Echo . Romeo . Kilo

For Mother’s Day last Sunday, I requested a few things: -...

Thu, 12 May 2011 16:55:14 -0400

For Mother’s Day last Sunday, I requested a few things:

- Breakfast in Bed
- Lunch at a Greek Restaurant
- Flowers
- Tirimisu from California Pizza Kitchen
- To watch No Country For Old Men before bedtime.

I got all of the above although, we didn’t get a chance to watch No Country until last night and it was just as amazing as the first time we watched it. I love the Coen Brothers so much. While I love all of their films (with the exception of a few), I love this film the most!

Food Lion

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:23:14 -0400

I was at a local grocery store called "Food Lion" when the following conversation happened.

Cashier: Hi, howyou doin' today?
Me: I'm fine, thanks...how are you?
Cashier: I am tryin'a get out of here...now that summer's finally here.
Me: *thinking how it's still spring and it's only really been warm for about one week* Oh yeah?
Cashier: One customer tried to tell me that it's technically still spring and I wasn't tryin'a be smart, but I'm tryin'a have summer you know? Tryin'a get to the beach.

At this point in the conversation, a man gets in line behind me and I couldn't help but notice that he is wearing cut-off jean shorts and a cut off t shirt to match...then he had on scrunch socks and sneakers. He took the basket I was using and started hitting the cashier with it. Playfully, nothing serious. He kept messing with her, turning her light on and off, throwing pieces of paper at her, etc. So I figured they knew each other. He stopped long enough to start talking to me...

Tank Top Guy: Are you having a cook out?? With hot dogs and bread and ketchup? (what was being rung up at that very second)
Me: Yeah...just forgot a few last minute things.
Cashier: Why you tryin'a mess around so much? You know that's her basket.
Tank Top Guy: Oh...sorry.
Me: It's okay, I don't need it.

By this time, my transaction was done, I gave one last look at Tank Top Guy and one last look at my cashier and noticed that her name was TRYINA! No joke! Then, as I walked away, I heard the two talking to each other.

Cashier: And how are you doing today, sir? Did you find everything you need?"
Tank Top Guy...apparently, they aren't friends: Yeah, thanks.

silence....

What?!

dallasclayton: A SMALL MOMENT IN MY DAY At the counter inside...

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:58:27 -0400

dallasclayton:

A SMALL MOMENT IN MY DAY

At the counter
inside the gas station
sits a bowl of apples
with a hand-written sign
which reads:
APPLES.

Beside the apples:
a bunch of bananas.

They have no sign.

“Did people have trouble identifying the apples by sight?”
I ask as the woman counts my change.

She stops
then looks over the fruit
perplexed
as if I have just asked the most important
question she has heard in
six months time.

She stares blankly for a long moment
then says

“I don’t know

I usually work on the weekends.”

I’m a big fan of Dallas Clayton, he has written two children’s books that are amazing. His blog is also full of every day happenings to which he adds illustrations. This is one of my favorites.

Conan O'Brien Does an Interview

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:41:59 -0400

Conan O'Brien Does an Interview:

You may or may not know that I am a pretty big fan of Conan O’Brien. He rarely does interviews, but when his friend Marc Maron came on the show, he promised on air to do an episode of the podcast, “WTF with Marc Maron” which is recorded in Maron’s garage. I found it really interesting.

Careful, explicit language…don’t listen to this at full blast with your kids around.

If you had to choose between having no thumbs or smelling nothing but peanut butter for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:02:30 -0400

Hahahahahaha!!

Oh my gosh, we actually have a board game called, “Would You Rather” that asks all sorts of questions like this. Like, “Would you rather have a glass bottle permanently stuck on all 5 fingers of your left hand or a bucket permanently stuck on your right foot.” It’s really fun.

My answer is smelling peanut butter, of course. I feel like after a while, I wouldn’t mind the smell but would hate if I were indistinguishable from a cat and every other non-primate animal. Also, I play the piano and guitar and am starting the cello soon. I need thumbs. As long as I don’t smell LIKE peanut butter for the rest of my life, I think I can deal with it myself.

You’re nuts!

sleep.

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:13:30 -0400

Every night around 7:30pm, I get really, really tired. I make it a point to tell everyone around me, aying things like, “Oooohhh my gaaawwwshh! I am SOOO TIIIRED!!!” letting the yawp gush forth from my wide-open, yawning mouth. I jam my index fingers into my eyes, sometimes letting my glasses bounce on my knuckles as I rub my eyes rhythmically in-out-in-out-in-out, forming a huge smudge of black around each eye where mascara and eyeliner used to be. This goes on for a few hours in which I let garbled ideas play themselves out in the form of ramblings and hasty google searches on the internet. Then with much effort, I put both of my feet flat on the floor, place the palms of my hands onto my knees and push myself up, feeling and hearing each of my muscles tell me, “You done good today…you done real good.” and I toddle off with my cell phone in one hand and the bra I managed to take off with my shirt still on by some trick I learned in middle school in the other hand. I toss a half conscious “Goodnight, Babe…love you” over my shoulder and make for the bathroom. In an unceremonious ritual, I have my “last pee” while taking out my contacts or brushing my teeth, eyes squinted and watery from the bright lights and aching desire to rest. Finally, I make it to our bedroom where the shuffle of dresser, cabinet, hamper, dresser, cabinet, hamper begins-like a confused dance, which only ends once I have take off my clothes, diamonds, pearls, find my tank top and shorts, dress again and then semi collapse into bed next to Indy who has been sleeping for a good four hours by this time. I spoon his tiny body with mine and smell his sweet hair and squeeze his thick thighs and put my index finger between his first two toes. Then I unwind the blankets which he has twisted himself up in- like a tiny tornado and push back the mountain of stuffed animals to allow him more “breathing room.” I lay my head tenderly upon my pillow, let out a slow, long, silent sigh and those muscles which were just singing go silent too, I roll over with a pillow to my chest and between my knees and I drift away to sleep.

AAAASSSSKKKK!

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:48:06 -0400

AAAASSSSKKKK!:

I usually have pretty interesting answers!

Best V day gift ever

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:41:00 -0500

Best V day gift ever:

I got this for my husband who is a HUGE fan of Wes Anderson. I was too excited to wait until Valentine’s day to give them to him because I always struggle with giving him good gifts and I knew this was perfect. I was right. He opened the tiny box, threw his head back and said, “OH. MY. GOSH, THIS IS THE BEST GIFT EVER!”

I was right. If you’re a fan of Wes Anderson, check out this etsy site. And if you don’t know what etsy is, shame on you.

KEITH AND I HAVE GOT IT IN THE BAG!

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:15:32 -0500

KEITH AND I HAVE GOT IT IN THE BAG!

Million Miles: My Tuesday Was Like...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:10:55 -0500

Million Miles: My Tuesday Was Like...:

HAHAHAHAHA! My husband’s analogies are fantastic and hilarious.

millionmiles:

-A possum’s confused daylight pilgrimage to his grave.

-The sharp left turn at the bottom of a wooden rollercoaster’s tallest plummet.

-The feeling you have after you eat your favorite snack after it’s expiration date. And where the snack’s expiration date actually means something.

-The finale…

Cormac McCarthy's inverview on Oprah

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:56:05 -0500

Cormac McCarthy's inverview on Oprah:

“You work your side of the street, I’ll work mine.”

Because I’m sure Oprah owns the internet, I wasn’t able to find the video of this interview anywhere else but on her website.

I think Keith and I have a love affair with Cormac McCarthy, the American novelist and playwright. After seeing this portion of his interview with Oprah, I think I’m in love with him in real life.

I’ve decided to restart the second installment in his Border Trilogy called “The Crossing.” The first book in this series, “All the Pretty Horses” was made into a movie in 2000. Two of his other novels, “Blood Meridian” and “Cities of the Plain” have been adapted into screen plays and will be released or the big screen in the upcoming year.

Million Miles: Fever Diary - Day 1

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:50:46 -0500

Million Miles: Fever Diary - Day 1:

My husband is hilarious. I can totally imagine him as he was wrestling with this question in his fevered mind.

millionmiles:

So (without jinxing it) I think I have finally turned a corner in my battle against this virus that has been ravaging my system for the last five days. One of the weirdest aspects of a fever are the dreams you have and the thoughts that repeat endlessly in your mind as you are trying to fall…

This thing sucks.

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:46:42 -0500

I got suckered into purchasing a Bobble the other day on one of my 15 trips to Target to purchase prescription medications for either me, my husband or my son (as we have all be sick for the past 2 weeks with a mystery flu-like virus). I say suckered because I saw a Bobble once at a different store and was intreagued by the idea of the thing. You’re supposed to be able to fill it with regular tap water and the carbon filter inside it will filter the water as you drink it. You’d be doing your part in helping preserve our environment by eliminating disposable water bottles from your monthly purchases, not to mention the cash I’m supposed to save by using ANY source of water as drinking water.

I was so excited to have a new water bottle that would provide purified water any time a faucet was within reach. Not to mention, the thing was on sale for $9.00 at Target instead of the normal price of $10.00.

I took it home and filled it to the brim with cold water from the tap in my kitchen. As per the directions, the first time you fill the Bobble, you are supposed to squeeze all of the water out to help ‘prep’ the filter. As I was squeezing the water out, I noticed my hand starting to cramp. It was tough! The water didn’t come out in a stream, but a trickle, no matter how hard I squeezed. So I filled it again, and took a drink from it for the first time. I got more air than water. For the amount of time that it took me to finish that bottle, excuse me, BOBBLE of water, I kept saying, “Geez, this thing sucks…” Also, I kept burping.

One of the absolute best scenes from The Office, Season Six.

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:45:28 -0500

One of the absolute best scenes from The Office, Season Six.

Larabar

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:47:04 -0500

Oh. My. Gosh.

On my quest to become Gluten free and my loose quest to do the Paleo diet, I have been scouring the earth for ways to satisfy my sweet tooth. I have at last found it in the form of a chewy, delicious, perfectly portioned nutrition bar. The Larabar saved my life today while I was shopping through target and my ever increasing metabolism decided it was done digesting the 3 egg omelette (with cucumber & tomato salsa, spinach and bacon) which I had a few hours earlier. I was starving. So I headed over to the “power bar” aisle and stumbled upon the Larabar which was on sale. The main ingredient in these bars are Dates. Which does not go against my Paleo rule because it’s naturally sweet, no sugar added. In fact, there were only 3 ingredients in the bar I sampled called “Peanut Butter Cookie”: Dates, Peanuts, Salt. I’m about to sink my teeth into their Apple Pie flavor which I’m expecting to be equally delicious and contains zero traces of wheat, gluten or added sugars. This is quite a find for me! I’m so excited! You can find Larabars at Target (currently on sale!), Walmart and online! Check out the new flavors! I mean…CARROT CAKE?!?

Fort deClare covers Ventura Highway

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:27:14 -0500

Fort deClare covers Ventura Highway:

This is my baby brother’s band Fort deClare. He’s 15 and is already standing out as a promising musician in a family of musicians. He has been featured on this website covermesongs.com before as well as another cover website called Coverlaydown.com twice. The second installment features myself on vocals!

This blog asked Sam if he could submit a song to be their Covermesong premier feature. He decided to cover America’s Ventura Highway.

Wes Anderson IS high end art.

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:24:31 -0500

Wes Anderson IS high end art.:

Almost a year ago, I started my own interpretation of Eric Chase Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” Cover for the Criterion collection. Its one of our favorite films and I love painting so I thought I’d give it a try. I was doing pretty well, as far as my own standards went but for some reason lost my gumption to finish it. Then today I saw this website! I don’t know if this should serve as inspiration to finish or confirmation that mine really sucks.

Toms Shoes

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:13:00 -0500

I received this in the mail a few days ago, it came with a note from Blake, the founder of Toms Shoes a company who’s tag line is “One for One. With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.” The bracelet was free and is to serve as a Thank You and a reminder of the child I helped by buying a pair of Toms Shoes.

I first heard about Toms from my brother in law Justin who explained “one for one” to Keith and I during Thanksgiving one year. It was probably a combination of the season of thanks and the idea that my money is buying not only one pair of really cute, comfortable, go-with-anything-shoes, but another pair for a child who doesn’t own a single pair of shoes.

The Toms line has several different styles that range from their classic flats to men’s boots and women’s wedges. Not to forget their super adorable Youth and Tiny Toms! I own one pair of classic flats and I practically live in them during the summer time. They do offer “warmer” and weatherproof styles for the colder seasons. Keith owns three pairs and has worn them down to the soles. And the great part is that no matter where you buy them from, the “One for One” deal stays the same. You can find them on their website as well as Zappos.com, Nordstrom-in stores and online, and local skate/surf and alternative clothing stores. One for One!

Kanye’s tweets are a real treat. I used to love Josh...

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:17:33 -0500

Kanye’s tweets are a real treat.

I used to love Josh Groban then I decided that he was not funny. I change my mind.

I asked for this “Miracle Cream” for Christmas....

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:21:07 -0500

I asked for this “Miracle Cream” for Christmas. Yes, it’s that expensive…but ask and you will receive!

I first heard about this from one of my sister’s bridesmaids during her wedding. The wedding was to take place outdoors and we had just finished the wedding rehearsal and all of us bridesmaids stood around looking at our legs, counting all of the mosquito bites. The next day, the girls gathered once again for breakfast and compared battle scars. I think I counted 17 mosquito bites, another girl had 10 and another had zero. We all looked at her porcelain legs in shock, “HOW DID YOU NOT GET BIT?!?” She told us that she did get bit, but as soon as she go home she rubbed some Egyptian Magic on each of her mosquito bites and the next morning, they were gone.

WHAAT?

I had to get some. The night after the wedding, I began my feverish research on the product and found that people every where including celebrities and dermatologists all hail the “miracle cream.” So I convinced myself that I needed some and put it on the top of my Christmas list.

So far, I am completely satisfied! My skin is smoother and my mosquito bite scars are fading. The true test will be my stretch marks. Update on that later…? Maybe not.

Egyptian magic is available online!