what was most thrilling to learn is that they are seriously considering moving to this area to buy a house. :) woo who! how great would that be?
i think there was a reason that breed and i were up talking so late in the night, because at 1am, a BOC kinda came up on woot.com.. getting the Bag Of Crap will depend on that the final number before the decimal is on the DOW monday at closing, and if it matches the final digit of your credit card number... say a prayer it's a 6. :)
having just two guests this weekend has been taxing on my delicate plumbing. :( mike is on his way over with a snake, and we are going to hit up Lowes for some "liquid" plumber hoping that takes care of the issue.. i really would rather not have to call a real life plumber. i can't imagine it would be cheap when it cost 2 bills just to change my locks.
speaking of paying for things, patty is having her yearly check up/shots on wednesday. cross your fingers that is under 100. :)
wednesday cath and i are also going to buy some plants for my front gardens and cath is going to redo them. i'm so excited. if possible, i'd love to buy one of those beautiful delicate japanese red maple trees for the corner.
i need to mow again too. :( i am not a fan of mowing.
the hunts came over friday and we ordered pizza.. i decided to do a little test and try some pizza. i had 2 pieces and suffered no ill effects. very encouraging.. i had 3 pieces of leftover pizza the next day for breakfast/lunch and was also not bothered. but i'm going to remain abstaining from wheat as best i can... i don't want to push it. i did discover though that guinness is wheat free. :) love.
friday when i had people over, it had to have been the hottest evening so far this summer. and i had no fans, and just the one air conditioner. i went and bought a couple fans saturday, and am going back today for another air conditioner. it was 20% off. shiiiiiiit.
i have some pictures that i've been taking to post.. i'll try to do that soon.
** UPDATE **
here are the long awaited pictures .
wow. i've been such a bad blogger.. i have been mighty distracted and busy, but that is no excuse..
this is what i have to report....
1. my new site, www.cnydigested.com is up and running... i've converted over all the restaurant review posts and comments.. i also set up a twitter feed for it.. so follow me! @cnydigested
2. i switched to firefox, i couldn't take IE crashing on me with vista any longer. however, facebook chat works infinitely better with IE...
3. the PA hunts came for a visit... and mowed my back lawn, it was great. we celebrated the nation's b-day with a barbecue. we made audrey practice her walking a lot.. she WILL be walking by the reunion.. (cross your fingers) i'll post pics later..
4. i finished watching all my downloaded backlog of tv shows. 13 episodes of MadMen (starts august 16th on AMC) i thoroughly love this show.. it was a little jarring to get used to at first with it being so chauvinistic, but it's also awesomely fascinating. it takes place in 1960-1963 so far.. cath tells me that the things i marvel at really did happen, and that is really what people wore... seriously, if you don't already watch it you have to check it out.
i also watched all of season 2, Flight of the Conchords. the buzz on the street was right, not as good as season 1. but i will surely watch season 3...
i also caught myself up on Weeds season 5. it's getting good...
next up... a bunch of episodes of eli stone, and season 5 of entourage. and maybe the dvd commentary of madmen season 2.
5. i had all my locks changed, and now they are all the same red sox key!! woot! it was long overdue, and it's sooo nice to have a key for doors i didn't have before, and it's nice that it's just one key, not 4, i don't feel like a janitor anymore.
6. more guests this weekend. this weekend is a wedding for BreeD, so she and MK are coming to town, and so are the rochester Hunts. this weekend is also the premiere of Bruno.. i'm so going.. even if i have to go by myself, but i think teags will like it.. i'll even buy her ticket..
7. i'll be switching this blog over to a new one soon... so stay tuned...
8. i need to plan a trip to the NYC... to see a yankees game, check out KTs new life, and visit with other NYCers.. anyone want to come with me? speaking of trips, i also need to plana getaway for thanksgiving... the family is scattering from here on out, so i am free to do what i want! and what a great time of year, i naturally have 2 days off that week from work.. so i can get a full vacation for half the vacation time. and since i can't eat my favorite food in the world, stuffing, and don't eat turkey, what good is t-giving anyways? who wants me to come visit them in november?
alright, that's a good place to stop, it's late..
i had my lesson on open source CMSs tonight with bilo.. i'm so encouraged/excited to get started on a blog...
i'm going to start by separating out my restaurant reviews to this new domain i set up called cnydigested.com. it'll probably be a little while till i get it up and running.. but i am totally psyched. :)
i see some really long nights in my immediate future. :)
as you can see by the previous post, i was very productive this weekend. i am most enjoying watching the 2nd season of madmen.. i can totally see why it's received so many awards - it's worth them all. i also see why people fall all over jon hamm as don draper... he's fantastical! there is a new character this season called bobbie barrett, she's the wife of a comedian, when i just hear her talking, she sounds like kathleen turner from peggy sue got married. maybe that is why i like this show/era so much.
i had my oil changed at the dealership on saturday. people wonder why i take the car there, and even though i had a coupon this time, it's still about the same price as valvoline, and they are so nice there. i didn't even have to wait for them to take my car in.
i made recipe for dill pesto cream sauce this weekend to put over gluten free pasta. i had never really had the GF pasta and was skeptical to try it. it took a lot longer to cook than regular pasta, and was a little on the chewy side while it was cooking, but it turned out not bad. i'd eat it again.
however, by the time i was done with all the cooking i was really not that interested in eating it, i think it might be because it had chicken in it, and it took all my strength not to throw up when i was cooking it. i think maybe i was born to be a vegetarian. :)
i didn't mow my lawn this week even though we got a lot of rain. i'll do it next week. here is a pic of my white trash lawn when i let it go for three weeks...
here are the complete pictures i took at aud's birthday.
i have so many things to do and little to nothing to do this weekend, so hopefully i will be productive and get some stuff done.
my weekend action items.
Today was CSA delivery day!! we got such great things!
asparagus, green kale, mizuna greens, romaine lettuce, spring mix lettuce, daikon radish, red radish, garlic scapes, green spinach, cilantro, green broccoli, cauliflower, dill, basil, sugar snap peas and lemon balm i think.
i think i am going to bring some lemon balm with me to work tomorrow and put it in my water, like a watery virgin mojito. :)
we got more this time than last week i think. i am excited to eat it all. i kinda want to eat it all tonight. :)
i plan to make this recipe with the garlic scapes...
Garlic Scape Pesto
1/2 lb. organic scapes (chopped into 1" sections)
1 c. organic olive oil
2 c. grated parmesan cheese
In a blender, combine the scapes and olive oil. Pour mixture into bowl and blend the cheese in by hand.
here are the pics of all the items, and the pod..
as my time in PA comes to an end here are some things i am going to miss, and not miss.
things i am going to miss...
i'm in pa and having a good time so far. yesterday morning we went to a couple of my favorite store that i don't have in syracuse. whole foods and trader joes. whole foods has the BEST recyclable bags. i will surely go back and buy at least one more. they are colorful, tall, plastic on the outside and cloth-y on the inside.. truly spectacular.
i've had great success at not eating wheat, and yesterday was a true test! at the game i drank quite a bit of wine (they sell it in the "high & inside" bar behind homeplate in case anyone is interested.) and ate a fair amount of food at the game.. crabby fries, nachos and a bunless hot dog.. but more importantly was all the wine. i had no repercussions last night. i didn't even have a hangover this morning.. it was grand.
hee hee. funny note. as i type this i hear a jingling in the hallway.. everyone went to bed at 915, so i am sure it's not E or R.. i open my bedroom door, and sure enough it's p-head.. i don't know how she found me, i accidentally didn't lock up her cage, so she's come for a night-time visit. i might just let her sleep in here because i am too lazy to go downstairs now. unless she gets too annoying in the night.
here are some pictures from the game.
EH decided she needed a new shirt at the game.. this girl is not afraid to change clothes in the middle of a baseball stadium
see us in our umbrella-ella-ella-ella. there was a 95 minute rain delay. pretty sucky.
this is miss A, eating her lunch. she's a real ham...
here are the pics that i've taken so far.
we got our first email from the farm tonight sharing what they anticipate will be in our boxes this week.. sounds good. i'm really excited about the greens...
In your boxes you will find asparagus, collards, purple broccoli, arugula greens, spinach, green or red lettuce, shallot greens, and a bunch of radishes. In addition to that, Deluxe shareholders will receive mizuna greens, mint, extra asparagus, and a beautiful mixed spring lettuce mix.
i went to the greek festival tonight with my former roommates. it was very rainy, but we took good advantage of mikes heart condition and parked in a handicapped spot right next to the church. there seemed to be more greek people there then usual.. maybe because it's the first night? i am glad i decided to drive down to PA tomorrow morning instead of after work tonight. driving in constant rain is very taxing. hopefully the weather will be nicer tomorrow. it was a little sad not being able to eat the honey puffs, but the plastic cup of greek wine more than made up for it.
tomorrow Auds has tubes put in her ears. :( i hope she won't be too cranky about it this week.
tonight i heard news that a former high school art classmate of mine passed away last night. i remember having a crazy crush on him for those HS years. i heard that he was living in boston somehow when i was preparing to move out of boston... apparently after high school he went on to be a successful artist, getting a masters degree from RISD, starting a business and getting married. all while living with brain cancer. how inspiring... you can read the obituary here... Mark Nicholson
i feel a little inundated with cancer lately.. brain cancer even... a guy i used to love listening to from the Adam Carolla Show was recently diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. his soon to be wife keeps a very compelling blog about all the drs appointments and events that are happening as they go through radiation and chemo. i read every word with tissues close by. i've been moved so far as to donate money.
i don't like when people i know are sick, or die.
so today marks one week from when i stopped eating wheat. it's been much easier than i imagined... i've not had diarrhea like experiences since i stopped eating wheat. this is probably going to be TMI, but i kind of forgot what it was like to have regular bowel movements. it's pretty awesome, actually. i am sure over this past week i consumed some trace amounts of wheat(flour), but i had none of the symptoms like what i felt last monday. it really baffles me that none of the doctors i've seen and mentioned this to ever brought up a possible food allergy as an explanation to what was happening to me. it seemingly is an allergy to wheat. wtf...
it's not exactly easy to eat wheat free, but here is an idea of what i've been consuming..
rice... i love my rice maker
yogurt
bananas
apples
grapefruit
baked tofu
tortilla chips
baked polenta with cheese melted on top
corn quesadillas
steak
lettuce wraps
corn flakes
rice chex
rice cakes
peanuts
avocados
carrots
stuffed cabbage rolls
so you can see it's not as if i am starving myself. quite the opposite.. i have had a few unexplained instances of daytime heartburn.. i'm not really sure why, but i decided to continue to take my prilosec for a few more weeks. i have not had any night time heartburn during this week. that is fantastic!
i think that this new way of eating is going to coincide nicely with the CSA deliveries. they start next week. i'll be in PA, but cath will get mine and bring it with her to PA. i am really excited about the CSA. i plan on taking photos of each weeks shipments and of the pick-up POD for those of you curious about what CSAs are. hell, i am curious! :)
thursday i drive down to E&Rs house for a red sox game this weekend followed by a week of work in Blue Bell, then it's miss As 1st birthday. i am going to need to give EH some painting lessons.. she's started three paintings and needs some help. another crafty thing we'll be doing is making hello kitty cupcake pops for the big party. too bad i won't be able to eat them, but it will be fun trying to make them look good. :)
this past weekend B&MK visited. we had a good time, i wish they would move up here rather than down south, i always have a good time with BD, but she lives too far away. here are my pics
iPod touch tip
If you're in another application while listening to music, you can bring up your music controls simply by double-clicking the Home button.
there wasn't a link to the email on a server somewhere for those whose mail clients have scrambled the email... they must be very confident that their emails work perfectly across the board.
this weekend BDK and MK are coming to stay at my house. they have appointments in the 'cuse this weekend. i'll be glad to see them in between their obligations.
tonight i went to S&PFs house for dinner. little K is sooo cute. her hair is so curly.. she also says all kinds of words.. she points out all kinds of things and says their names, she says animal sounds, she blows kisses, crosses her fingers and even fist bumps on command. it's adorable. the Bs were there also.. their daughters are getting so big too.. i haven't seen A since she was a itty bitty baby. S&P have a new stone patio now, it's gorgeous.
i rented the new season of Weeds on my way home from Hollywood Video because i had gift cards, now i have until monday to watch 13 episodes... i have faith in myself.
i'm pretty sure my days are numbered at the station... they're auditioning new people... it was fun while it lasted, but it will also be nice to have some free time.
i went to alto cinco last night for dinner. it was fantastic, i can't believe its taken me this long to dine there. i didn't get a to go menu though, so until i do, the review will have to wait...
since the adam carolla radio show went off the air, i've been somewhat of a podcast junkie.. i can't get enough, i'm always open for suggestions. i currently subscribe to 27 free podcasts. i'll tell you about my favorites.
The adam carolla podcast
update frequency: 1 time daily, m-f
length: 1 hour on average
subject: everything and anything...
language: crude at times, definitely curse words.
listener interaction: takes skype calls occasionally, reads emailed questions sometimes
this show is pretty great, i look forward to finding out who his guest was each night. but it doesn't even matter who the guest is, almost every show you learn some interesting fact from adams past. i love hearing stories from his younger days... he has many recognizable guests, and gets them all to talk candidly, and often swear.. i like swearing.
recent guests:
David Allen Grier
Pauly Shore
James Gunn (used to be married to Jenna "pam" Fischer)
Time to get Buckwild
update frequency: sporadic.. couple times a month at best
length: ~30 minutes
subject: usually reality tv, mostly VH1 shows.
language: cursing.
listener interaction: takes phone calls mostly
this is a just for fun podcast. becky buckwild talks her ghetto speak and takes calls.. she plays a song (usually 'lil wayne) to open the show, and then once again in the middle. lately she has had frank the entertainer also call in.
The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons
update frequency: every 2- 3 days
length: 45 min - 1 hour
subject: sports with a inclination towards boston sports, and pop culture
language: totally safe. ESPN edits the show when necessary. no cursing.
listener interaction: none
bill simmons has been stepping up his podcast frequency as of late. and with that comes more of what i love, more pop culture. he watches the real world, road rules challenges, and survivor. he has a running series of phone calls with college buddy JackO. those are hands down my favorite. JackO is a yankees fan, so they hash out red sox yankees issues. bill also has many hollywood friends that make appearances. sports is always the underlying current in these podcasts. Of course bill simmons used to write for the jimmy kimmel show, so he frequently has jimmy or adam on the show.
recent guests:
mark cuban - talk about the media, mark's blog, the state of the economy and more
JackO - resurgent yankees, big papi's struggles and the captain Derek Jeter
Dave Jacoby - LOST season finale rehash/survivor talk
gdgt weekly
update frequency: once a week
length: 45 min - 1 hour
subject: technology focused on gadgets
language: completely clean
listener interaction: none
this podcast is mainly about new technologies, from cell phones/pdas to gaming systems to digital cameras/video players and everything in between. one of the things i like most about this podcast, is the podcast is divided up into mini chapters with different artwork for each chapter. these guys are intelligent but not geeky..
recent topics:
Zune HD
Palm Pre
verizon and Sprints personal mobile routers
Hey, We're Back!
update frequency: once a month
length: under 10 minutes
subject: comedy-ish
language: clean
listener interaction: none
this is a short comical podcast by jonathan katz (dr. katz professional therapist). It's usually stories, sometimes taken from his live shows, and he usually has guest voices in his stories, sometimes his old dr. katz colleagues, laura silverman and jon benjamin.
I Love Movies
update frequency: sporadically, couple of times a month
length: 45 minutes
subject: comedy and movie guessing
language: off color. cursing
listener interaction: none
this is a taped show that doug benson does before Comedy Deathray Shows in L.A. he usually has 3 guests and they almost always guess movies from cast lists out of the "Leonard Maltin Movie Guide".
recent guests:
the sklar brothers, graham elwood and jon hamm
patton oswald, rob huebel and joe rogan
dana gould and natasha leggero
Loveline
update frequency: once daily, m-f
length: 10 minutes
subject: sex advice
language: explicit, but no cursing
listener interaction: mostly calls
this is the first 10 minutes of the nightly sex advice show that dr drew pinsky has been hosting for 26 years. they only give away the first 10 minutes. they offer the whole show for a monthly fee. they almost always have hollywood guests, frequently musicians. up until recently stryker was a co-host, but he was let go and now dr drew is having guest hosts. adam carolla recently stepped in for a week long guest hosting, ahh, the good old days. loveline with drew and adam is really as good as it gets, but other guests that i enjoy listening to are jeff probst, seth macfarlane, i really like listening to engineer Anderson too.
recent guests:
olivia munn (co-host of Attack of the Show)
jeff probst
daisy de la hoya
andy milonakis
The Moth Podcast
update frequency: every monday
length: 10 min - 20 min
subject: story telling
language: varies
listener interaction: none
this is a recording of unscripted story telling usually recorded in NYC.. the story tellers and story subjects are different each podcast. i like to believe they are true stories. they are very compelling and often humorous
recent guests:
dave mowers - smoking on the job gone horribly wrong
jerry Stahl - quitting heroin
ed gavagan - surviving a brutal gang attack in NYC
NPR: Fresh Air Podcast
update frequency: once daily, m-f
length: 45 min
subject: varies
language: clean
listener interaction: none
this podcast is hosted by Terry Gross. she is an excellent interviewer. her guests are from all different walks of life. this is a must listen to.
recent topics:
Dating with Dad: A reluctant son's "Assisted Loving", movie reviews, UP and Drag Me to Hell
Summer Travel Outlook, Old food, Old land and American Idol, a retrospective
When Tiger met Rocco, journeyman golfer who took on Tiger, cannes film festival
NPR: Pop Culture Podcast
update frequency: mondays
length: ~20 min
subject: the weeks pop culture pieces all in one place
language: clean
listener interaction: none
this is a repeat of just the pop culture pieces from the various NPR shows throughout the week.
recent topics:
terminator salvation
illuminati, pet villains strike again in 'Demons'
Star Trek, boldly reapproached
The Official LOST Podcast
update frequency: Once weekly, during the broadcast season.
length: 5 min with cast members, 20 min with damon & carlton
subject: LOST tv show
language: clean
listener interaction: listener email questions
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse rehash and prehash almost every episode during the season. they also take emailed in questions. this is a great podcast as they sometimes shed much needed light on LOST episodes. what is more interesting though is the behind the scenes, filming, story line creating information that they talk about. it's kind of like listening to the director commentary from a dvd, only on episodes as they are happening.
PRI: The Sound of Young America
update frequency: every 3 days on average
length: ~30 min
subject: interviews with people in entertainment business
language: clean
listener interaction: none
this is an interview show broadcast out of the L.A. apartment of Jesse Thorn. he is 28 and lands interviews with many recognizable hollywood figures. his interviews are interesting and for the most part he asks good questions. his voice makes him sound older than he really is.
recent guests:
Nick Kroll (from Cavemen)
Rian Johnson (director of Brothers Bloom)
Trailor Park Boys
Savage Love Podcast
update frequency: once a week
length: ~ 40 min
subject: sex advice
language: crude
listener interaction: all calls
this is a podcast i learned about by listening to This American Life's rebroadcast of their LIVE event back in April. Dan Savage is a regular contributor to This American Life, and has been writing a relationship advice column for years. that column spilled over into a weekly podcast where he plays voicemails people left and answers their questions. occasionally he calls the person back to discuss their issue. The language can be pretty vulgar.. and dan doesn't put things lightly. i enjoy his frankness.
Stuff You Missed in History Class
update frequency: twice a week
length: 15-20 min
subject: history
language: clean
listener interaction: none
this is a very informational podcast. these two girls research a different topic a couple times a week. they are usually hit or miss, but i like to think that what they are saying is subconsciously soaking into my brain.
recent topics:
presidential perks
what really happened at Kent State?
How Easter Island Works
Will the World Really End in 2012?
Stuff You Should Know
update frequency: twice a week
length: ~ 20 min
subject: random things
language: clean
listener interaction: some listener mail
this podcast is not unlike stuff you missed in history class. only not so history focused. it is hosted by two guys who are much easier to listen to than the two women that host the history podcast. i think i really like this one because these are some of the questions i often wonder to myself...
recent topics:
do animals have a sixth sense?
how lobotomies work
are there dead bodies on mount everest?
how going over niagra falls works
TechStuff
update frequency: twice a week
length: ~ 25 min
subject: technology
language: clean
listener interaction: some listener mail
very similar to the other "how stuff works" podcasts i listen to, but this one is focused on technology. honestly, after listening to the other technology focused podcasts i listen to, this one is a little unnecessary.. but i've yet to unsubscribe, so there must be a subconscious reason i keep downloading it.
recent topics:
why do other countries get cool tech before the US?
are computers more eco friendly than paper?
how do CB radios work?
how mobile apps stores work
what is cloud gaming?
This American Life
update frequency: once a week
length: 1 hour
subject: first person stories
language: clean
listener interaction: none
this is a newer podcast that i finally found. Ira Glass hosts this weekly show that usually has 3 parts. three different points of view around a certain topic or theme, usually. they are very compelling and very well told.
if you actually read all the way through this post, let me know that all my work on this post didn't go to waste. ;)
i started watching madmen tonight.. i didn't think i was going to like it... (even though john hamm is a total hottie) because the first few scenes really made me mad. the men are sexist pigs.. the women are either housewives or secretaries.. there is one line where one secretary is showing the other to her desk, and tells her not to be worried about all the "technology" (meaning the typewriter),she says, "the man that invented it made it simple enough for a woman to use". the show takes place in the 1960's in Manhattan at an Advertising agency mostly... people drink and smoke constantly, even pregnant women, even the doctor while he's giving a gynecological exam... kids ride in the cars without seatbelts or carseats, beer cans are opened with a can opener on two sides of the lid... women wear dresses in every scene.
it really makes me appreciate living in the era that we live... i can tell i'm going to be sucked into the rest of the seasons.. the good news is it's only got 2 seasons of 13 episodes each so far. maybe i can catch up before the next season starts.
this long weekend has been much needed. i feel so much more caught up, so nice.
here are the pics i took this weekend...
we had typical bbq food.. and jr made some delicious brownies... sooo good.
i love long weekends. i've reduced my dvr from 83% to 6%. there should be some sort of award for that. :)
i opted for wine instead of dinner tonight. in my old age i can have one or the other.
i slimmed down pattys mohawk a little bit tonight. i couldn't imagine doing the whole thing.. it was well worth the $45 i paid the groomer.
yesterday and today i've been playing with teags.. she is so cute. they are not lying when they say she's a runner. she runs everywhere.
teags and duda.
teags hates the swing.
patty went for a little swim.
teagan loved the ice cream
i'll have some more photos after tomorrows memorial day barbecue, i'll compile and post a link to all of them then.
everyone loves lists... so here goes my accomplishments this weekend.
1. dishes (wash and put away)
2. four loads of laundry (clean and put away)
3. attended a post secret art show opening
4. took patty to get her fetching haircut
5. vacummed and washed rugs
6. pulled out upwards of 50 hedges from the perimeter of my front lawn
7. filled in about a third of the holes with dirt.
8. grass seeded
9. weedwacked
10. mowed
11. planted a few tulips
12. returned all borrowed equipment to fayeteville
13. went out to dinner
batman and i removed all the shrubs in 1 hour.. i couldn't believe how fast we did it.. i almost thought it would be a 2 weekend type job. first we started by driving the bushes out by roping them to the hitch on the car, but it turned out the roots weren't too deep, so batman just dug them up while i knocked the dirt off the roots... i'm going to be sore tomorrow.
before
after
we went to eat after all this at red robin.. and didn't really realize until the end of the meal that our waiter had an aversion to clearing off the table. we had stacked up all our dishes in the middle of hte table in an attempt to send him a message to clear them.. he didn't get it.. he must have walked by 13 times, looked at them, even shook his head, yet didn't clear them away. the best part was when he delivered the dessert we ordered and becuase there was no where to place the dish he just held it over the table and said "here you go".. we had to grab it ourselves and find a place to put it. i peed my pants a little laughing so hard in the booth about that one.
ridiculous.
patty got her hair did yesterday.. she's my little punk dog now...
before...
after.. isn't she cute.
there are more pics here.
my work has an art show every year, and i won 2 awards... one for best drawing for my mother and crying baby drawing... and that drawing also won the peoples choice award... shich is like the best of show...
almost more importantly i had another drawing selected to go into a show later in the year at the Everson...
so exciting!!
mother and child - best drawing, and peoples choice winner...
biker - going to the everson...
but... i kinda feel like you guys are crappy amazing race watchers cause noone even mentioned it to me, and the winner didn't even know she had won...amanda and kris - hope - paidcara and jamie - emily - paidbrad and victoria -dan - paidchristie and jodi - ryan - paidlakisha and jennifer - mikelinda and steve - cathymargie and luke - cathymark michael - mikemel and mike - rebecca - paid
tammy and victor - amanda - paid - WINNER
so amanda wins again... unbelievable... she wins a grand total of $45 (plus the $5 she originally paid) woo who. go amanda.
i was really hoping margie and luke would have won.. they had it too.. :(
here are the pics from HEKds shower. i didn't have time to title them yet. so check back again someday for titles.. or comment your own...
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=dultmwy.1dgqowou&x=1&y=-bpwc8d&localeid=en_US
ugh.. i was just watching patty carry a mini bone around completely uneaten looking for somewhere to hide it. i don't know which hiding spot she took it from.. but i noticed that she somehow has gotten her butt fur full of poop. i think i am going to be sick.
in other patty news, she woke me up this morning by barking her fool head off at 445am.. that better have been an isolated incident, otherwise she'll be sleeping in the garage from now on.
so i am back from chicago.. it is so much nicer than i remember from when i was there in 1999.. i guess 10 years will do that. i'll start by saying the food was amazing, KH and JT took us to some gems.. the food and ambiance at nearly ever place was outstanding...
i've detailed some of these places in my pics....
i was also able to stop by foodlife for my lunch on friday. it was overwhelmingly awesome. you could get basically anything you wanted. it was laid out like little separate counters, and the menus were very easy to understand, kind of IKEA-like.. so good...
KHs apt was so cute, i loved it.. they were such good hosts.
we made pizza saturday night.. and UP and i decided we need to make pizza like this in july when he and TC come to visit. we made prob 7 different pizzas, and only had one casualty.
we saw all sorts of landmarks and neighborhoods... and most importantly, we saw many many crab apple trees, and of course, oprah walking her dancing dogs.
here are my pics...
my hotel is pretty nice.. it's old and established... i went to dinner last night with UP, KH & J. we went to a local rib joint.. i got the veggie sloppy joe.. but had one of Js ribs, it was actually delicious. tonight we are trying our hand at the publican. and i realized that i can see the water town from my hotel, so i will surely go to the foodlife for lunch. oh, and we drove by 2nd city on our way to dinner. yay!!
here are some pics of my stay so far.
the sunsetting from the plane window was so cool...
my toilet couldn't be closer to the vanity unless it was underneath it..
this is UP. he has an ARCHAIC phone..
this is NOT where obama gave his acceptance speech. i've been told that was at grant park. where the married with children fountain is.
this is one of the cool fountains.. every so often water spit out of the video where the girls mouth is...
i'll upload comprehensive pics when i get back.
i'm in the airport... i love when they have free wifi.
i am on my way to chicago.. there is a well dressed british man ordering some fries and a soda from the bartender in the bar i'm waiting in.
MB has awoken and it fine.. he will most likely go home tomorrow..
i have a two day conference and then i will be frolicking around chicago with KH, her bf and UP.. woo who. fun times.
i sold my drawing.. i hope the gift recipient likes it.. i'm sure the commissioner will say it was well received anyway.. ;)
the baggage guy let me check a bag and didn't charge me the $15.. he looked like jonathan rhys meyers.
I'm not supposed to board for another 20 minutes, but an airline worker came and got a girl from this same bar a little while ago and she thought that she wasn't boarding for another 15 minutes. he said the plane was boarded and waiting for her... i wonder if they would come and look for me...
*sigh* i had grandiose plans for tonight, sort mail, pack, laundry, file papers, plant tulips... but i'm afraid it's not all going to get done..
MB had his ablasion procedure today and it went well. however he is not breathing as good on his own afterwards, so they want to keep him intubated and mildly sedated until tomorrow morning..
we will know more tomorrow morning... say prayers...
i did however mow my lawn before i got this news.. and it is damn hard. my front lawn sucks, its very lumpy and most of it is at a 45 degree angle. and.. it's lined with a low row of hedges.. wtf.. that makes it near impossible to mow around. i almost fell backwards onto the sidewalk over the hedges, under the mower. my neighbors are probably laughing their asses off..
ugh. i have diarreah again now. and a paper cut.. and patty is dragging my dirty underware out of my room into the hallway.
calgon take me away.
it's been almost a week since i updated. i'm getting as bad as SH and HEKD.
speaking of HEKD, she is having a baby shower this weekend... i keep hearing how formal it's going to be. we'll see.. oh shoot, i didn't grab the address. :( HEKD, can you email it to me? i have my tomtom here at my desk.
we are supposed to go out sat night. should be a good time. :)
next week with be pretty crazy for me i think.. i feel the stress creeping in. i am super busy at work, MB has a "procedure", and i got to chicago for 4 days.
chicago should be fun.. i *think* UP is going to be in chicago the same time as me.
i'm trying not to think about all the shit i have going on or it will stress me out. i think i need to get some stronger medication.
just a short list of all the great things i accomplished today.
1. vaccuumed.
2. leaf blew the driveway to get rid of the tree buds.
3. tons of laundry
4. ran the dishwasher
5. shopped and bought an air conditioner, and a lawn mower.
6. mowed the lawn. it was damn hard. its self propelled, but i think it's the "athelete's version". i haven't run so hard since the timed mile in high school.
7. i have not watched a minute of tv yet today.
8. i walked p-head. and now she is laid out panting.. that will teach her.
now all i have left to do is draw a little and watch my amazing race and celebrity apprentice.
so many things to do on my half day off tonight..
1. walk p-head
2. go grocery shopping
3. layout drawing
4. eat dinner
5. LOST @ 9
hmm. i felt like there was more this morning....
i'm trying to reduce my waiting RSS feeds down to zero, and this post from MIB caught my eye...
My Daughter's Constant Freakouts
here is an excerpt.. i laughed out loud multiple times.. :)
Today’s incident occurred when my five-year-old daughter, whom I will call Her Shittiness, broke the propeller off a cheap paper airplane with which she was playing. This lit the fuse which soon exploded the bomb, when five minutes later the wings became detached. Now, I have certainly experienced my own frustrations with shoddy Third World workmanship. (The plane was manufactured in a country which shall remain nameless, but which is best known for their billions of people, their tasty cuisine, and for their poisonous baby formula.) But even when I am upset with poor craftsmanship, my reaction is never to start screaming at the top of my lungs, tell my father I hate him, and run away shrieking, making sure to slam every door en route to my destination, which in this case, was her bedroom.
it's good to be back.. i've resisted looking at any of my work emails.. i am going to hold out until tomorrow. i picked up p-head today. cath was more than happy to get rid of her, and she was SOOOO happy to see me.
i'm mostly caught up on all the shows that i missed this week.. 'cept a couple that my stupid dvr didn't record, biggest loser, and SNL. wtf.
i'm doing my laundry and procrastinating unpacking.. i'm still wading through personal emails while i watch my shows.
when i went to retrieve my mail yesterday i realized that i had left the front door completely unlocked. omg.. i am so dumb. thank god noone broke in, or even just walked in. as far as i can tell all my belongings are still here.
of course now that i am back i feel like i am getting a cold. my nose is running, and i keep sneezing, and of course the *mexican flu* is still working it's way out of my body one toilet full at a time.
amazing race looks pretty intense tonight. what is the *sign* for bitch?
the pictures are starting to come in from the trip..
here are the ones i took at easter with the kellys..
here are the ones i took in mexico.
here are CFs mexico pics and
here are EHs mexico pics.
i'll post the other pics when i get them...
this is te hibachi dinner we ate wednesday night. we shared the grill with some very friendly british people. one in particular, "james" is very friendly.
somehow i have picked up a GI disease. it's not very plesant. esp when i am wearing a bathing suit most of the day. in addition to the disentary i drank way too much on wed night at the hibachi and afterwards and threw up in my room. it was so bad that KT and i took my sheets, the towells we used to clean the mess, the bathmat, and threw them out in the trash can in the hallway.. last night we had a note slipped under our door saying we needed to talk to the customer service people. they want to charge us 500 pesos (roughly $50) to pay for the cleaning of the linens. KT argued that the towels aren't worth 500 pesos... we might get out of it... that is to be determined.
today we leave for home. it doesn't seem like we were here all that long. 
we went to the marina yesterday and i had my hair braided.. it looks so cute! :) 
RH has been such a good participant.. he has participated in almost all of the activities the entertainment staff has put forth.. yesterday he did an iron man competition, the first day he did a beer drinking contest, he always plays water polo... the "rah rahs" know his name, and call him over the announcement system when they are gathering people for their activities. this is a photo of him and EH in thier water polo uniforms.
this was the beach at the ruins at tulum.
this is the 6 of us at the ruins.
today we went to see the ruins at tulum. i was not as impressed with these ruins as i was with the ones at chichen itza. but there was WAY more shade with these.. and we were just 6 people, so we had the guide to ourselves. after the ruins, we went to a cenote called Dos Ojos and snorkled with carlos and angel. it was pretty awesome. i will totally go snorkling next opportunity i get.. seriously amazing.
afterwards we came back to the hotel and drank and swam.. then we had a snack and now are getting ready to go to the hibachi.. people are taking such good pics, i can't wait to share everyones photos.. :)
we are really having a good time. EH and i are laughing our asses off at every opportunity. its really fun to go on vacation with your relatives and just have fun. hopefully someday SH will be able to afford a vacation.
last night we saw a show that the "rah rahs", the entertainment staff put on called Lion King.. the most funny part was that at the END of the show ryan says.. "hey... i think one of those people are the rah rahs.." (everyone in the show was a rah rah...) we laughed at him.
KT has been pestered all week by the massage guy.. he even gave her a free "5" minute massage... more like 20 minute massage..
we are off to dinner.. and i can't stop eating my easter present.
here is a pic of em doing a flaming sot the waiter brought to her because it was her b-day. lol.
so i made it.. transferring in philly was terrible, but none the less i made it. KT and i met up at customs just like planned, then we bought 2 pina coladas and some pringles from the bar right outside the airport and it cost us $23. we got hosed. KT thinks she left her jacket in the shuttle bus that took us form the airport. hopefully she can get it back.
E&R just happened to be walking in the lobby as we were walking off the shuttle.. os that was convenient. and C&J showed up 15 minutes later..
we swam at the pool after we got settled in our rooms.. then we ate dinner and flited between bars until about 10-11pm. we were all pretty beat..
RH was the only one with a hangover this morning. :) shocking.. lol.
we just made our reservations this morning for dinner tomorrow and thursday nights. all the other nights were full.. good thin we got in. we'll be eating buffet the rest of the time.
we are going to see if we can get a trip to go see the ruins in tulum tomorrow.. then E,R & KT are going to golf on thursday morn.
alright. i'm off to join the kids at the pool. 
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