sfoofieness

Motherhood, love this....

2012-01-12T22:59:00.000-06:00

There was something so valuable about what happened when one became a mother. For me it was the most liberating thing that ever happened to me. . . . Liberating because the demands that children make are not the demands of a normal ‘other.’ The children’s demands on me were things that nobody ever asked me to do. To be a good manager. To have a sense of humor. To deliver something that somebody could use. And they were not interested in all the things that other people were interested in, like what I was wearing or if I were sensual. . . . Somehow all of the baggage that I had accumulated as a person about what was valuable just fell away. I could not only be me -– whatever that was -– but somebody actually needed me to be that. . . . If you listen to [your children], somehow you are able to free yourself from baggage and vanity and all sorts of things, and deliver a better self, one that you like. The person that was in me that I liked best was the one my children seemed to want. - Toni Morrison.

2011 - 2012

2011-12-16T20:35:00.001-06:00

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Sophie

2011-09-16T14:28:00.001-05:00

Picture Her Birth Announcement

Find 100's of cute birth announcements at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Bloggy itch

2010-08-18T19:11:00.002-05:00

Feeling the bloggy itch again. Need to scratch out some new posts...
Stay tuned :P

As You are Now

2010-05-27T06:13:00.000-05:00

I will take up all your tears
Salty tissues through the years
Spread them in the sun to dry
Diamonds from each time you cry

I will treasure all your teeth
Your laughter and the pearls beneath
Keep them in a cardboard box
Through the tickings and the tocks

I will gather all your hair
Floating in the sultry air
We will make a braid of gold
For you to keep when you are old

Now I kiss your milky skin
Sheet of silk and soul within
Put this kiss upon your brow
Treasure you as you are now

For Obvious and Hidden Reasons....

2009-08-19T21:26:00.001-05:00

The original version by Ben Harper is really nice acoustical jam...but this one is softer and still cool too. Our little family. The three of us.

Literally a great literal translation

2009-06-10T18:43:00.002-05:00

A must watch if you love 80s music videos

Jukebox Friday- from momma to her baby

2009-06-04T18:17:00.003-05:00

Ok, try not to cry and bear with me...

Plumb, In My Arms

Ahhh. Plumb has such a beautiful and pure voice. All of her music, both Christian and mainstream, really reach out to me and I think anyone can like any of her music. This song does not sound live at all which is an incredible feat.

Kinda my first lullaby to this 10 week old dumpling dancing inside of me.

Jukebox Friday - happy sigh

2009-05-28T21:28:00.001-05:00

Ok you have to go in to about 5 minutes on this to get to the actual song. It is called "How Lucky We Are" by Meiko. She looks really weird singing, but it comes out adorable. I guess that's all that matters! This song really touches me because I can reflect on how lucky we really are....

American Jukebox Friday Idol

2009-05-22T16:57:00.002-05:00

See? Talent. I must say the finale of AI on Wednesday was actually entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised. Ahhhhh I loved this part with Danny and Lionel Richie.

I'm totally looking forward to this weekend.

"How would you like to sail away in the Bahamas?
(Just you and me, girl)
So far out in the sea where nobody can find you
(Just the end of the world)
Cause there is no rush for you to come back and face the rain
Cause there is plenty sunshine where I pickin' you
And I'm here to reduce the pain"

Indeedily.

Jukebox Friday - Sweet simple tune

2009-05-15T06:48:00.001-05:00

Rogue Wave, Eyes

Jukebox Friday - Not going to play a Gokey tune

2009-05-07T17:59:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Danny Gokey day and if I see one more "go" reference on the beginning of ANYTHING, I will "go" and bust out a marker and "go-kee-crazy" all over it.

I do really like the guy, and even happen to work next to his mother in law, but hype-hypeness sometimes bothers me. It will be cool to be at the baseball game tomorrow to hear him sing the anthem and throw the first pitch. Go-team!

This song has no relevance to anything in my life, but I can't get it out of my head. She is so frenchy and tres adorable....Enjoy.

Jukebox Sunshowers

2009-04-30T22:02:00.002-05:00

Very repetitive, yes, but interesting.
I've been really listening to M.I.A. a lot lately.
Life is interesting.

Jukebox Friday

2009-04-23T16:56:00.004-05:00

This week was really really great. and this song is really really great...even though I can't decide if it is a sad song or happy song. Your verdict?

Weepies, Hideaway

ps: I love all the stars in the video!

Evidence

2009-04-22T19:06:00.001-05:00

....this is what it is like to be married to a nerd. You walk upstairs and find a lair of cords.

Also, this only scratches the mere cord-surface of the multitude of cordage we possess. There are boxes (as you can see in the picture) and vast pits of cords you can find in this household. Which is why I find it hilarious every time we have to purchase a new cord to hook something up - If only the nerd could macguyver this whole cord system up (duct tape?) and connect everything we ever needed to connect again.

hmmmmm.....then again it IS really nice to be able to watch computer stuff on our big TV. Way to go you awesome, cord purchasing, hooker-upper, nerdy husband. Yeah.

Your quest is over....

2009-04-19T17:50:00.001-05:00

Officially the worst food for you evar.

Jukebox Friday - A wee bit early (and ultraviolet)

2009-04-15T18:00:00.003-05:00

Lamb, Sugar5

Haven't been able to get this song out of my head. The "video" uses the song set to clips from the "Ultraviolet" movie. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure it would be weird. Enjoy my weird song and have a great weekend.

On our agenda this weekend is buying a real grown-up bedroom set. I have a feeling it's going to be bed-jumping grand.

The Good Friday

2009-04-10T07:11:00.002-05:00

I know I've posted this before, but, again, this is my absolute favorite hymn.

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise His name! I'm fixed upon it
Name of God's redeeming love

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Dear Kurt....

2009-04-08T21:21:00.004-05:00

I hope you are on a journey to peace of mind. I can only think that it truly wasn't you that went for a new pair of shoes and never returned. I cannot imagine your unwinding and grasping for pieces of paper to write out some ramblings and feeling so overwhelmed with life. You, Kurt, had just written to me about playing Tetris party soon. You, Kurt, had laughed about the holes in your shoes. You, Kurt, had just shared a dinner party. I cannot believe that you, Kurt, made that leap that night.

We'll never have the answers - although I'm not sure if you had written in a precise clarity that it would have made this all any easier. Just a different journey I would think.

I ask the Lord today to make me an instrument of His peace to be there for your beloved wife. I channel fervent prayers for everyone tomorrow.

We deeply mourn for you, my friend...

Jukebox - Really late

2009-04-07T19:46:00.002-05:00

Ignore the "video" portion of this and just enjoy the piano music.

Share time! Cadbury Creme Brulegg

2009-03-31T18:27:00.002-05:00

This seems like an amazing recipe:

Cadbury Creme Brulegg

This concludes share time. Put away your carpet squares and get out your crayons. Stay in the lines, please.

Jukebox Friday - Rock.

2009-03-27T19:06:00.001-05:00

Back in college I knew this kid named Joel who could absolutely blow your mind with his guitar playing skillz.

It is nice to see he is in a great band now with great vocals and great rock music.

I wish him all the best!!!!

Myspace page is HERE

I think you should go take a listen if you like a Nickelback / rock sound

ffft ffft

2009-03-22T22:09:00.002-05:00

Jukebox Smooth

2009-03-20T16:55:00.002-05:00

I really really really love John Legend's voice.

Ordinary People

Jukebox Friday - The song I can't get out of my head (this week)

2009-03-14T13:34:00.001-05:00

It's not a true video, but the song! ah! I love it...

One For The Shareholder, Maria Taylor

Jukebox Friday - Konichiwa, bitches.

2009-03-06T18:27:00.002-06:00

Yes, this is the true title of the song by Robyn. The song and video are kinda trippy and fun. aaaand sometimes I like little songs like this.

Jukebox TonightbecauseIhavetocleanandthisplaceisamess.

2009-02-26T21:04:00.002-06:00

Jukebox the Ghost, Hold It In

Life is "Oh my God, if I tell him, he'll tell her, and then she will know I like her!"
bahaha.

Jukebox Feisty

2009-02-20T23:24:00.001-06:00

Lostie freak

2009-02-19T18:47:00.002-06:00

Not sure if anyone else watches Lost, but this recappy list was unbelievably HILARIOUS:

Let's begin with a quick refresher on "How to Get Your Ass Back to the Island":

* Step 1: Have Mrs. Hawking show you her super-retro subterranean Dharma station (I'm pretty sure the Lamp Post is our first confirmed off-island Dharma hub). Inside, her phalanx of 128k mainframes are crunching up-to-the-second latitude and longitude figures so the island's next location can be determined (it can also track Margaritaville). It's nearly impossible to find the island's current location because that jumpy little land mass is in constant motion, but thanks to electromagnetic pockets, fuzzy math and a giant pendulum, Mrs. Hawking and her trusty TRS-80s can pinpoint the island's next location.

* Step 2: Get the band back together. The island is anal about return visits, so it's important you re-create the details from your maiden trip. This means rounding up the old crew -- Jack, Kate, Sun, Hurley, Sayid, Dead Locke; with Ben, Frank Lapidus and a few newbies thrown in for extra flavor -- and booking a flight with a specific trajectory (Ajira Airways flight 316, Los Angeles to Guam, should do the trick).

Important Travel Advisory: Sloppiness and oversights -- like neglecting to bring the kid who was born on the island -- can lead to "unpredictable" results.

* Step 3: Proxify the dead guy. Since your dead daddy was socked away in Oceanic 815's cargo hold during Trip No. 1, you're going to need to adorn your new dead guy (Locke) with something once owned by the old dead guy (Dr. Christian Shephard). I'm not entirely sure why dead guys need to share clothes, but that's the rule and we're sticking to it.

* Step 4: Go first class. Coach passengers tend to get sucked from cracked fuselages or become inevitable casualties during mercenary attacks and flaming-arrow battles. Be safe. Live large.

* Step 5: If someone gives you a suicide note, read the friggin' thing.

* Step 6: Enjoy the trip and holla at your boy Jacob when you arrive.

Foods I DON'T LIKE. Thankyouverymuch.

2009-02-10T20:48:00.003-06:00

Here are some foods I can think of that I don't like....

1. Olives. Except that one time when we had a lovely bloggy dinner partay and that tapenade was made. That was salty/garlic-y enough for me to enjoy a smidge. I've tried "fake" ones, "real" greek ones, supposedly "amazing" ones, every color....and still they are bleck.

2. Beans. I like green beans, thas IT. I ate fouul (middle eastern dish) for breakfast in Lebanon out of sheer politeness to jiddo (grandpa). It was spiced/garlic-y enough for me to get past the pastey taste of the beans.

3. Fish eggs on sushi. They POP like bubble wrap and it freaks me out.

4. Fruit / meat combo - like pineapple chicken. Can't quite put my finger on why I don't like this one.

5. Fruit / chocolate combo. Even chocolate covered strawberries are meh.

6. Radishes. They taste all burn-y.

7. Spicy foods. They taste all burn-y. I do try spicy Thai or Indian dishes, but haven't found a way to really enjoy the extreme heat.

8. Pie crust. I'll eat the middle and a graham crackery crust. That's just how I likes me pie.

9. Soy milk. I've tried them all and I can't find a way to like it. I wish I did because it would add some nutritional value without a lot of the milk calories.

10. Rice chex. In any given Chex mix they'll be the dark rice chex and I pick them out. Hmmm, also: I don't mind rice, but it's not huge with me.

Jukebox Friday - The title makes me giggle.

2009-02-06T22:26:00.002-06:00

This song is titled "Mushaboom" which is an absolutely adorable title. Go Feist, I love your music...

Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born oh
Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups oh

But in the meantime we've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay

Old dirt road,
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
knee deep snow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
o-o-o-o-old

I got a man to stick it out
And make a home from a rented house oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done oh

How many acres, how much light
Tucked in the woods and out of sight
Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap
On a little road barely on the map

Old dirt road,
mushaboom, mushaboom)
knee deep snow
mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow,
mushaboom, mushaboom)
o-o-o-o-old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Old dirt road rambling rose
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Well I'm Sold...

I was tagged by a bajillion peoples to do this 25 thing thing.

2009-02-02T21:45:00.008-06:00

1. I always want to help people. It usually ends up that I get way (way) too involved and it spins about and out of control. There just is this teensy bit of guilt - I hate to think about something falling apart that I could help keep together.

2. I have the weirdest dreams. By now this is maybe a known thing with me, but this fun fact is on my mind because of last night's dream. Last night I dreamt I had adopted two cats (one fat female tabby cat, one tiger striped female cat) and found out a guy had stolen the cats. Then I was on a high speed chase with this guy....In my car someone else was driving and I had the two cats in a small box (?!) I let the cats out of the box and they walked all over the driver during this high speed chase, so I had to put them back in the box. I ended up back at my old old house in C-ville and found out one of the cats had died (?!) BUT, the weirdest part is that the "cat" that had "died" was just a picture of a cat on a piece of paper. I was crying and hugging the "live" cat and looking at the piece of paper on the carpet in my old bedroom. WTF.

3. I hate working out. I have gone for weeks working out every single day and I STILL hate it. Yes, there is the feeling of "accomplishment" and following through on a commitment, but, I hate everything else about it. Don't get me wrong, I love all sorts of high-energy/endurance sports like volleyball, tennis, etc., but it is not the same as this gym thing. So pardon me when I want to punch someone in their face that just can't shut their yapping about how "awesome!" and "super awesome" and "de-stressed!" out they feel after working out.

4. I saw my poli-sci mentor on public TV Sunday and it made me yearn to go back to school. For about 10 seconds. Still, it made me realize I should do a better job keeping up on intricacies of foreign policy and international relations.

5. I am the first grandchild on all sides of the families to graduate from college. I guess I feel pretty proud about that.

6. I am a very fast reader. I devour books. Saturday I read an entire book I had just checked out from the library. The other book (Orlando by Woolf) I just couldn't get into. Time to go back to the library and find two new books.

7. I get very embarrassed/weird when I see people kissing on TV or in a movie. I sometimes even change the channel.

8. I used to not look people in the eyes when I was talking to them. Then, one day, a teacher asked me point-blank why I didn't. I'd like to thank that guy for teaching me confidence.

9. I like to think of myself as an extremely open person. I feel I can talk to all people in all walks of life.

10. I have some strange sort of pride about people from the state of Wisconsin. I love hearing stories about foreigners who find "my people" endearing and wonderful.

11. I hate it when national news comes to Wisconsin, finds some doober, and puts him/her in the national spotlight. Seriously, WHERE do they find these people? There must be some holding facility and special bus that transports people when they hear national news is coming to town.

12. I'm totally craving chocolate frosting in between graham crackers today. I'm not really a chocolate person, but for some reason I remembered my mum used to use leftover chocolate frosting in between graham crackers.... I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

13. Rollercoasters make me ill, but I love them. A trip to six flags goes like this: ride awesome ride, puke, go out and sit in car and feel awful, feel a little better, go back in, ride awesome ride, puke. end of trip.

14. I still can't eat Cheetos because of rollercoaster pukage.

15. I love playing baseball. I could/can play catch with my brother for hours. I also beat this little douchebag in a little league fielding contest. he's now in the baseball minor leagues. maybe I wouldn't call him mean names if he wasn't all "I'm going to beat you because you are a dumb girl."

16. I don't really care for softball. On the other hand, a summer softball league led to my nickname and that makes me smile. People have a hard time adjusting to my married last name.

17. I see a spider, I kill it. No big deal. I see many other insects, fine, I'll kill them too. I have a bee in my vicinity and I PROCEED TO FREAK OUT LIKE A DUMB GIRL WHO PROBABLY CAN'T BEAT YOU IN A FIELDING CONTEST. Hey, I have my reasons. Namely, the time a bee flew down my shirt as I was riding my bike. So I got stung really badly AND made a car swerve and not kill me. Yay.

18. 4 is my favorite number. The fact that Barack and I share 8/4 as a birthday and he is the 44th president excites my inner number geek.

19. I associate with many many different types of people. When I see different friend groups colliding it fascinates me. Or if I have those "small town" moments while travelling / in a random place. It is a pretty fun feeling to run into people you know in crazy places.

20. Manousheh is, hands down, my absolute favorite food in the world.

21. Any lime flavored drink is my absolute favorite drink in this world. So, I guess, give me a margarita and manousheh for breakfast and I will have a blissful day. (wipes drool off blogpost)

22. Sometimes the absence of a reason strengthens my resolve to stick with something. It is what it is.

23. I did a baton routine to Kokomo when I was little that I swear I could still perform today. I loved that damn baton class.

24. Funniest advice ever given to me? My lovely aunts have informed me in the past: "don't worry, you can turn that into a drinking game...." So, I guess when life gets you down, turn it into a drinking game!

25. I love the feeling of driving up a mountain with music cranked snuggling against the one I love and feeling home. Home is where your heart is.

Jukebox - You may say that I'm a dreamer....

2009-01-31T07:46:00.003-06:00

This is a rather nice version, wouldn't you agree? Sorry for not having a "real" music video - sometimes you go with whatever South American slide show you find on the youtubes.

PS: I'm up way to early for a Saturday.

Jukebox Friday - Love Reign O'er Me

2009-01-23T17:08:00.002-06:00

As I was watching the hbo event online, I saw a performer named Bettye LaVette and was pretty blown away by her voice. When I looked her up on the good ol' youtube I discovered this gem. Very soulsy and bluesy and yummsy.

From the youtube description:

This astonishing, guttural, hypnotic rendition of the great Pete Townshend classic from The Who's "other" rock opera masterpiece "Quadrophenia" so blew Townshend away that he remarked on his website the next day that it was his "favorite moment" of the event

Fanfare For The Common Man

2009-01-20T19:02:00.002-06:00

Did anyone else see the presidential concert they showed on HBO? Well, they are replaying it over on hbo.com if you want to go check it out.

Anyway. My absolute favorite part was the Aaron Copeland "Fanfare for the common man" played by the USMC Band at the beginning when everyone was introduced. HOLY GOOSEBUMPS BATMAN! I was reminded how much I love that piece.

So today I am celebrating. Due to complete system downage at work today, I got to see the whole inauguration ...which was pretty darn tootin awesome.

Ok Barack, go get em.

Neato Sidetrack >> The music is also adapted for my favorite baseball movie The Natural

Jukebox Friday - Apology for the last 8 years,,,

2009-01-16T07:11:00.000-06:00

Jem, They

Drunky Housewarming Jukebox Friday Blogging Because I CAan AND SO WHAT.

2009-01-09T22:30:00.002-06:00

Yes yes, thank you all for frowning at the sfoofiemas decorations. They will be taken down when I have some sort of epiphany.

Our house is a very very very fine house and I'm happy. We had a grown up party and I make lovely things and punch was served. People talked about being naked in their houses and Wii Marikart was played. I didn't realize I was on the top of the screen when my turn came around. I went from 12th place to 1st place. I received a billiown awesome bottles of wine.

Then End. ?

Jukebox Friday -Pick for the 2008 song

2009-01-02T17:07:00.002-06:00

You may say overrated or "meh", but this song really stuck with me the whole year. What a crazy year! I hope to recappy its glories and all that jazz this weekend.

Welcome, 2009!

Makes for some tense drives in WI winters....

2008-12-29T22:24:00.000-06:00

more music charts

Agreed?

Silent Night

2008-12-23T19:49:00.002-06:00

Happy Christmas Eve! A baby was born who would later die for my sins and save my sinful life. May all find hope in hopeless times and a light in any dark nights.

Silent Night in Gaelic, Enya

Wait, wait, wait. A better one!

2008-12-19T09:57:00.000-06:00

Little Drummer Jukebox Friday

2008-12-19T09:32:00.000-06:00

Ahh! I love Jars of Clay...

Winner

2008-12-18T07:11:00.001-06:00

The winner of commentary based on shoe-throwing incident is:

This guy

Questions That I Have for the Secret Service
Jon Friedman

1. Shouldn't you have jumped in front of that shoe?
2. Shouldn't you have jumped in front of that second shoe?
3. Second shoe = the one thrown after being removed from foot after first shoe was thrown.
4. Let's say people had three feet. Would you have allowed a third shoe to fly unimpeded?
5. While the shoe was in the air, were you like, "Oh, its just a shoe."
6. Same question about the second shoe.
7. Do you think this is funny, "Throw a shoe at me once, shame on--you. Throw a shoe--you throw a shoe, you can't throw a shoe again."
8. Is there not "protection training" for lunatics launching objects?
9. Let's say there isn't training for that--but do they tell you that if someone does throw (or shoot) something to be on the alert in case they want to repeat this behavior?
10. Where were you?

BONUS QUESTION: Do you think the Iraqis want us there? (Hint: their journalists are throwing their shoes at Bush)

Discuss Amongst Yourselves...

2008-12-14T16:28:00.003-06:00

Wow! Shoe throw at President Bush's head.

Deck the Jukebox Friday

2008-12-11T21:07:00.003-06:00

I like this version of Deck the Halls. It's pretty rare to find a modern pop version of a song to like better than some of the classic versions. Cheers All!

I cry trickery!

2008-12-09T06:25:00.005-06:00

Has anyone seen the new Dove commercial yet? The one intended to give women everywhere severe NIGHTMARES? It shows, under a special light, that "regular" soap leaves a web of soap scum all over your body. Dove, on the other hand, leaves you the fuck alone apparently.

Isn't this a new ball of crazy? I'm going out right now and buying this product...if only to rub it all over my walls. I'm sure my walls will be nice and clean and not full of soap scum. Right.

I did some online research and discovered that Dove noted they have taken "artistic liberties" with the images. How many other people are going to walk around thinking their bodies are covered in a flaky web of gross soap scum? Please, Dove, remove thy ad! Your artistic liberties gross me out... and, besides, the local news teams do enough to fake-scare the beejeezus out of the public already.

( & "funny" feminist article here)

Jukebox Friday - providing entertainment

2008-12-04T21:29:00.003-06:00

Hey! I'm still here. Hi.

Lately, amidst packing, we've been rewarding ourselves by watching episodes of the CBS show "Big Bang Theory." We really dig the nerd humor of this show.

Anyway, the Barenaked Ladies sing the theme song and this is the expanded version. It's been heard every hour or so around the ol' apt. - when we reach the point where we wonder how the FRACK we've managed to accumulate tons of crap/ how the FRACK does one pack up tons of crap after a long day of work without a proper collapse. Little rewards work wonders for motivation.

Work, moving, holidays, and life will all be moving at warp speed for the next month. I really just need to buckle up and enjoy the ride. After all, I have much to be thankful for and really cherish.

haha, jukebox bonus:

Peace, Love, and Hugz. - SFOOOOFIE.

Jukebox Friday - A LOVELY DAY

2008-11-28T05:36:00.001-06:00

4 x 4 blog to your brain

2008-11-17T20:29:00.004-06:00

1. Our house loan was FINALLY approved. At least over the phone. We still haven't gotten any official-lookin-documents in the mail. Yargh. Closing should be 11/28. We should be finding some sweet deal on a new computer for me early morning, closing on the house late morning, and jetting up north in the afternoon. That is, if N hasn't gotten a deer dead yet. Sorry for the hunting reference.... It's WI, and it happens. (The worst is driving along the highways and seeing animals hanging off the back of vehicles these next couple of weekends.)

2. It was the unofficial anniversary with the N last week. Yessirree, 6 years since the day we met and never parted. (Yeah, we're "one of those" couples that become inseperable from day 1). It's also been 3 years since the day I was proposed to on the top of Lebanon at a waterfall. A waterfall where, mythologically speaking, Aphrodite and Adonis shared their first kiss and "love began." Looking back, I would have wanted to shout YESSSS to the entire country and to the heavens above....instead I cried/mumbled/gasped out a meager 'yes'. So, anyway, I tend to get a little moopsy schmoopsy around this day every year. The man will never officially admit he gets a little moopsy romantical around this time of the year, but I think I could attest to some extra sparkles of romance.

3. "Sfoofie, if you were born to Sarah Palin, your name would be: Krinkle Bearcat Palin"

*giggles*

aaaand I giggled extra because the certain current job I'm in allows me to see what parents are naming their childrens lately. Let's just say I noticed that some parent had named their kids the following*:
(* names have been altered because I don't want to lose my job!)
- Pepper
- Paprika
- Chandmuth
- Cayenne
....aaaand Katie. Now, I'm not sure how I would feel if I were "Katie" in this scenario. Thankful? Or left out?

4. Oh, peoples, let me tell you a thing about "job satisfaction." I HAS IT!! I finally has it!!! ohboyohboyohboy, tis a great thing.

Peace out fwiendz.

The almost-sent email

2008-11-10T21:11:00.001-06:00

"Could you kindly wave your magic wang and grant me access to xxx program?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Fix what? IT!

2008-11-08T09:14:00.001-06:00

Jukebox Friday - Don't Hold Back: HIGH FIVE!!!!!

2008-11-07T20:55:00.000-06:00

More goodness

2008-11-05T19:09:00.001-06:00

We Are The Champions + President Barack Obama Video Tribute @ Yahoo! Video

In Case You Missed It

2008-11-04T21:32:00.000-06:00

Finally, my overwhelming opinion summed up in a song: http://filmstripinternational.com/ PS: NOT SAFE FOR WORK

Jukebox: Special Election Mood Musak

2008-11-04T21:21:00.004-06:00

I can't find time to blog, but I can post YouTube vids really quickly!

Anyway, enjoy some inspirational election mood music. I am thrilled at the sheer number of people that went out and voted. GO USA!

If I Can Dream, Elvis

Mr. BLUE Sky, ELO

A Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke

A Moment Like This, Kelly Clarkson

Finally, my overwhelming opinion summed up in a song: http://filmstripinternational.com/ PS: NOT SAFE FOR WORK

Jukebox Friday - Welcome to the house of fun

2008-10-24T19:23:00.002-05:00

Ok, so that was only a partial entry. I promise there will be better songs in store when I get used to blogging and working. I'm a little rusty. And sleepy.

TOTALLY looks like...

2008-10-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

http://totallylookslike.com/

FUN!!!!!

Jukebox Friday - Girly to the max

2008-10-17T15:09:00.003-05:00

This song is pure fun - I've been dancing around to it all week and thoroughly enjoy it. It must be noted that most of the song is in Korean. How cool is it for a song to be in Korean and one can still LOVE it?!?

Wonder Girls, So Hot

Wow. With a lot of whoa.

2008-10-17T12:52:00.005-05:00

I feel like this entry could be 20 pages, single spaced, long. There has been a lot going on in sfoofieville.

First, and crazily important, I believe that we just bought a house this week. Let me repeat that: We just bought a house this week. My dear N and I had been looking for quite a while for a place to stick our bazillions of no dollars, and this past weekend we spontaneously set it all into motion. We've been giggling fools all week thinking about this burst of spontaneity TO BUY A HOUSE. It is our first home purchase and absolutely blowing my mind that I'll be in a place where I can have non-white walls. If all goes according to plan, we'll close November 30th. If things do not go according to plan, you'll be hearing from my lawyer. Baahaaha, I love saying that. Really, we do have a lawyer. I can't believe I'm in a position to finance a home instead of ending up in a trailer home back in clunkerville. I guess that's how we defined "success" growing up. The new dig is actually a condo, but we have a nice corner unit overlooking a field. The cathedral ceilings are nice, it is a spacious 1500 square feet, and the upstairs loft area has a cozy fireplace in it.

Secondly, and crazily crazy, today is my last day of sabbatical retirement life. I start a job on Monday that I'm thrilled to start. Mainly because I won't be around the screaming childrens. Yeah, they suck. I look back on these last months with great fondness. It was the part between being home from vacation and landing this job that I really hated. I've learned so many important and non-important things during this time. I'll list those some time. I count myself triply blessed with this new job:
1. My new job is at a company that is always on the "100 best places to work" list. They care about their employees - including FREE gourmet lunches and FREE fitness center and trainers.
2. Um, Hello, My former job no longer exists.
3. The new company I'll be working for announced today that, while they aren't cutting jobs, they've placed an INSTANT moratorium on new hiring. Yeah, that made me yell out a HOLY CRAP! If I hadn't gotten this job, I would have had no chance of getting in for a looooooong time and forced to work some other job I wouldn't have liked.
I could even throw in a 4th great thing: I get to work for the same company as N. I kinda like him, so this is a positive development worth noting.

So this is all HUGE peoples. Thanks for buckling your safety belts here in sfoofieville. Peace out.

Hot Topics

2008-10-13T20:03:00.001-05:00

On Twitter.com right now, one can see people live twitter about the election. The current "hot topics" they have listed are:

Hey Sarah Palin, ACORN, Tina Fey, Bush, Christopher Hitchens, Arab, CNN

This amuses me.

2008-10-10T17:50:00.004-05:00

HEY! It's just flippin dandelions over here in my neighborhood! Today a new family is moving in to the apartment(actually it's a 2 story thing) across from us. From what we can tell, all the other families here know them too. Ahem, which means, WHICH MEANS, WE ARE BEING OVERTAKEN BY NOISY DEVIL TODDLERS and their smelly cooking parents. Mister Rogers would not be proud of my shitastical attitude towards this neighborhood, but he got to live with MAKE BELIEVE things and not SHRIEKING 3 year olds in curry poo smelling smells.

...ARGH!

I like people, but I would like to point out that these people are not friendly at all. AT ALL. On a friendly scale of 1 to 10, I give them a 2. 2 howling monkeys for every time they have their obnoxious parties (with ALL the little turds running loose and screaming throughout the apartment below us) that is!!!

Ok, pardon moi, I cannot vent any more. I must escape and blast some Slayer. Yeah, Slayer lives in my make believe world.

Jukebox Friday - wha?

2008-10-10T14:13:00.003-05:00

I don't understand the lyrics, the video, or anything else about this song. Alls I knows is that I dig the song. Yeah, this week was "I don't know what is going on"...whether it be the economy, politics, day to day life, health, happiness, religion, etc.

The Fratellis, Flathead

(oh, and for the longest time I thought the group's name was Flathead and the song called "The Fratellis"...it works either way, dontcha think?)

Travelling back in time

2008-10-07T11:50:00.006-05:00

We find our lovely blogger circa 1960 with some wicked eyewear

.....and moving on to 1964 with a little more updated 'do

Finally she emerges in 1984 amidst a haze of aquanet hairspray and dazzling drop earrings with some off the shoulder sweater action

I thought everybody had heard....

2008-10-06T08:17:00.001-05:00

poppa u mau mau poppa u mau mau mau

Jukebox Friday - I'm there for you

2008-10-03T11:42:00.003-05:00

Hey, you, this is dedicated to the upcoming battle. I know you are so scared, but my outpouring and constant support is with you.

(sorry it is only pictures of the artist for the "video")

I will be the answer
At the end of the line
I will be there for you
While you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty
I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance
If you can't look down

If it takes my whole life
I won't break, I won't bend
It will all be worth it
Worth it in the end
Cause I can only tell you what I know
That I need you in my life
When the stars have all gone out
You'll still be burning so bright

Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind
Take me to a
Place so holy
That I can wash this from my mind
The memory of choosing not to fight

If it takes my whole life
I won't break, I won't bend
It will all be worth it
Worth it in the end
'Cause I can only tell you what I know
That I need you in my life
When the stars have all burned out
You'll still be burning so bright

Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind

We have a lot of catching up to do....

2008-10-03T11:36:00.003-05:00

This will be brief...

Yesterday I received a job offer for the company, job, pay, EVERYTHING that I wanted. I'm perfectly thrilled and cannot help but feel really blessed. I thank everyone for their confidence in me and constant motivation when I've been down the last couple of months during my search. Really, everything happens for a reason.

This weekend will be a grand family gathering to CELEBRATE my GREAT-grandma's birthday. It is pretty remarkable that I have all my grandparents and this greatest great grandma still alive. I cannot wait to have all of us gathered to honor her and shower her with hugs, kisses, and love.

Jukebox Sermon: Hilarious.

2008-09-24T13:50:00.004-05:00

This guy gets really passionate about Jesus wearing PANTS. And dissing some other preacher. And providing some awesome Bible quoting action. Ooh! And some "wasn't the camping trip fun?" Amen. AND some Biblical spelling lessons. And THEN some wicked generation sleazy bare midriff action. Finally he incorporates how evil men-dress-wearing started with Islam. Just a pants full of hilarity I say! Someone better reach back in history and ship this guy a pair of men's Biblical pants. Say HI to Jesus wearing his trench coat.

All about annunciation?

2008-09-24T09:59:00.002-05:00

I keep hearing Ts instead of Ds....you be the judge:

Definitely quote of the day...

2008-09-23T19:20:00.003-05:00

"He was tasty, loving and romantic," says Maria Gracinda Teixeira de Jesus, 77, a former beauty queen and dancer, of the young John McCain, whom she met in Rio de Janeiro in 1957. ... The former model was tracked down by Brazil's O Globo newspaper and said Saturday, "He was a lovely person and loved to go out with me. I called him 'John' but he was my dear and my coconut dessert."

I'm still crying I'm laughing so hard...

Jukebox....Sunday!

2008-09-21T16:13:00.001-05:00

I'll tell you something, it's always better when I'm with you!

(Band name: I Hate Kate)

PSA: Must Read!!!!

2008-09-19T06:37:00.005-05:00

Yarrrr better be leavin me some pirate comments chum scums!!!!

Props

2008-09-16T19:39:00.002-05:00

I must say, Christian Siriano (winner of last season Project Runway) put together the most stunning line of clothes I have ever viewed. I'm not an expert or anything, but go take a look. Wow.

Filed under: FEELING CONFIDENT ABOUT A DECISION

2008-09-15T22:23:00.003-05:00

AIG set for $20bn financing plan
AIG shares have fallen around 80% since the beginning of the year.

The State of New York has announced a "multi-billion dollar financing plan" to stabilise the finances of American International Group (AIG).

Under the plan, the insurance firm will be able to gain access to some $20bn (£11.1) by transferring assets in subsidiaries to the parent company.

The move required state approval but Governor David Paterson said no federal or state funds would be used.

Shares of AIG ended 60.8% lower, to close at $4.76 Monday.

Before Mr Paterson's comments they had fallen as much as 71%.

"Wall Street's continuing problems should serve as a stark reminder that this recession is far from over. New York State has taken the first step towards helping to stabilise AIG, which is otherwise a very healthy company," said Mr Paterson.

"On a state level, we were able to reach a market-based solution that will stabilize AIG at no cost to New York taxpayers," he said.

He added that policyholders and their insurance policies would be safe.

AIG is under pressure to raise capital after posting three quarterly losses in a row totalling $18.5bn (£10.3bn).

The New York Times reported over the weekend that AIG was seeking a $40bn emergency bridging loan from the Federal Reserve, the US central bank.

AIG's stock has fallen following losses tied to worsening credit markets.

'Unprecedented days'

AIG, like many other financial institutions, has suffered because of investments hit by the housing slowdown and an increase in defaults.

The slide in AIG's share price came after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America.

"AIG was until recently the world's largest insurance company. It provides over a hundred billion dollars of capital to banks, and it is in trouble too," said Jon Moulton at Alchemy Partners.

"These really are unprecedented days."

I don't like to blog about job specifics, but, BOY do I feel snazzy today about leaving my Merrill Lynch centered department within AIG six months ago. What do you think?

Jukebox Friday - My daily soundtrack

2008-09-12T10:14:00.004-05:00

Apparently, while we were gone on vacation, an entire village relocated to our apartment complex and they all moved into the apartments that share a common area right below our balcony. Some of them have nice quiet kids, but, in all honesty, there are about 4 little boy childrens that are HORRIBLE. This is a CONSTANT occurrence...I did the above video this morning while I was eating breakfast. While I type this, the kids are screaming again. By the time I post this blog, they will have about a dozen more instances of screamage. I have cover letters and resumes to send out, but I can't seem to FOCUS on these very important tasks with the shrieking. It's not just screaming and shrieking either...OH NO. One of their little bikes has a clown horn on it. One of the little horrid boys says "ommma. momma. momma. om. omma. MOMMA. MOMMA. MOMMAAA. MAmAAAAAAAAA" over and over and over and over (until he starts screaming). Then there is the crying. The one kid below us cries an abnormal percentage of the day and it makes me want to call child protection services just to ask some questions. I've babysat kids since I was 12 years old and I have NEVER witnessed children outright SCREAMING as much as these kids.

It is a constant battle to keep my sanity.....and we actually cannot wait for winter.

Jukebox Friday

2008-09-12T08:06:00.002-05:00

Collective Soul - Blame

I love this / Project Runway reference

2008-09-11T14:38:00.000-05:00

Doggy Fun [*] - Harold Barefoot Sanders III

New Blog Love

2008-09-11T13:31:00.002-05:00

http://bblinks.blogspot.com/

I love everything this lady finds!!!!

Oh, Matt Damon, You Are So Dreamy.....

2008-09-10T16:29:00.002-05:00

"cuz she's going to have the nuclear codes...."

Spot. On.

2008-09-09T14:43:00.002-05:00

I especially like the old and tired 'talking points' when the McCain soundbites are mashed up with Bush soundbites. Puke. Knowing McCain and Kerry have very similar backgrounds/lifestyles and how much Kerry was completely crushed with negativity over his life. Puke. It's not so much that I dislike McCain or Republicans....it's how much I dislike the big monies that control that party and push their agendas. 4 or 8 more years of that puke I truly feel will harm the chances of even little old me to pursue big dreams in a failing economy.

We deserve a man keen on diplomacy and an 'appropriate action taker'. Class, eloquence, and dedication. This guy was president of his law class over at that fancy pants Harvard school and could have marched his way into any fancy pants situation making fancy pants money. What does he do? He goes to work for the poor....heck, even a church-based community organization. He teaches constitutional law. He works hard to win his party nomination without sacrificing his ideas for the sake of money funneled into his campaign.

It's just difficult to get some people to see through the crazy web of awfulness the GOP shoves at us at every turn. They fight with awfulness and money because this is the way they know can work. It's worked for the past decade.

Chicago - One Great Day!

2008-09-08T19:32:00.011-05:00

First and foremost, I can't believe how much FUN I had this Saturday in Chicago. I don't always take the time to detail out some of these visits, but now I shall. Be aware that this entry will be LONG, but fun-filled.

There were several negative factors that weighed in for the day that made for some concerned anticipation. Namely:
- The recent cold rainy days we were having
- Being around my 9 year old sister for longer than 20 minutes. (love her, but...)
- Feeding my 9 year old sister banana pudding for breakfast and then remembering I have to be with her for a period longer than 20 minutes.
- Missing the 810am Metra train (completely my fault) and navigating the entire way into downtown with no maps. Relying on my memory. The memory that failed to remind me what feeding my 9 year old sister sugar for breakfast can result in.

Whee.

Well, I navigated the crew properly into the parking garage (as chicagoans would call it the 'parkn gratch') and put us squarely in front of a mcdonalds in which to fuel my bubs with some breakfast. We think a bum took a dump in the stairwell and was getting yelled at by security. Triple gold points for me!

Knowing full well we arrived a clear 45 minutes before our tour guides anticipated us, I suggested we go on a riverwalk. Little girl being adorable in the big city:
So far, so GREAT! It was a gorgeous day for us to tackle Chicago, so I was very happy with our little walk.

We then promptly called our tour guide shop and hurried their little bums through their morning routine. Profuse apologies owed. Minus myself 4 points. We took a hasty visit out to their balcony quickly keeping an eye on all their sneaky kitties. Found all their cool action figures and geegaws which always entertain. I get served water in a Guiness glass. Bitchin. We boarded the MHP tour bus and she showed us THE 7TH FLOOR including some dude casting evil sweat glares from his treadmill in the exercise room. Iwanski gets snared by a spider web. I hate it when that happens.

Ok. We moved onward to THE CORN COBS!!!!! Through the tremendous generosity of JBuckW (funniest thing is that I can sometimes only think of him as "Buck" and he can only think of me as "Sfoofie". Apparently we are asking MHP all the time what our "real" names are!!!), we got to go up to the roof of the building. It was completely free, completely without lines, completely memorable, and totally thrilling! I grew up seeing these buildings all the time in Chicago, but never thought I would ever be running free up on the roof with family and friends. I like these three pictures I took -one from the outside, the other from the rooftop, and the final of my adorable MHP and I!

Although the visit was brief, I hope Buck knows how much this opportunity was appreciated. I can't believe someone so cool is tucked away into the corncobs!

We all then headed to Millenium Park. I've come to really like this area. I don't get bored from seeing 'The Bean', the acoustically perfect outdoor theater, the plants, or the Crown fountain. Us girlies kicked off our shoes and socks and even splashed around in the fountain waters. Here are my favorite pics from the park:

(note: at this point my dear sis is still being an ANGEL. It was fun to see her enjoy her first visit to a huge city!)

We decided on a visit to The Field Museum (since we were doing so well on time!). Along the way Iwanski entertains the crowd by yelling out "I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER" which had all of us in stitches - especially my younger siblings. I also got two of my FAVORITE pictures from the day headed over to the museum. First, you can see two skyscrapers reflected perfectly in the skyscraper across the street and a cute lamppost and flowers are tucked into the picture as well. I am pretty proud of the shot. Also there is lovable Iwanski fervently trying to seduce our bus into stopping.

At the Field Museum was the big red ball! We counted ourselves lucky to see it tucked right up against the Field Museum's columns.

We quickly divided into two camps at the museum: people willing to fork over a few dollars to see the weather exhibit (and, it should be noted, that they were EXCITED to see a weather exhibit) and the other camp being "haters of forking over extra dollars for a weather exhibit". The haters chose to see the awesome "Native Americas" exhibition and some relaxation time. (Hey, if I wanted to experience a tornado live, I'd head to Kansas sometime.) We then all toured the Egyptian and Animals exhibitions. The animals exhibition was COOL and GROSS and sometimes COOL BUT GROSS. I guess it was cool to do "The Bear": Guess that's Iwanski's way of meditating for a good NFL season. Or else he wants to go crazy and live in Alaska like a bear like this guy.

We then decide to head to Wrigleyville and dinner. Things quickly went sour when we boarded the "free trolley" to only go about 2 minutes away. As we slowly become confined in the small back corner with no driver in sight, you can see the mental notes being made in the Iwanski brain: We could have been there by now. When did we get on? 8 minutes ago? Yeah, definitely could have gotten there by now. This is why Chicago really doesn't deserve the Olympics. I'm never taking this free trolley ever again. All seven of us will have to get out of this corner at the very next stop and inconvenience the eight people standing in the aisles. I hate inconveniencing people. Also: Iwanski don't tell stories on stairs. etc. We made a smart strategic move putting MHP and my mom next to each other. Those two can chat their ears off of one another and become oblivious to their surrounding environment. Until Journey begins to play, in which case they sing loudly and get in fits of giggles. Very much sisters:
The trolley finally did move and, yes, we inconvenienced the packed aisles by shoving our 7 asses (as Chicagoans would call them 'aces') out at the next stop. Our trip on the brown line over to the Belmont stop was another event filed under "Reasons Why Chicago Might Not Be The Best Choice For The Olympics." You see, for that day (and that day only. Oh. Hmmm. Maybe.), the brown line was running on an orange line rail. And then shuttles (?!?) were set up at the end to provide additional confusion to the party. Luckily we got off before the shuttle service began.

Our dinner at Mi Tierra was (in the annoying manner of Giuliana Rancic) A.MAZING.
We had margaritas, real queso fundido, and I tried a plate of 3 different A.MAZING. items. (guacamole taco, chicken tostada, pork tamale). We all laughed and us margarita girls giggled when the tequila hit our systems.

After dinner, we made our way over to Navy Pier. Yes, after this entire day of awesomeness, we still had energy for Navy Pier. Navy Pier was really cool - despite us hitting one of the only non-firework-weekends they have. We walked out to the point, headed back through the buildings and the stained glass exhibition SO COOL,btw), got the kids some souuuvenirs, and ended the night with ice cream. Actually, the night ended with getting our driver (bubs) some coffee from 7-11 to make the trip home.

None of us can believe we did all of this in a single day. Besides one heart-attack-inducing trip over Iwanski's foot at the station platform and a couple other sugar rushes, my little sister was very well behaved. I also took special pride in my navigation skills on the fly and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

Overall, I had nothin to worry about. Especially because we hired the MHP & Iwanski tour firm....If anything they provide the comic relief in any cramped free trolley corner.

__________________________________________________
FYI: You can find some of the coolest Chitownphotos here

Rubbing It In

2008-09-07T18:31:00.003-05:00

Here's the part of our Chicago trip where we board a train and Iwanski tries to forget that his contact lens is killing him:

His life is ironic like that.

Yes, now it is Friday- Blooperbox Friday

2008-09-05T10:15:00.001-05:00

awwww I love this show

It is Thursday.

2008-09-04T14:57:00.003-05:00

I found the Jukebox Friday song yesterday and set a post to be published for this Friday, but it published today instead. Sorry for the confusion!

Jukebox Friday - It IS my name. argh.

2008-09-04T12:39:00.003-05:00

I found another song with my name in it! I hope, for society's sake, that we're slowly getting over the "Stacy's Mom" song. Right? Hope 2008 can be applicable in multiple ways - even silly selfish ones.

Well, anyway, this song is adorable and I do enjoy the Ting Tings.

Let's update each other randomly!

2008-09-03T11:32:00.005-05:00

* Today I found some cool looking number sparklers online and upon further investigation, they have a STAR shape sparkler as well! That's awesome right there. Why didn't I find these about a month ago for my birthday? I'm thinking I should just have another birthday. Or some occasion that warrants a star sparkler. I went into "pure glee" mode after I discovered them. I'm weird like that.
What have you found on the internet that made you enter pure glee mode?

* Did you know amazon.com wish list lets you have a "universal wish list" option you can add into your internet experience? Anything I find anywhere online (like, ahem, STAR SPARKLERS) I can add to my wish list and keep all cool things in one place. If you know my full real name you can go to amazon.com and view my wish list. (I can post a link here, but then all the world can view my address and that is just waaaay too much information for me to post publicly.) I have everything on there from magnetic "paper" dolls to wii items to legos and lots of books. Seeing fun stuff I like in one spot makes me smile.
What is on your wish list?

* I bought figs today because they are bubs' favorite fruit. I'd never had a fig before I met him, so buying fun foods like figs makes me appreciative of how much I've grown being with him. I got (and still get) such a rush from learning international things. That excitement is a part of the huge appeal of this man I'm happily stuck with. Did you know how difficult it is to find figs in this city? Have you ever had figs?

* Exactly four years ago I was on a very similar job search. I had suddenly quit the "going-nowhere" security job (yes, laugh away, I was a security officer), and needed something a little more grown up. I still don't regret leaving my recent job in March, but I do wish something could pass by and work out now. How many times can I tweak a resume and question my skills? Can I try something creative? Last time around the job fell really quickly into my lap. I am actively praying for the same results.
What are some traditional and non-traditional avenues I can look to find a job? Would you hire me?

* We are in the process of condo buying and I am completely lost with it all. I know some more details about places that I like better, but I couldn't tell you what a mortgage even is. I guess an idiot like me got lucky marrying a finance MBA guy. I get him figs and he gets us on a solid financial plan. I sometimes believe I'd be renting out a trailer on 7th st back home with my severe lack of financial knowledge. Yee haw!
Please tell me you were/are as lost as me with this?

* This upcoming weekend will include a visit to Chicago. We're hittin up skyscrapers and parks for lots of fun family time.
Aren't you jealous?

* I must end this update to grab lunch and do a bajillion loads of laundry this afternoon. I'm actually going to be going through old college papers and readings during my time at the laundromat so it should be fairly entertaining. I need to reflect on a time where I was intellectual. And completely oblivious to the real world.
Do you still have college/high school stuff that you can't get rid of?

Random fun

2008-08-29T15:33:00.001-05:00

Grab the nearest book, turn to page 18, and write down line 4 of that page:

"All eyes were riveted on the Dutchman." (Robert Ludlum, The Matarese Countdown)

Jukebox Friday- Extended Weekend!

2008-08-29T09:32:00.003-05:00

This would be one of my favorite songs from the 80s. Apparently nothing did break this guy's stride because he still exists in the music industry....he even produced No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" album (which was my 2nd cd ever purchased).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Had to share....crying I'm laughing so much

2008-08-28T19:26:00.002-05:00

Beginning....fine fine.... fast forward a bit to where this video gets REALLY WEIRD. Then pee your pants a little because you're laughing so hard. What? You didn't...oh....nevermind.

The "In-my-world-this-would-be-a-crime" Crime

2008-08-25T21:08:00.002-05:00

Today I had a huge raging headache that didn't go away after I tried to unsuccessfully drug it with caffeine (since I do get caffeine-withdrawal headaches) and ibuprofen. Before resorting to a trio sampler of hard liquor, hard drugs, and cement-block-to-the-head, I calmly suggested we eat out somewhere quick so I wouldn't have to cook. In my uninspired headache mode, I mumbled seafood and we ended up at the local joint. Menu sampler seen here

Fine. I order the lobster seafood roll in my uninspired mumbled state. I am presented with an ice-cream scoop size of premade lobster/seafood/mayo and a cold hard hoagie. Oh yeah, with some shit lettuce thrown on to make up for the lack of seafood-to-bun ratio. It is immediate that I notice the roll...Yes, I can SEE the lack of distinguishing toasty/grillage marks. I then feel how cold and UNTOASTY/GRILLY it is. I poke it with my fork and it sponges back to its unsofty untoasty state. I flip through the images in my brain and know the menu states "grilled hoagie" or some sort. I mentally go to a whiney-unhappy-non grilly-non toasty-state.

Ugh.

Of course it takes the waitress a good 3/4 of the way into my scoop of seafood to drag her happy ass over to our table to ask how things are. My life companion got the most delicious fish ever for a change and blurts out an enthusiastic "GREAT!" to the waitress... (I glare jealously) ... And I squeak out a meager "Actually..." I proceeded to demonstrate how falsely prepared the roll was and my complete dissatisfaction with their product.

Now, I know how uncomfortable it is as a waitress to be presented with an unhappy client. Some people don't even complain because of that precise moment when you feel like the complete asshole for bringing up stuff that isn't really their fault. HOWEVER, there are appropriate actions for any good waitress to take.

Step 1: Offer to replace bad portion of the food. This is the knee-jerk reaction to any complaint that a portion of the food is bad. I'm not disagreeing with this step, but in my situation it's just mind-boggling how I would suddenly want them to deliver a single bun on a plate 3/4 of the way into the meal.

Step 2+: Offer any way to compensate or make the customer happy. I guess my waitress couldn't conjure up anything else in her head to satisfy my unhappiness because she just said "Oh." after I declined her step 1 offer. Not good. Now I have to conjure up in my brain a scenario that doesn't make it sound like I'm pathetic for complaining. I blurt out, "Just go tell the cook and your manager not to serve this menu item like this..." Ugh, you know all I'm thinking INSIDE my head is:
- gimme a coupon
- gimme a drink
- gimme a dollah off sistah
- gimme item for free
- gimme, gimme, gimme.

Nope, I instead witness her go tell her manager. "Cool" methinks. Wrong. I think I mouth-read those mofos taking my complaint sarcastically. There was no grovelling back to our table by any manager. They probably took my picture and will have the cooks spit in my food next time I'm there.

While you all probably think I'm thinking the crime lay in lack of customer service, I'm actually still thinking about that damn hoagie roll. You just don't serve any type of seafood roll on a dry cold bun. Crime committed. Judge Sfoofie rules 22 months of community service feeding old bread to birds.

Bonus

2008-08-22T08:08:00.002-05:00

If you couldn't get enough of Shakira with the earlier post, I'll give you a bonus. This one is my second favorite song of Shakira's and this version was taken from her Dubai concert. She starts out with an old old Arabic chant song and through the power of Shakira, transforms it into this upbeat Spanish modern song. I think it is very interesting musically and now you can see how Shakira evolved.

I don't even know Spanish well and I just love these songs....that's the beauty of Shakira I think.

Jukebox Friday- A hip-shakin good time!

2008-08-22T07:54:00.004-05:00

A delightful combination of Spanish, Arabic, and Shakira. It is my favorite song by Shakira for both the meaning of the words, the wonderful Spanish, and the part where she sings the Arabic. The video is a tad cheesy, but it is fun to see some of this "early" Shakira work. Nowadays she has so much confidence in her music and videos that they are on a whole different level of sexiness.

(ps: Don't even go searching for the English version...it is actually quite horrible. I'll just link you to the English lyrics.)

Lyrics:
Ayer conocí un cielo sin sol
y un hombre sin suelo
un santo en prisión
y una canción triste sin dueño
ya he ya he ya la he
y conocí tus ojos negros
ya he ya he ya la he
y ahora sí que no
puedo vivir sin ellos yo

coro
le pido al cielo sólo un deseo
que en tus ojos yo pueda vivir
he recorrido ya el mundo entero
y una cosa te vengo a decir
viaje de Bahrein hasta Beirut
fuí desde el norte hasta el polo sur
no encontré ojos así
como los que tienes tú

rabbou ssamai fika rrajaii
fi ainaika ara hayati
ati ilaikoum ya baladaho
arjouka Rabbi labbi nidai
viaje de Bahrein hasta Beirut
fuí desde el norte hasta el polo sur
y no encontré ojos así
como los que tienes tú

Ayer vi pasar una mujer
debajo de su camello
un río de sal y un barco
abandonado en el desierto
ya he ya he ya la he
y vi pasar tus ojos negros
ya he ya he ya la he
y ahora sí que no
puedo vivir sin ellos yo

coro

rabbou ssamai fika rrajaii
fi ainaika ara hayati
ati ilaikoum ya baladaho
arjouka Rabbi labbi nidai
viaje de Bahrein hasta Beirut
fuí desde el norte hasta el polo sur
no encontré ojos así
como los que tienes tú

coro

2008-08-20T21:09:00.002-05:00

Whoa. Sage, this is a fun one!

The ones in Bold I have tried..... I'm like her too: Just because I have tried this food it doesn't mean I like it. I will also italicize the gross ones.
This is my opinion so if you disagree, comment away. That's what the comments are for!

Venison
Nettle tea
Huevos rancheros
Steak tartare
Crocodile
Black pudding
Cheese fondue
Carp
Borscht
Baba ghanoush
Calamari
Pho
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Aloo gobi
Hot dog from a street cart
Epoisses
Black truffle
Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (ain't nothin like ho-made blackberry wine)
Steamed pork buns
Pistachio ice cream
Heirloom tomatoes
Fresh wild berries
Foie gras
Rice and beans (rice and beans are some of my least favorite things ever)
Brawn or head cheese
Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
Dulce de leche
Oysters
Baklava
Bagna cauda
Wasabi peas
Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
Salted lassi
Sauerkraut (although I don't hate cabbage as much as my mother, I think sauerkraut is gross)
Root beer float
Cognac with a fat cigar
Clotted cream tea
Vodka jelly
Gumbo
Oxtail
Curried goat
Whole insects
Phaal
Goat’s milk
Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
Fugu
Chicken tikka masala
Eel
Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
Sea urchin
Prickly pear
Umeboshi
Abalone
Paneer
McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
Spaetzle
Dirty gin martini
Beer above 8% ABV
Poutine
Carob chips
S’mores
Sweetbreads
Kaolin
Currywurst
Durian
Frogs’ legs
Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
Haggis
Fried plantain
Chitterlings or andouillette
Gazpacho
Caviar and blini
Louche absinthe
Gjetost, or brunost
Roadkill (does it count if I know someone who would eat roadkill?)
Baijiu
Hostess Fruit Pie
Snail
Lapsang souchong
Bellini
Tom yum
Eggs Benedict
Pocky
Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
Kobe beef
Hare
Goulash
Flowers
Horse
Criollo chocolate
Spam
Soft shell crab
Rose harissa
Catfish
Mole poblano
Bagel and lox
Lobster Thermidor
Polenta
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
Snake

Delicious Salad

2008-08-20T10:17:00.003-05:00

Toss together:
Romaine lettuce
Apple chunks
Toasted Pecans
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Montrachet cheese*
(*ok, so the montrachet cheese at the store was extremely expensive and only came in a ridiculously huge size which I would never use up in 8 years, so I decided to use light cream cheese chunks and they actually tasted fine.)

Simple and delicious. I even got doubter mcdoubtpants to enjoy it.

Creep-tastical.

2008-08-19T09:20:00.002-05:00

Speaking of creepy, there was one portion of the Olympic opening ceremonies that completely freaked me out: Sarah Brightman. I commented that she looked crazy/creepy while singing and wondered if she had been locked up by the Chinese for 16 days before they allowed her to sing. Brainwash? Maybe. Ok, so last week I happened to be flipping through channels (on our new 40in behemoth TV) and caught a snippet of the horrid pot of morning gruel they like to call the "Today Show." They had just announced that Sarah Brightman would be up next to give an interview...cool....but, then, they cut away to her. I. Was. Terrified. It was all over in a minute but I couldn't help but think that something was terribly wrong with my world. I contemplated if she was sending out cult signals with her brain waves and I would never know if I'd wake up the next day. It was a little smile and then instant crazed huge-eyes-alien-stare. My next thought was to wonder if I was the only person who witnessed this strange moment. I mean, c'mon, who watches the Today show? LUCKILY for everyone here, some person told another person and E! Channel's "The Soup" caught on to this awesomely creepy moment and made fun of it. And I can share it here:

I. Love. The Soup.

Also...

2008-08-16T18:09:00.003-05:00

Funny of the day

You know you wanna click it

The Onion has also been spot-on lately with providing quality Olympic coverage as well.

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

2008-08-16T12:21:00.003-05:00

I didn't get around to posting a tune yesterday - pesky "applying for jobs" thing got in the way. It means today I can hook you up with an amazingly fun little thing called "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog."

From Wikipedia:

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 43-minute musical film produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, the aspiring supervillain alter ego of Billy; Captain Hammer, his nemesis; and Penny, their mutual love interest. The movie was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and Jed's fiancée, actress Maurissa Tancharoen. The writing team penned the musical during the WGA writers' strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike.

Neil Patrick Harris is awesome in it and it just the perfect little quirky thing to entertain and delight you all. For 43 minutes anyway. You can see it here, but I'm going to post the fun song "Laundry Day" below for a little sample.

Have a quirky, fun, amazing, and awesome weekend everyone!

A meme to get back into blogging again...

2008-08-14T19:58:00.004-05:00

1. What is your occupation right now? Former child prodigy on sabbatical contemplating retirement.

2. What color are your socks right now? My little piggies are roaming free

3. What are you listening to right now? All is really strangely quiet.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? I created and ate off of a grilled cheese sampler platter. It's what happens when two people can't decide on cheese/bread/grilling techniques. You simply create a multitude of options, made notes, and decide what is the best option for future grillage of cheese on bread.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yep. I actually miss driving stick-shift.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Dougie fresh. He's visiting tonight after being out and about in this world on some UN sponsored trip. Awesomeness.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I'd like to think of Sage as my darling twitter buddy.

8. How old are you today? 27 and 10 days! Oh, mentally I'm about 16 today.

9. What is your favourite sport to watch? Well, before I answer, I must forgive whomever for taking creative license to add in a U to favorite. Ok, that's out of the way. I really like watching ice skating the most. Secondly, I like watching tennis, all of winter olympics, most of summer olympics (NOT FORGIVING NBC FOR HORRIBLE OLYMPIC COVERAGE), and baseball if I'm at the field.

10. What is your favourite drink? I mainly have taken a strong liking to water, but unsupervised I think I could drink gallons of Mountain Dew. Any alcohol drink that rhymes with "parjimitas" and/or contains ample doses of lime content are thoroughly favoUrited in my world.

12. What is the last movie you watched? Gladiator on VHS. Realized our Gladiator on VHS has been viewed so much that it is scrawbly (ooh, fun made-up word) in most parts and I should probably invest in a DVD copy.

13.Favorite day of the year? Probably my birthday. Nothing cures "no holiday in August" like my birthday.

14. How do you vent anger? I express displeasure in a most expletive way. Then it's all out and I usually feel better in 6 seconds.

15. What was your favourite toy as a child? Dolls, Barbies, and Legos.
(sidenote: hey Beth, why didn't we ever build a Lego Barbie house?)

16. What is your favorite season? Fall

17. Cherries or Blueberries? blueberries. for pancakes and muffins of course.

18. Do you want your friends to add this meme to their blogs? I could make crazed demands and full-bodied threats and rant until they do, but I'm just not that type of person. But if they value my friendship, they'd answer.

19. Who is the most likely to respond? Poodums my friendly ghost.

20. Who is least likely to respond? Aunt Jemima.

21. Living arrangements? Great 2 bedroom apartment with a great husband. Great location, great space, great pool, great amounts of storage space. Oh, F-BEEPING-GREAT, the kids outside are screaming. *counts to 6* Yes, great place.
(haha, just discovering that great no longer looks like it is spelled right or is actually a word anymore. greaty great great.)

22.When was the last time you cried? I haven't cried...oh, yeah. Nevermind.

23. What is on the floor of your closet? A basket full of pj clothes that don't fit anywhere else in my dresser and are too comfy to hang up.

24. Who is the friend you have had the longest? my mums. awww.

25 What did you do last night? Watched Project Runway and played WordTwist on Facebook. I AM UNDEFEATED.

26. What inspires you? Big dreamers, lots of money, crayons.

27. What are you most afraid of? Something attacking me while I'm sleeping.

28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Put some peppah on it.

29. Favourite dog breed? Beagles(WAAAY before Uno won Westminster), Labradoodles(sorry, but I do like the hybrids), and I've taken a strong liking to my parent's Bassett Hound(awww Babe is so adorable)

30. Favourite day of the week? Sunday

31. How many states have you lived in? Just Cheeseland

32.Biggest Life lesson? Be generous, kind, and never stop dreaming.
(Yeah, I know that was 3 lessons in 1.)

Jukebox Friday - Nerds are all around us...

2008-08-08T11:00:00.004-05:00

I should start out by saying that I don't like seeing that my last post was last Jukebox Friday. This week I turned 27 and I have a lot to blog about, but I think I fell into a writer's depression this week. OK, so maybe it was just a big pit of lime vodka, cherry schnapps, and tequila. I can comment that I had a fantastical birthday and everything should be great, but I finally admitted this week that I need a job. Y'all are groaning and throwing things at me, but this seriously should be a time for me to make money. Before the big expensical items come along like houses and babies.

ANYWHOO. This song we heard in Lebanon and it is very nerdy, trust...BUT it gets in your head and has quirky lyrics about cake and science and my favorite lyrics:

I'm not even angry.
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!

The song is from the end-credits for a nerdy game called "Portal" and it was composed by Jonathan Coulton. Jonathan Coulton is the genius behind "Code Monkey" and "Tom Cruise Crazy" and other fantastical songs you can hear HERE. (seriously listen to Tom Cruise Crazy. Skullcrusher Mountain and the melodic cover of Baby Got Back are great too.)

Enjoy all this nerdiness kids.

Jukebox Friday - singing loudly in my car

2008-08-01T14:01:00.003-05:00

This was on the radio this morning and I cranked it up and sang really really loudly. I am, my dear friends, a child of the 80s.

Bang the drum.

2008-07-31T17:13:00.004-05:00

Sooooo I just realized that my birthday is on MONDAY. I don't know how this was overlooked! I guess I kept thinking of it as something that is happening, oh, next week "sometime". Now I'm t-minus THREE DAYS! I think this is the first birthday where I don't really have a definitive plan for doing something fun. I'm known in this land for loving birthday's a little too much. It is both a blessing and a curse bestowed upon me from my mothah (and that side of the family). A blessing because I truly believe birthdays should be celebrated, cherished, loved, and special. A curse because it seems there are a ton of people who don't think like we do (we have a special title for them: PARTY POOPERS) and also a curse because there was bound to be a birthday where I'm caught at the last minute with no plans.
Sure, it was really (REALLY) cool to go home last weekend and find an adorable cake made just for our August birthdays (those end-of-Julyers steal all of our thunder typically) and it was really (REALLY) cool to get my birthday digital camera in the mail....but....now I feel like I'll have a quiet non-surprisical birthday.

I should talk about some memorable past birthdays:

4- My golden birthday and I actually remember it! I got a huuuge teddy bear from my aunties that I promptly named "snuggle-up-a-gus." I think I still have this bear!

5-10 - I get Barbies and Barbie accesories! whee!

16- My family threw me a SURPRISE SWEET 16 PARTY! It was so awesome.....and has a funny story to go with it. I had just spent a weekend with my grandparents and we were all going to meet at this restaurant so that my mom could take me back to c-ville. My mom had all my friends gathered and they all had their cameras trained on this one set of steps leading right to their table. I walk in with my grandparents and the hostess proceeded to lead us upstairs....via another set of steps! We get up and I happen to look over at this other huge table of people....and started recognizing my best friend. Weird, thinks me. Then she sees me and I notice all the rest of the table, balloons, party hats, and a banner. I was still shocked, but it was funny that the surprise was fairly ruined.

21- I took my two closest friends to Whitewater to partay! Yes, I got drunk out of my gourd. BUT, it was in a safe manner, thankyouverymuch. It had all the classic moments... pouring out drinks I didn't like (I'm a mean drunk), some drunk bridesmaid telling me my hair was beautiful, me yelling at k-dawg to get her away from me (I believe my exact words were "Get this bith away from me"), walking back to my friend's apartment from downtown, me refusing to walk any further and laying down in the grass, my friends convincing me for a long time that we were RIGHT OUTSIDE the door of my friend's apartment, sleeping, going back to the Delevan lakehouse we were staying at, and going for a boat ride the next day at TEN IN THE MORNING hungover as hell.

22-26 - I realize I'm in love with/living with/married to a mighty PARTY POOPER. Must convince said PARTY POOPER to deal with my BIRTHDAY EXCITEMENT.

Hmmm, for this birthday I think I'll just resort to margaritas.....because I'm known in this land for loving margaritas a little too much.

sfoofieness

Motherhood, love this....

2011 - 2012

Sophie

Bloggy itch

As You are Now

For Obvious and Hidden Reasons....

Literally a great literal translation

Jukebox Friday- from momma to her baby

Jukebox Friday - *happy sigh*

American Jukebox Friday Idol

Jukebox Friday - Sweet simple tune

Jukebox Friday - Not going to play a Gokey tune

Jukebox Sunshowers

Jukebox Friday

Evidence

Your quest is over....

Jukebox Friday - A wee bit early (and ultraviolet)

The Good Friday

Dear Kurt....

Jukebox - Really late

Share time! Cadbury Creme Brulegg

Jukebox Friday - Rock.

ffft ffft

Jukebox Smooth

Jukebox Friday - The song I can't get out of my head (this week)

Jukebox Friday - Konichiwa, bitches.

Jukebox TonightbecauseIhavetocleanandthisplaceisamess.

Jukebox Feisty

Lostie freak

Foods I DON'T LIKE. Thankyouverymuch.

Jukebox Friday - The title makes me giggle.

I was tagged by a bajillion peoples to do this 25 thing thing.

Jukebox - You may say that I'm a dreamer....

Jukebox Friday - Love Reign O'er Me

Fanfare For The Common Man

Jukebox Friday - Apology for the last 8 years,,,

Drunky Housewarming Jukebox Friday Blogging Because I CAan AND SO WHAT.

Jukebox Friday -Pick for the 2008 song

Makes for some tense drives in WI winters....

Silent Night

Wait, wait, wait. A better one!

Little Drummer Jukebox Friday

Winner

Discuss Amongst Yourselves...

Deck the Jukebox Friday

I cry trickery!

Jukebox Friday - providing entertainment

Jukebox Friday - A LOVELY DAY

4 x 4 blog to your brain

The almost-sent email

Fix what? IT!

Jukebox Friday - Don't Hold Back: HIGH FIVE!!!!!

More goodness

In Case You Missed It

Jukebox: Special Election Mood Musak

Jukebox Friday - Welcome to the house of fun

TOTALLY looks like...

Jukebox Friday - Girly to the max

Wow. With a lot of whoa.

Hot Topics

Jukebox Friday - wha?

Travelling back in time

I thought everybody had heard....

Jukebox Friday - I'm there for you

We have a lot of catching up to do....

Jukebox Sermon: Hilarious.

All about annunciation?

Definitely quote of the day...

Jukebox....Sunday!

PSA: Must Read!!!!

Props

Filed under: FEELING CONFIDENT ABOUT A DECISION

Jukebox Friday - My daily soundtrack

Jukebox Friday

I love this / Project Runway reference

New Blog Love

Oh, Matt Damon, You Are So Dreamy.....

Spot. On.

Chicago - One Great Day!

Jukebox Friday - happy sigh