a little lady's thug life.

Moonlight feels right.

2010-03-10T05:18:00.003-05:00

Last week after smoking a little bit of ganja, I went for a walk to one of the many centers of town. As I did this, I walked past one of the more fancy bars and saw a huge sign outside that said "Live Jazz!" I thought about how much fun I could potentially have if I were in a dress at that moment. I could sip wine or manhattans and giggle for a few hours at the bellowing jazz which would be fueling my drinking. I could just skip the part about the dress, but I wasn't feeling too inclined to go alone. I figured it wouldn't be much fun.

I thought about if maybe this were a regular jazz night at this bar, that maybe I could coerce one of my friends to go with me. But who really wants to go get wasted and listen to jazz? One name came to mind; Kelsey.

You see, Kelsey is one of my only friends who also thinks that some kinds of music are actually funny. Her and I have a great way of envisioning the songs, turning them into something totally awesome. I guess we're good with our imaginations. Besides the fact that her and I once invented cheeseburger fist pumping to a friends band, we also first heard our favorite song ever at the same moment. We were driving somewhere, and flipping stations, and I honestly have no idea what station we landed on (ghost station, perhaps?) but we heard the greatest song ever. I don't know why we paused so long, but we were glad we did. We announced to each other what the song made come to mind, and we were definitely on the same page.

We pictured a man with a cigar on a boat, clearly a millionaire, cruising around at night with a ton of broads on his arms. They were in bikinis, or teeny tiny dresses. He was using that big wheel thing (is it still a steering wheel if it's on a boat?) and having a blast. That's when it happened. The Xylophone solo. I still know the entire solo by heart, and if you asked me to play air xylophone doing the solo, I would blow your mind.

When we got back to her house, we immediately googled the lyrics to the song that we had listened to and learned that it was "Moonlight Feels Right" by Starbuck. This will forever be my favorite song. Every time Kelsey and I hear this song, we can't help but get huge grins on our faces like we have something evil planned. Because we do. Air Xylophone.

Something else Kelsey and I have in common is the fact that we think it's fun to play Air Rhythm Sticks to songs we are listening to.

So, basically, I want to get wasted and go to jazz night with you Kelsey. Happy Birthday.

I skipped a few days because I went to see Maury.

2010-03-08T16:17:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that I had nothing posted on Friday, which is my usual day for freebies, finished projects and food. SORRY GUYS! But I had something much more important to tend to.

What's more important than blogging? SEEING MAURY POVICH.

I love Maury so much, that I woke up at 4:45 am on Friday, which is my usual bedtime, to hit the open road and head to Stamford, CT. Besides the fact that being in a car for three hours in the snow/rain/slush isn't fun, we managed to spill our coffees on ourselves at least three times. I had decided that even though the dress code wasn't business casual like when we went to see Jerry Springer, I decided I would wear my black mini skirt, the heels that killed my feet on Valentines day, a cute black and white polka-dot cardigan with lace by the buttons, and my (fake) pearl necklace. I wont lie, I totally looked awesome.

But I wasn't exactly dressed for the weather. Once we arrived outside the Maury studio, we were greeted by a line of at least 600 other Maury fans. I stood at the end, shaking in the cold. I thought I was going to fall over and convulse because my knees would not stop shaking. I asked the boyf to lend me his pants, but he refused to comply. Eventually, about an hour later, we made our way to the front of the line, where we were told that the first taping was full and we would be guaranteed a spot in the second taping. Our faces fell as the dude wrapped neon yellow wristbands numbered 40-43 around our arms.

We all looked at eachother and wondered what there was to do in Stamford, CT at 9am. We knew the answer was "nothing" but we still headed to the mall, even though we knew it wasn't open. There were hoards of woman jogging around the mall PUSHING STROLLERS. Like, A LOT of them. It was extremely bizarre. Luckily, Barnes and Noble was open, which had a Starbucks inside. I opted for the organic chocolate milk and a red velvet cupcake - my favorite. (And speaking of Red Velvet, Arnetta, I will be posting my vegan recipe this Friday!)

After the cupcake, I started scoping out the arts & crafts books, many of which I regret not purchasing. I found the Stitch n' Bitch book for crocheting (I don't really knit, I had always crocheted, until last year for my birthday when Aleigha gave me the Stitch n' Bitch Knitting book and a pair of bamboo needles) and I saw so many fun projects! Why I didn't purchase this book? I will never know. I do know that sometime soon I will be buying this, as well as the other book that showed you how to make crocheted food items, such as cupcakes, strawberries, bacon and eggs. I don't know why I thought this was so great, but I still do. And I need the book.

Anyway,as we were leaving the mall, all of the baby-mama-joggers were now laying on the floor of the mall stretching in awkward positions as their children cried around them. We eventually made our way back to the studio for 11:30, which should have been a half hour before our taping time. We watched an episode of Maury while in the waiting room, catching it halfway through. I pulled out my logic book after a few minutes, hoping to quickly pass the time. The episode ended and we quickly grew agitated. One of the security guards came in, starting the episode over, which occupied us, but made us realize that it might be a while before we got into the studio. That's when pizza after pizza was brought into the waiting room. They had ordered about twenty pizzas to hold us all over until the next taping began. SCORE! Also, keep in mind, that the Jerry and Maury studios are WAY smaller than they look on TV. The studio only hold about 200 people, and even at that, I think that is quite the over estimate.

After eating all of the pizza, waiting a bit more, and then seeing the second half of the Maury episode, again, we were finally starting to be summoned onto the Maury set. They called numbers 1-40, which wasn't good, because Jared had #40, and didn't want to sit somewhere totally different than Nora. Jared stayed with us and we waited for our numbers. Finally, after hearing many other ranges of numbers being called, we figured out that they skipped over 41-50, which could have potentially been bad, because when we brought this to the attention of the guy organizing the seating and he brought us in, there were literally only about ten seats left, and only one group of four. Thankfully we made it, and about 15 minutes later, the show started.

We were instructed to clap, awe, and boo at appropriate times, but at this point, us four were almost too tired to do so.

I wont spoil the show for you, because I will be urging all of you to check it out when it is set to air. However, I will say that the theme for the show was paternity tests.

Now, because it is Music Monday, I am going to be posting a video from Tom Petty, because I am actively seeking tickets to his upcoming show in August. Enjoy!

The Least Hygienic Hook-Up Ever (and how it made me momentarily internet-famous)

2010-03-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

I still haven't done my own TMIT Thursday, but hey, a guest post from one of the raddest chicks out there? A very close second best. Right?

Hey guys! It’s TKOG, over from Not That Kind of Girl, psyched to steal a little of Rebel Mel’s spotlight on this most TMI of Thursdays!

My current project, Not That Kind of Girl, focuses on spending this year doing 250 completely uncharacteristic things – many of them relating to being newly single out of a blissful four-year relationship. And dudes – dudes! – when it comes to dating, there’s good reason I’m looking to become a totally new kind of girl. What follows is a tale of dating failure so rank it’ll curl your nose hairs.

During the time this story took place (when I was 18, during my first year of university), I had the bad luck of breaking in a rash of virgins. A rash. My wording is not coincidental.

In my freshman dorm, my bff Justice and I took an interest in tormenting slash socializing a particular quiet specimen who lived next door. He was kind of immature for his age, and weird-smart. He never seemed to have anything interesting to say. Until. UNTIL! I google-stalked him one day and realized that the seemingly shy little wallflower next door was in fact an internet rockstar. I can’t give too much away, but let’s just say he has a Wiki entry, a friggin’ famous-ass blog, and he was the number-one google result for his (common) first name. Swoooooon.

So one night, after a few drinks, I asked him to take a walk with me after a party, we ended up laying in the grass talking about intellectual property rights, and – when I couldn’t handle my Blog Star Complex any longer – I leaned in and gave him his first kiss.

Kisses turned into make-outs – awkward and unskilled, but not entirely unpleasant make-outs – and we went up to his room, where I bee-lined for the bed, but he lingered by the sink. He said he had to brush his teeth, and took a new toothbrush out of its wrapper. I, I’m sure, pouted and kicked the mattress.

“You know,” he mused, mouth foaming with Crest. “This is the first time I’ve brushed my teeth at University.”

You guys. You guys. It was JANUARY.

Did I make out with him anyway? Oh, you know I made out with him anyway.

Things went well for a week or two. Although we only had one other hook-up of note. We made out for a while one afternoon (man, I miss college) and I realized that he didn’t just have a little natural funk. His particular funk had an almost physical heft to it, like an oil that clouded through the nasal passages. Potent, guys, potent. At one point, I stuck my tongue in his ear, then recoiled in horror. When I subtly rubbed my tongue on his pillowcase afterwards, there was an enormous chunk of orange-yellow wax left on the fabric.

Shortly afterwards, I made my escape. Then in the room a few minutes later, my back started itching. So I took off my shirt and asked my roommate if she could see anything. She told me I seemed to have a rash or hives, but then started giggling so hard that I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I found a mirror and saw to my horror that my back was emblazoned with screaming-red hives IN THE SHAPE OF A HANDPRINT on my back.

But TKOG, you’re saying, at least you got to break up with the (literal) slimeball and improve your break-up karma! And I’m touched, dear reader, by your simple, misplaced faith in 18-year-old TKOG. Although we stopped hooking up, I didn’t end things until weeks later.

Oscar Night 2005, to be exact. Martin Scorsese had just lost Best Director for “The Aviator,” and I was taking it hard. My mother called me and, I’ll admit, I may have been crying.

“Oh sweetie,” she told me, “you’ve already read it? Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.”

When I gave her the venerable ol’ wtf, she reluctantly told me to check Hive Boy’s blog. Where he had just posted basically a live-blog of our first hook-up. It wasn’t flattering. He basically gave the internet – using my real name, with a link to my real-life blog! – a blow-by-blow of the hook-up and his reactions. Apparently his first hook-up wasn’t a great experience, because he dispatched the whole mess with the type of ennui and disdainfully clinical curiosity usually reserved for describing surgical procedures in third-world nations. And, insult to injury, throughout the whole ordeal, he painted me in broad strokes as a floozy.

Me! A floozy! I mean, okay, obviously I was a bit sexually indisriminate, but come on, I’ve read “War and Peace,” I used to do calculus for fun, I have friggin’ thoughts about heteronormativity! I’m not exactly a “The Price is Right” model over here.

Shortly after reading the blog entry, I grabbed his (no doubt gangrenous) arm, dragged him outside, and shouted healthy, productive things (“I hope you get chlamydia of the face AND DIE!”), finally ending the semi-relationship. Although it didn’t end there; not really. Because the bastard had linked to my blog, which had my email address attached, I received an influx of literally hundreds of blog comments and hate-mails, all positively reaming me for apparently forcing my grotesque make-outs on the poor sainted little computer nerd. People dug through my blog archives, google-stalked me, found out information about me through channels I can’t even imagine, and sent me the absolutely filthiest hate-mail you could imagine. For months. In fact, up until the point my university email address was deleted, four years later, I still received the occasional hate-mail; my personal blog gets about 30 hits a month from that old entry, despite the fact that he removed my name and blog address after the chlamydia rant.

So. Basically I win at dating forever.

Oh, and a coda to the story: I found out, while googling him to write this, that he’s apparently gay now. Which makes me feel slightly better about the whole “hated hooking up with me so much – despite the fact that he continued to do it – that he had to live-blog the friggin’ experience” thing. Not much better, but a little.

If you want to check out more TMIT's, head over to Lilu's blog!

Oops, oops, oops.

2010-03-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. I totally dropped the ball last night with the "music monday" post. Oops. I was out doing my photo thang when I suddenly got the worst. cramps. ever. and legitimately had to RUN to a cab, ask him to hurry, and then fly into my apartment where I vommed up all of my pulled pork and salad which I had for dinner. Maybe I should have saved this post for Thursday? A first TMIT for me? No can do, I have a special surprise for all on Thursday. But hey, Music Monday will be back next week.

Maybe you've noticed that my blog is looking a little "meh" lately. Well, you can thank my ADD for that one. I started a blog makeover, but I have so many changes I want to make that it is taking me a lot longer than I had expected. Oops.

On another note, my 300th post is coming up, but I am thinking I might not do anything special for that, because I have about 20 drafts that I haven't brought myself to finish. Oops again.

It's Friday again!

2010-02-26T15:40:00.000-05:00

Sadly, though, I do not have a finished project. I have a few unfinished projects going on, though.

Firstly, I have decided to knit a blanket and matching pillows to go along with it. I have about ten squares done right now, but that only means I need like, 8237548 more. I have part one of this weeks project done - I will be revamping my beautiful blog. I have all my ideas sorted and everything, I just need to DO it. I am hoping for this project to be done this weekend, so watch out for that.

And also, can anyone tell me how I know how many people have subscribed to my RSS feed?

For the food this week, I made my friend Aleigha a red velvet cake for her birthday. Not just any red velvet cake, either. A vegan one. It came out great. If you want the recipe, feel free to drop me a line. What makes this vegan red velvet cake so amazing is that I actually decorated it to look like a T-bone steak. She loved it, and thought it was hilarious. I wish there was more left, because it was so good!

And, for freebies, I have a few. Like always, there are free tampons. There is also a sample of Excedrin, BodiHeat heating pads and a product from Crest.

Quick Update.

2010-02-23T15:16:00.000-05:00

So, really, I wanted to thank everyone that offered their advice a few days ago. All of you brought up great points, and it was relieving to know that I wasn't the only one who has been in an awkward situation like this. I personally favored brookem's advice -

"hi there! i made my way over here from NTKOG's digs. im so sorry that you even have to deal with a situation as tricky as this. im sure it's really heartbreaking for you, and i know if it were me, i'd be going back and forth wondering what in the hell i "should" do. someone else hit the nail on the head, asking what kind of relationship you think you would like to have with your father. moreover, i guess i would ask, what kind of relationship do you think is realistic, at this point? i think if it were me, i would probably send a card or something. id write a little note in it, short and sweet, and maybe put the ball in his court to call you if he wants to chat and work things out. that would be my way of giving myself some more time to think about things. i know his birthday is tomorrow, so a card getting there on time might be out of the question now (unless you dropped it off? im not sure how far away you live.) maybe though, a belated one would get your point across even better. you're not rushing to "fix" things with him (because he hasn't done that either), but you are thinking of him, and you want him to know. that's just my opinion, right off the bat. i hope that it works out for you though..."

Personally, I think it is a huge bum out that I didn't get a call on my birthday, or Christmas, so I wanted him to feel the same way. We are both adults now, and what goes around, comes around. I want to relay the message that "I wasn't your top priority on my birthday, so you're not my top priority on your birthday" even though I spent 90% of the day trying to figure out what I should do. I think sending a belated card would get a great point across. It shows that I at least thought to acknowledge him and his day, but I had other things going on that were more important to me, because he had more important things going on on my birthday.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone! Now, to work on checking out ALL of your blogs...

Music Monday!

2010-02-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Domesticated Friday. Part Two.

2010-02-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

In lieu of recent thoughts and realizations that I have been beating myself up over, I am still going to bring you all a delightful(ish) Friday post.

If you haven't noticed, I have upgraded my "Freebie Fridays" postings quite a bit. Instead of only posting free items, I have decided I would also post about food, well, because I eat and cook so damn much of it, and any projects I have finished during the week. I think that the latter half of the additions has motivated me to get more crafty.

For the freebie for this week, I am going to hook you up with a free sample of Kashi Cereal (or, if you're in Canada, click here ---> Kashi cereal.) If you signed up for the last Kashi freebie, you know that you'll probably want to sign up for this one, too. Last time, the cereal came in about two weeks, and it was much bigger than the usual free cereal sample. I was impressed by the size, speed, and obviously, the taste. My cat helped me devour the box of dry honey puffs. Yeah, my cat ate cereal with me. Whatever. This time, you can choose between Toasted Berry Crunch or Honey Almond Flax or a Fruit and Grain bar covered in dark chocolate and coconut. I opted for the Berry cereal, even though the fruit and grain bar looked damn good.

For food? Oh deer. I made peanut butter cookies. They were fantastic after coming out of the oven, and I froze half of them for a later time (because the recipe made like, 40) My only error with this I didn't realize until the next night when I went to mow down on about 15 cookies. I had tweaked a recipe I had for peanut butter cookies. The original recipe was for those ones that you put sugar on a fork and make a criss cross pattern. You know what I'm talking about. Well, I decided I didn't want the criss cross pattern, or the sugar, and that I would just dump a bag of peanut butter chips in there. I was craving a soft baked cookie overflowing with peanut butter flavor, and I didn't realize that I had followed a recipe that was specifically for crunchy cookies. I mean, it's not a huge deal, but I think I am going to have to make another batch this weekend, only super soft. If you like crunchy cookies, here are the deets:

Heat oven to 375 and combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter (one stick) 1/2 cup peanut butter, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a dash of vanilla and one egg. Mix it up all nice like. Next, slowly add 1 3/4 cup of flour. This step is kind of a bitch, because you are actually making a dough instead of a batter which you can drop onto a cookie sheet. Don't worry, you'll do fine if you ADD THE FLOUR SLOWLY. To make the cookies like I did, before adding in the flour, you'll want to pour a bag of peanut butter chips into the batter, then add the flour. If you want to make the criss cross cookies, roll the dough into one inch balls, sugar a fork, and make a criss cross pattern, which will flatten the cookie a bit. You're going to bake for ten to twelve minutes, or until golden brown. Because I added in the chips, the criss cross pattern would have been very difficult and ugly, so I just made one inch balls, and flattened with my hands. And voila! Even though they are much crunchier than I had intended, they were still fabulous, and I am psyched that I thought to freeze half of them for next week.

Okay, and finally, I will talk about this weeks projects. I have a few projects that are about a minute from finishing, but I need to get my little ass to a craft store to get the ribbon for the finishing touches. I don't want to show you all a bunch of unfinished projects, so those will have to wait until next week. But now, I have a new sort of project.

I like to call it "Project: Figure out what to do about dad" If you read my post from last night, you know I am at a loss, and actually ASKING for advice. This morning I woke up with thirty-six comments that were nothing short of a page long each. I love you all for all of your help.

20somethingbloggers had sent a bunch of you by here, as well as TKOG, and Lilu tweeted for me, so seriously? THANK YOU. My project this week (well, today)? Read and respond to all of these great comments. And, AND check out the blogs of all the awesome people who extended their advice. You're all great!

Seeking advice.

2010-02-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

For as long as I can remember, my father and I have not been on the same page. We're not even on the same chapter, in the same book, or even in the same library. It wasn't an easy thing to put aside while I was a teenager. Or when I had to move back home for a few months back in 2006.

I stopped coming back home so often, for one reason or another, and one day my father saw me and realized I had grown up. My parents had gotten a new house together following the apartment they had moved into when I moved out my senior year of high school. This is the second place they have lived without a room for me. It was sort of a wake up call when I realized that their new house wasn't really my home. I was living in a studio by myself at the time, and I realized that my home was my apartment. Just me and my kitty. Which years later, turned into a new apartment with the boyf and the kitty. And can I say, I really love them two so much, they are the best family a girl can ask for. Moving on..

I noticed the very second that my father had realized I was a grown up. We were drinking on Christmas eve one year, I was 22 years old. I hadn't come "home" for at least six months, and my parents were both excited to see me. My dad had his Peppermint Schnapps and a case of Budweiser cans. I convinced my mom to buy me a bottle of Jameson's for Christmas, and once I arrived at their house, we cracked open the booze and started drinking and talking. Showing each other funny videos on youtube. It was a great feeling being able to put aside all of the shit we had gone through years earlier. My mom came into the room, with her market basket brand water bottle that she had filled with kahlua and milk. Did I ever mention my mother was the cutest woman in the world?

Anyway, my father started talking to my mom, saying that I had gotten so tall (HA! I'm 5'1") and couldn't get over how it felt like just yesterday we were building forts in the snow, or losing my kite on a windy day (both of which are funny stories I will share at a later time.) Finally, all of the "I hate dad" teenager shit was over. I didn't have to feel at war with my father about how I wanted to live my life, because I was an adult, and he realized that. All the years that he said "when you have your own house, you can do whatever you want" finally had sunk in with him.

The next year I came by after Christmas, and my father was hammered. He meant to walk the dog and he ended up at the bar. He came home when my mom called his cell saying I had come over with Christmas presents. My dad stumbled in wearing this Mister Hanky pin that said "Have a crappy Christmas" that I gave him one year. If you don't know what Mister Hanky is, you have clearly been hiding under a rock for the past ten years, and you'll be delighted to know he is a piece of poop from the show South Park that wears a santa hat and says "Hiiiiidiieeeeho!" Mister Hanky! The Christmas poo! He loves me, and I love you!

Anyway. This past summer I got a text from my first best friend in the whole wide world right before I was supposed to leave for the AC/DC concert with the boyf and his parents. She said that she had just seen my father, wasted, with some woman who wasn't my mother, and they were holding hands. My whole life I had resented how my father treated her, and I just wished he would finally come to his senses and treat her like the woman she deserves to be treated. I decided to call the house. No answer, but my number was on the caller ID. Win one for me.

The next day I called my father and asked what was up. We had a lot of small talk, and then I mentioned that I had called the previous day and asked where he was that he didn't answer. He said he was at the bar. I asked where else he had been. He danced around the topic and I told him what my friend had saw. He started screaming and got really defensive. I didn't accuse him of doing anything, I just asked what was up with it. All hell broke loose and he told me that he wasn't doing anything wrong and that my friend and I were so bored with our own lives that we had to make things up to stay entertained. I told him I just wanted the truth, and regardless if what she saw just looked bad and nothing was really happening, that he needed to think about what would have happened if mom saw what my friend had. I told him that it would really upset her to even think anything was happening, so just to watch out with being extra friendly.

He yelled at me and told me to go tell my mother, that he didn't care, because he wasn't doing anything at all. I told him that I didn't talk to mom because I wanted to get his side of the story before I caused problems and he just yelled at me over and over and over again and said to me "I was trying to do something before you called and now you've gone and fucked me up" and I said "well why don't you go do something" and I hung up.

That was in July. It's now February, and my father's birthday is on Saturday. We haven't spoken once since that day, not even indirectly (like in Big Fish where the mother relays messages. Great movie, if you haven't seen it...) I never got a phone call from my father on Christmas, and my mother said he had left early to go to the bar anyway. I also didn't get a phone call for my birthday, which was about a month ago. Now I am faced with a problem. Do I show that I am the bigger person and call my father to say happy birthday, regardless of the arguments that may ensue and pretend that I am still not extremely pissed about what happened over the summer? Or do I not call, and play the "phone works two ways" game, like I have been for the past 7 months?

I'm at a loss. Because now I am a grown up, and parents aren't the same things that they are when you are younger. You don't feel so much of a need for them anymore, and your love for them completely changes. Your parents aren't your parents anymore. They are people you love, and trust, and have known for years. They are people that you have a significant history with. They turn into friends, and like with friends, sometimes you realize that some of them only bring you down. And it's really weird when you get into an argument with a parent as an adult, and there is no reason to talk to them. As a child it's really hard to avoid speaking to your parents when you're pissed off, you always have a permission sleep that needs signing, or need a ride somewhere, but as an adult? You almost don't even notice it's happening because of all the other things going on around you.

I can't tell if I am being stubborn about this or not.

There are plenty of other elements to this problem, but I could talk about this for days. It's something I have been thinking about for the past seven months, and even though I hate asking for advice, I am doing it now. If you know anything about me, you know I never ask for advice, like ever. I am way too stubborn for that. So, clearly that I am looking for input on such a personal problem, means that I really don't know what to do.

Music Monday: DUCK AND COVER!

2010-02-15T17:34:00.000-05:00

This week I chose a song from one of my favorite bands, Built to Spill. I chose the song "Car"

The video is kind of interesting. It is not the official video from the song, but it's mashed up public service announcements from the 50's regarding the "duck and cover"

Imagine if we all had to duck and cover these days? Ha!

Lots of F's today!

2010-02-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

Today, formerly known as "Freebie Friday" will be sharing all of it's gloriousness with a few other F's. Maybe this will be a regular thing, but who knows.

Firstly, I found a printable coupon for free make-up inside Sephora at JC Penny. I am hoping to get a printer before they run out. I guess its a free mini buffer brush and bare minerals foundation. Sounds fun to me.

Now, for the second F of the day; FOOD.

Last night I really wanted to make a cake from scratch, so I did! I made a white cake:

You're going to preheat your oven to 350 and proceed to grease and flour the bottom of either a 13x9 pan or two 8 or 9 inch rounds. Only grease and flour the bottoms! Next, in a large bowl you're going to need to mix 2 cups white flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 cup milk and 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter. Use your egg beaters on medium for 2 minutes. Next, add 4 egg whites and a few dashes of vanilla extract. Blend for another two minutes on medium speed. If your batter seems kind of thick, I would add a little more milk. My cake came out a little denser than I wanted, and although I thought I should add a little more liquid, I didn't. You are going to bake this for 30-35 minutes until golden. Make sure that you check that it is cooked by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. Let these cool for about 20 minutes, then remove from pan(s) by loosening with a knife around the edges, placing a plate on top, and flipping. Let cool on plates for another 20 minutes. If the edges seem a little hard, you might want to consider carefully trimming the edges. If you're clumsy, have shaky hands, or bad luck, I wouldn't suggest doing this. Your cake might come out ugly.

For frosting, I made a pink butter cream frosting, which was pretty simple.

First, you're going to want to take about a cup and a half of heavy cream and whip it. Once you've whipped the cream, put it in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the frosting. Take 8 ounces (one package) of softened cream cheese and using your egg beaters, beat in a dash of vanilla, a dash of milk, one cup of powdered sugar and a few drops of red food coloring. After you've blended this, add more sugar or milk SLOWLY until thick enough to frost a cake. Now, fold in the whipped cream and quickly frost the cake (before the frosting melts) and refridgerate immediately.

And for the last F of the day, I have a Finished Project! I have seen a few of my crafty followers post their finished projects every Friday, so I thought I would give it a whirl. I have been working on a knitted scarf for my boyfriend for about, oh, at least a year. I will say that I am not a knitter. I enjoy crocheting. YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONSTANTLY WORRY ABOUT DROPPING STITCHES! And, besides that, for some reason I knit lefty style, which makes no sense at all. But, I got motivated this week and finally finished his black scarf, despite all of the taunting I endured because I chose to knit behind the bar on a comedy night.

I will forever be known as the "Knitting booze bag bartender"

Things could be worse.

In other news, I got a new camera, that drained my bank account, but it is beautiful. I might think about starting a Project 365, but I feel like because I didn't start on the first of the year, it wont be as good. We'll see.

I also bought myself a new make-up bag, which is great, because now I can stop using my old Victoria's Secret bags and pretending that I can find what I am looking for.

And as a final note, on my now domesticated Friday's post, I bought a new color hair dye. I recently have been opting for Chocolate Cherry, because it sounded so great. I don't know if it was my stomach or my hair calling the shots, but I came home with Raspberry Truffle this time. It's a lot darker and not so red. I am not sure if it's "me." I'll give it a few days.

I almost forgot about Music Monday...

2010-02-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Oops. Sorry. Here is a song from HUM.

I dream of Bloggie.

2010-02-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this is weird, but I had a dream that I hung out with some of the Boston area blogging chicks. Specifically That Kind of Girl and either Oh hay it's KK or Sophie Sidepony. What makes it funny is that I have never met any of the three aforementioned ladies. I have, however, seen photos of Sophie on her blog, but that's about it.

I dreamed that TKOG was a small black chick, about 12 years old, and me and the other blogger ventured over to her place for a slumber party. TKOG's mom was there, too. I don't remember many details about the slumber party itself, but there were definitely flannel pajamas involved, which looked like they were purchased at the Limited Too.

After the party, I went to head home the next morning, and I realized that I had forgot my cigarettes at TKOG's place, and went back to retrieve them for the walk back to my place. When I went to knock on the door I realized I wouldn't know who to ask for, so when TKOG's mom answered I just recited the initial that TKOG signs her emails with, hoping she was still home, and moreso, that her mom wouldn't think I was nuts for not knowing her daughters name. TKOG gave me my cigarettes and a dirty look for leaving them at her house and I was on my way.

Or so I thought.

The stairs at her house didn't work! I don't know why, but there were no ways to actually enter the stairwell, and as I considered climbing, I woke up and eventually made my way to my laptop to email TKOG.

Sorry ladies! I think I forgot to tell you all I was nuts. Do you guys still want to meet up sometime?!

The master of mushroom gravy.

2010-02-05T04:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah, that's me. I can totally school all of you in whipping up a quick mushroom gravy. It can even be made vegan extremely easily. Wanna learn how?

There isn't a whole lot to this recipe, but it's totally fun to make and absolutely amazing on mashed potatoes. Or if you want to pour it on chicken and broccoli and serve over pasta. Or if you want to serve it over rice. There are tons of ways I have eaten this since I learned how to make it, about two months ago.

Firstly, I am going to tell you, the initial time I decided to make my own mushroom gravy, it was on a whim while I was at work. I googled "mushroom gravy" because I hadn't had the foggiest of ideas how to make a gravy. I found a recipe and attempted to memorize the ingredients I would need to pick up on my way home, and closed the browser. I probably should have written down a list. I also probably should have assumed that I didn't have corn starch in my cabinet, because when I got home and saw that I had nothing to thicken my gravy with, I was completely bummed.

I went online and googled more recipes, trying to find alternatives to the corn starch. I found that adding flour does the trick. But the mushroom gravy recipes I found that had flour in them had totally different ingredients than the one I found with the corn starch.

At this point I was more than annoyed and decided to step into the kitchen and whip something up without following a recipe. And for someone who had never made gravy before, I found that I was actually really good at it. Since that day, I have made it at least once a week, and inhaled all of it before it even got cold.

Secondly, I am going to tell you what I do when I make it. I usually am preparing it for my boyfriend and I, so if you're making this for yourself and three people, you should double the recipe. And so on. And so fourth. If you're not a huge fan of garlic, use less. If you love garlic, use more. There isn't a whole lot you can do to fuck this recipe up, just pay attention to the explanations I give for each ingredient and why I do things certain ways. Trust me, it will be a big help, because I really don't have set of instructions, or measurements, or times for my recipes. I judge the readiness of my food by tastes, smells and appearance.

Okay, here we go.

First, you're going to need a skillet. And some oil. Put the skillet on the burner and put it on a pretty low temperature. You're going to add oil to the pan so there's a little more than enough to coat the bottom of the pan. You know the oil is hot enough when you flick water into the pan and the droplets dance. My burners have have a low setting, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and high. I usually start off between two and three. I chop an onion finely because I hate chunks of onion, but like the flavor. Feel free to chop to your liking. Once the onions start to turn a bit mushy, you're going to want to throw in a couple of cloves of chopped garlic. I love garlic, and I usually add two or three, and feel like I could still use more garlic. At this point I turn my burner up to a whopping three, and add a dash more oil. You're going to want to keep an eye on this, stirring and such frequently. You want to have the garlic brownish for a roasted flavor. Once this happens, add your mushrooms. I usually add about ten baby bellas, sliced.

You're going to add a dash of water and cover, stirring occasionally. Once the mushrooms aren't so raw, I add four tablespoons of butter. If you're making this vegan, clearly you will use a vegan butter. Once the butter is melted and stirred into the mushroom onion garlic mess, you will add the flour. The rule of thumb for this recipe is to add equal parts butter and flour. So if you're making more gravy, you're going to add more butter and more flour. Duh.

You're going to mix this all up, and it's going to look totally gross. Next, you're going to add in a vegetable bouillon cube. The bouillon cube has a lot of salt in it, so you might want to use half if you are only making it for two. Next, add in a couple tablespoons of water, and stir until it looks just as gross as before, only bouillon colored. Turn the heat down a touch and cover, stirring occasionally to be sure that nothing is burning to the pan. After about 7 minutes, you're going to think you totally screwed up and you are going to contemplate throwing out your mess, cleaning all the dishes, and never think about mushroom gravy again. Don't do this. Your gravy is fine.

You're going to take red wine and drizzle it along the outer rim of the pan all fancy like. Like you know what you're doing in the kitchen. You're going to stir a bit, scraping all the junk off the sides of the pan and mixing it with all the flour and butter and mushroom stuff. That was fun, wasn't it? Cover for another minute and then repeat. Now add water slowly, mixing it with the mixture. You're going to want to keep adding water and stirring until the gravy is a bit thicker than you really want it to be. Turn your burner down a bit more and cover again. It's starting to look like gravy now, but you probably still think you made some disastrous concoction. Add another drizzle of red wine, scraping and stirring again. Add water and stir again, bringing the burner down to a barely keeping your food warm temperature. You are going to want to add water until the gravy is a little thinner than you actually want it. Cover and let simmer for another five minutes or so.

Voila! You just learned how to make mushroom gravy. Feel free to thank me all you want.

And for this weeks freebie? Consider this lesson it, because I couldn't find anything good on the internet this week. Maybe Freebie Fridays will have to share the day with Foodie Fridays? Who knows. We'll see next week.

Pet Peeves #30: Broken Camera

2010-02-03T00:27:00.000-05:00

My camera is broken, which means I am broken. There are so many things in the past two weeks that I wish I could have captured, but the cell phone and the DS don't take pictures too well in low light.

Do you have any idea how funny it is to see your cat steal a cigarette and run around the room with it dangling from his mouth as you chase him? You would have understood the comedic value if the lens of my camera wasn't stuck in the "out" position.

I never really noticed how often I took photos until I didn't have the camera there to use. I have a notebook full of photography ideas that I have written down, which started well before the camera stop working. I wish I took advantage of the ideas when I could actually take photos, because the longer that the list of ideas gets, the more I fear I will never get a camera again.

I know I am being dramatic, but it feels like there is something missing. It's like that feeling you get when your cell phone is turned off. It's always on a day off, when you were hoping that your phone wouldn't ring anyway, but the fact that it can't makes you feel like you could be potentially missing out on something life changing.

I think when I get my camera back, or a new camera (which is what I am hoping for!) that I am going to start (late) a project 365. I have had my eye on a few of them, and I feel like most of the photos I have seen blow mine out of the water. I feel like it would be a great way to practice some of my skills, as well as represent a year of my life. It might be fun to turn the photos into a scrapbook after all is over, but I think I am getting ahead of myself when I don't even have a device to capture these moments with.

Music Monday: A little local talent.

2010-02-01T14:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so they really aren't a band anymore, but I really love them! And they're cool dudes, too!

Freebie Fridays! I always give out tampons.

2010-01-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night, while laying awake in bed after a long day of watching soap operas and a long night of eating giant glazed donuts with Kelsey and subsequently napping on my ridiculously uncomfortable futon without a pillow because Kelsey stole both of them, I thought about all of the things I wanted to get done the next day. Because it was a day off, I thought that I would get most of them done. Here is my list of items I thought I would complete.

Laundry. I had Wednesday night I had envisioned myself cleaning at least half of the mound of laundry laying on my bedroom floor. I woke up to a flurry outside and decided to put it off. Fail.
Upload all of the old pictures I found to facebook. It seems like something completely easy to do, but for some reason I just couldn't find the motivation to stop laying on the couch and to make a few clicks. Fail. Maybe I could do that now?
Make bacon and eggs. CHECK.
Make Shepards Pie. CHECK
Do the dishes. I did some of them?
Go to the store for butter, milk, and sugar. Once I heard the wind at night, I decided I didn't want to make the short walk. Fail.
Bake cookies. I didn't go to the store, so I didn't bake any cookies. Epic fail.
Locate my receipt for my netbook that needs to be sent out. Fail. I barely got off the couch.
Watch days of our lives. Kind of check, kind of fail. I watched some of it, but I was half asleep for most of the show. I wish I knew how Ari got out of jail and why she was with EJ.
Find something free on the internet. CHECK!
Read. I realized lately that I have a ton of books and I pretty much never read unless the internet is glowing the text into my face. I wasn't sure what I wanted to read, but I wanted to start something. And I failed.
Make a few phone calls. I made the calls, but the system was experiencing an unusual call volume and I was advised to call the next day. Check, but I have to add it to todays to do list.
Draw a dinosaur. I have a step by step book for drawing dinos that I got while I was in Maine for Christmas. I have yet to crack it open. Fail.
Trim my hair. I have split ends. Ugh. ughhhhh. I trimmed my hair though! Check!
Shower. Check! I'm surprised that I peeled myself off the couch to do this.
Clean the kitty litter box. CHECK. This really needed to be done!

I'm sure there were other things on my list. And I am sure I didn't do them. Oh well.

I feel like every week that I post freebies, I always have tampons to give out. This week is no different. Here is a link to free tampons. Like always, if you're not going to use them, please request them anyway and donate them to a shelter or something.

Have you seen my pink blanket?

2010-01-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been really upset that you have lost one of your personal belongings? Like, so upset you really never forget about how you wish you had it, or you wonder what the hell happened to it? You know that it's been about fifteen years, but you still catch yourself wondering what you could have possibly done with it? There are a lot of things, meaningful and symbolic as well as insignificant and unimportant. Let's see what I remember losing.

Toby the teddy bear when I was about 4. It was my mothers teddy bear when she was little, and I didn't understand the sentimentality of it at the time, and I gave it to the little girl that lived next door that perpetually wet the bed. Good thing my parents thought I was too young for sleepovers, right? I never forgot about Toby, even though I don't even remember what he looked like. After about a year, as well as seeing how bummed my mom was when she asked where Toby was and I told her that Missy had it, I understood that I shouldn't have given it away. I think this was my first feeling of regret, and I was too shy to ask for it back. I stopped seeing her one day, and my father told me she had moved to Northern Maine. I have no idea where she is, or if she even has Toby still, but even if I were to find him, she probably urinated all over him.
My purple Fred Flintstone eraser that I got out of a box of Fruity Pebbles when I was seven. Why do I remember this? Because I spent HOURS thinking and dwelling about it. My family was moving from a terrible neighborhood and I was to pack up my toys. I remember packing everything and knowing exactly where everything was, except my Fred Flintstone eraser. I remember the eraser kind of sucked, especially trying to erase with his foot, because it just bent and didn't erase anything. His face was all gray from erasing so much and subsequently covered in lead. Once all of my toys were packed, my mom swept the floor and told me to look in the pile which consisted mostly of buttons, pennies and Barbies mismatched shoes to see if there was anything in there I wanted still. I thought for sure that I would find my eraser in there, but to no avail. I remember asking what I was going to do about a new eraser and threw a bit of a temper tantrum because they didn't give Fred Flintstone erasers in the box of fruity pebbles anymore, that was like, months ago. It was practically antique to me.
My artifacts when I was about ten. When I first moved to the New House, I had little to no friends. All I wanted to do was become an archeologist and find dinosaur eggs and fossils. I filled a back pack with notebooks, a plastic magnifying glass, a shovel separated from it's identical beach pale, plastic bags, a box of yoohoo and a few pouches of Shark Bites to provide myself with the energy to carry on with my daily excursions. I would dig EVERYWHERE. I probably stressed my parents out by digging up the yard so often, but hey, I found some interesting things. Back in the olden days, my town was filled with Witches, and was actually the site for many hangings and graveyards. Almost all of the houses in my area of town were actually very old, so when I found so many interesting things buried, it wasn't much of a surprise. One of the first things I found was a sterling silver butter knife with a bunch of initials carved into the handle. I later found out were the initials of the children of the owner of the knife. I found memorial spoons and pieces of fancy dinner ware all throughout the yard. I thought it was so cool that most of these were from the late 1800's, but a few were as old as the late 1700's. That sound cool to you? Those weren't even my best finds. The coolest thing I had ever found was 90% of a gun from the 1800's. I found the wooden handle and the barrel. There was with a metal piece on the handle that after cleaning it, I found that it was from 1863 if I remember correctly. My father didn't want me to keep those things in my room for obvious reasons, and one day when I was older and inquired about them, I found out they were gone. I am still very upset about this, because now that the internet is so totally awesome, if I had these items in front of me, I could probably find out a lot more about them than I could have years ago. Or, at least, bring them to Antiques Roadshow.
Most depressing of them all, my baby blankets when I was about twenty. I thought I had them, but I must have lost them when I was constantly moving around. I would give anything for someone to randomly facebook me with "Hey, did you lose a tiny tiny pink blanket and a panda bear blanket?" My Grandmother on my fathers side who passed away years and years ago had knitted the pink blanket and my Grandmother on my mothers side had knitted the panda blanket. I remember when I was three or four I tried to cut the pink blanket because I wanted just a long piece of string, I thought it would be way cooler than a blanket because I could turn that string into a number of different things, mainly a leash for my cat. My mother caught me early into the cutting, so she was able to mend the blanket for me. I used to always keep them on my bed, or on the floor, never really cherishing them like I would have if I had known I might never see them again. I feel like I took the sentiment for granted, and now that I don't see my family as often, and I wish I had them back. I really don't have much more to say about these, it's really upsetting when I think about it.
My cell phone from 2004 which had watered down internet, strictly monotone ringtones and a camera with approximately one pixel when I was 19ish. Okay, so I came to Boston to watch the Red Sox play in the world series and we actually won. I, in a drunken stupor, thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea to go watch people go nuts in the streets. I remember, the minute we won, we walked outside and you could hear a traveling crowd. We decided to follow. I wasn't sure where we were going, but as long as I followed the screams and roars, I'd make it there easily. People were trashing absolutely everything. I remember walking up and down the streets in awe, as newspapers flew through the air while intoxicated adrenaline freaks attacked absolutely everything in their paths. There were even small fires in the streets. I remember drunkenly ducking into the entry way of a storefront and sitting down for a minute. I don't really remember the trip back to the apartment we were staying at, but I know in the middle of the night, I realized I didn't have my phone. Once it was light out, I decided to take a walk through the streets, looking at all the store fronts in the path of destruction to see where I could have possibly ducked into. When I saw the comic book store, I knew we had a winner, but my cell phone was no where to be found.

Now I sleep every night with a cat and a man that I love very much under a blanket that his mom sent down for us, where sometimes I lay awake playing games on my touch screen phone. There's really no use for erasers anymore considering everything is done with computers [and if I were to manually write, it'd probably be with a pen anyway,] and instead of keeping obscene amounts of personal artifacts that I have collected over the years, I save my thoughts and photographs in the fashion of a blog. I guess I really didn't need the items that I lost, but it would be nice to have them, wouldn't it? Thinking about all of the things I once had, and the parts of my collection I have lost, I wonder if I am ever going to forget about them. Will I one day be 90 years old and wondering where my Fred Flintstone eraser is? Probably.

Music Monday: Third week in a row!

2010-01-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

This week for Music Monday I am posting a video from this totally awesome band, Torche. The song is "Across the shields" off of their album Meanderthal. I am not sure why the volume is so low on this video, but I encourage all of you to turn it up as loud as you can!

Freebie Fridays: Ugh, and clean clothes.

2010-01-22T11:57:00.000-05:00

This week, technology-wise, has not been a very good one. Like I said a few days ago, my beloved netbook has an issue and needs to be sent away to the manufacturer in order to get it repaired. Well, last night, I had another technology woe. I updated the post a few days ago with an edit with what happened. I figured that instead of being a complete downer about having terrible luck, I would just post an update there.

This week for freebies I found Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets.

I think that's a hint that I really need to get my laundry done. You can't even see my bedroom floor anymore. I don't really have much to talk about right now, because I have no pictures to share! Ugh, whatta week.

I said I wasn't going to be a downer, so I think it's time that I watch my stories!

Music Monday: Round Two.

2010-01-18T15:45:00.000-05:00

Last week I posted my very first post in my new series of Music Monday. Like I said before, the idea from this series of mine had stemmed from seeing endless twitter #musicmonday updates, which at least half the songs were not of my interest.

This week I am posting a song from one of my Guilty Pleasure bands; Jimmy Eat World. I really cannot get enough of Jimmy Eat World, and it has been like this since I was about 14 years old, if not younger.

The song I chose to post is called "23" off of my favorite album by them, "Futures"

Freebie Fridays: The first of 2010

2010-01-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

I don't have a clever or quirky post for today. I want to talk about something a little more serious. I know you have all seen "breaking news" on your television screen about a billion times in the past week, and you might be sick of the coverage, but I hope that everyone understands how significant this tragedy in Haiti really is. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by the 7.0 earthquake that hit the island on January 12th, and the numbers are only rising. I hope everyone can keep the people affected in their thoughts and prayers.

I have a friend who's girlfriend had been deployed last night (she works with the red cross) and he is completely worried sick about her. I hope that she takes care of herself and we all await her return.

If you are interested in donating to help those affected in the Haiti disaster, please visit the World Vision website. Thank you.

The freebies I have for this week are:
Free organic cereal
Free gold bond hand sanitizer with lotion

And, like always, if it's not something you'd use, might as well request the sample anyway and donate it to a shelter or something.

A look at the past decade.

2010-01-13T07:08:00.000-05:00

I took a page from Sophie's blog a few weeks ago when I saw that she had posted about the last decade. It's been really hard for me to sit down and break up the past ten years like this, so, unfortunately it has taken me two weeks to compile my list of events, and the effect of "2010" is already wearing thin. But whatever. I think it is sort of appropriate to be posting about my past ten years on my birthday.

Yes, it's my birthday today. I'm getting old. I'm officially a quarter of a century old. It's amazing how time flies. Let's see what I remember from the past decade;

2000

The second half of freshman year in High School. I turned fifteen and came out of my shell a bit.
I took a lot of art classes that happened to be scheduled either first period, or right around lunchtime, resulting in a lot of F's on my report card.
I traded in all of my baggy clothing for skirts and dresses. Mostly black and pink.
I got a one day suspension from school for smoking in the bathroom. Something I was not doing, but a senior (who always seemed to have bitch-face) told her teacher that I was when she saw me skipping class in the bathroom. I didn't even smoke yet! Wtf!
Started Sophomore year out by coming to school on time, doing all of my homework, and enrolling in all of the advanced placement courses - something very unlike me. I am all about slacking off and loungin' around.
Decided that I would cheerlead for the the winter season.

2001

Realized that cheerleading during the winter was a complete joke. Hockey games? C'mon!
Got bored with doing my homework and going to bed early.
Skipped most of my classes with older kids, went to the mall, smoked weed - everything that was the opposite of learning.
Sucked up hardcore the last few weeks of school to ensure that I wouldn't have to repeat any classes Junior year.
Became an upperclassman.
Volunteered my time everyday at third period to help the Guidance Office sort appointments, direct students to their counselors, clean up, and basically become a non-paid secretary for my junior year.
Never realized how much privileged information I had access to because of the Guidance department, until September 11, where I was one of the first people in the school to hear about the plane crashes. Not one of the first students, one of the first people. I was asked to keep the knowledge of the events under my hat until more information was gathered - we were having an emergency assembly to watch the new coverage.
Had two (weird) friends who started dating on 9/11. Not before the events. After. I'm all for free speech and irony and shit like that, but I felt like this was plain, old disrespectful.
Dropped out of my Advanced Placement chemistry class because I started coming to school late again and the class was first period. I also had the most difficult teacher known to man.

2002

Had my first real boyfriend. Although short lived, significant.
Learned what it felt like to be upset for long periods of time.
Got my lip pierced in the bedroom of a friend who moved across country, but left his dog, who I get to see pretty often.
Finally saw my GPA. For someone who scored so highly on the MCAS testing, I sure did have a low average. Thought that maybe I should try harder to attend school, but at the same time, thought that I caused irreparable damage to my school career, and wasn't motivated enough to begin trying for the first time.
Attended summer school for the first time. My mother was pissed when I came home with a 98% in summer school. She finally knew that my only school problems were actually motivating myself to attend all my classes.
Began senior year, and soon after was told that I would not be graduating.
Slacked off a whole ton, while keeping in mind whatever I didn't pass, I would make up the following year. Meaning, I actually got credit for my courses that year.

2003

Moved out of my parents house midway through my senior year.
Learned what it was like to live with someone my own age.
Had my second real boyfriend, who I totally shouldn't have dated.
Was told a few days before senior week that the Guidance Office had screwed up, and they found credits I had for volunteering, and I would actually be graduating with my class.
Wished I tried a little bit harder the rest of my high school career.
Learned what it felt like to be cheated on.
Learned that dating someone six years older than you is a terrible idea when you are 18.
Got my first and second tattoos, both of which I wish I hadn't gotten.
Quit the job I had all four years of high school - Dunkin Donuts - to work with my mother in a cubicle.
Began dating someone that I wasn't sure why I was dating him.
Got my license.
Got my first car - A 1993 Grey Ford Escort Wagon.

2004

Learned what it felt like to be lied to, and subsequently did a lot of lying in return.
Moved in with my aunt, which probably wasn't the best idea because she likes her alone time just as much as I do, and we both had pretty much opposite sleep schedules, even though I was working the same hours as she was.
Transmission in the car went, I got a new car - one I picked out myself, a Red 1992 two door GMC Jimmy
Got a second job at a Dunkin Donuts near my work.
Learned what it felt like to break up with someone for the first time, and to get over it within a few days.
Met a lot of new friends, while wondering why others went down the roads they did.
Went to a hotel party in the middle of the night and on my way back home, while my cell phone was dying, accidentally seized the engine of my brand [12 year old] new car because the oil cap was left off after an oil change, and was stuck on the highway for an hour or so, in the dark, all alone.
Purchased a 1987 White Acura Legend with tinted windows, and a pretty good system.
Met someone I cared a lot about and began dating again.
Quit my job in the cubicle and decided to just work at a Dunkin Donuts instead, probably because it was less stress on my brain.

2005

Acura shit the bed, and I invested a measly $150.00 on a car at an auction, which would forever be my favorite, and longest lived, My 1990 Red four door Chevy Blazer, with tinted windows, a CD player, and sunroof.
Moved in with previously mentioned boyfriend, much earlier than I should have.
Learned a lot of responsibility, even though I was totally irresponsible.
Lost my license, but continued to drive until I was pulled over three times for driving without a license or insurance.
2005 was sort of a dull year.

2006

Decided one day that I didn't want to go to work.
Realized later that day that I should probably find a new job.
Started working at Ihop, which sucked, but great at the same time - cashmoney!
Was wrongfully fired at Ihop - I WAS THE SCAPEGOAT! WTF!
Waited and waited and waited for my tax returns to come.
Broke up with said boyfriend and headed off to East Boston.
Was blessed with the most amazing kitty, my little JamesDean!
Learned a ton more responsibility, while still being completely irresponsible.
Moved out of the Eastie apartment and into Kelseys bedroom, back home.
Began couch surfing in Boston in an attempt to find a place to live and a job.

2007

Finally got a job and an apartment.
Quit that job for a much better paying job, waiting tables at a skeezy sports bar.
Moved into my very own studio all by myself. Learned a lot of responsibility.
Knew what it felt like to be self sufficient
Met the best man ever, and totally fell head over heals for him
Made a fool out of myself a few times while being heavily intoxicated.

2008

Found out what it felt like to have a Valentine that I really cared about
Ran into financial issues and worked not one, not two, but three jobs at once.
Attended my first bruins game, where the boyfriend said he wished I was a pretzel, then changed his mind, remembering that if I were, he would eat me, and then wouldn't have a girlfriend anymore.
Attended my first Celtics game, and realized how much fun it really was.
Met the boyfriends parents for the first time, and totally fell in love with them.
A lot of ups.
A lot of downs.
Moved in with the boyfriend, where we both realized we had way too much shit.
Got robbed, and learned a lot about myself, and life in general. Did a complete one eighty and now look at things totally different.

2009

Watched the boyfriend and a roommate throw bottles at eachother and money in the toilet in a heated argument, resulting in the boyfriend and I getting our own apartment together. We all remain friends.
Realized we STILL had a ton of personal belongings.
Learned to deal with traumatic experiences, maybe not in the best way, but learned nonetheless.
Got unlawfully laid off while attending court.
Sat around on my ass for a few weeks, because that is something that I really needed - To relax.
Started writing more
Started photographing more
Started having a series of extremely vivid, ridiculous dreams
Learned that saving money is kind of awesome.
Had a great Christmas for the first time in years.

AND NOW, it's 2010. Wow, time flies, huh? So far I am having a great birthday. I hope it just keeps getting better. I am in a great mood, which hasn't been true for the past 4 birthdays. There, of course, will be tons of pictures to follow, but you'll just have to wait for those!

Music Monday: A twitter trending topic gone blog.

2010-01-11T15:24:00.000-05:00

Because I have seen so many #musicmonday posts on twitter (and I'm sorry, but some of the people I am following have TERRIBLE taste in tunes) I have decided that each Monday on my blog I will share a video of a song that I just can't get enough of.

This week, I have decided to post one of my favorite songs; "Knights" by Minus The Bear.

Enjoy!