truly outrageous

the tag for this picture: I love Jem and the Holograms as much as the next person, but I don't think we need a live-action replica.

check out the website. it's pretty funny.

morning cynic

so i've been practicing a less cynical mindset because i just don't want to be cynical. BUT: can anyone tell me just how long history has been recorded? and even if history had only been recorded for 500 years, doesn't it seem slightly odd that we are having all of these major milestones in history. this is why the news bugs me...it's sensational and dramatic. "the most deadliest storm in history" or "the most tumultuous time ever known" or whatever. is this bugging anyone else? it's like: how omaha is always trying to prove itself by pointing out: we have this GREAT zoo. or we have MUTUAL OF OMAHA, remember? to say: "look, i matter! i'm important!" are we trying too hard to make our time TOO important? wouldn't it be better to understand our place in history instead of trying to make it more than it will be?

fixing

take a walk. have someone drop you off somewhere and then you HAVE to walk such and such a distance. and you have 45 minutes or an hour to clear your head. good medicine. also good medicine: lucky charms.

barking dog

today, while i was trying to do my reading for my class, i could hear our neighbor's two spaniels barking relentlessly at nothing visible to the human eye. it reminded me of two things, one of which i hadn't though of for a long time. when we were kids and we lived in logan, iowa, i always wanted a dog and i sometimes prayed for one. we got lots of strays out where we lived, and our parents always said that this was because people take dogs they don't want out to the country and drop them off. anyway, once when i was probably 8 or so, this stray dog came and we all loved her so much that we kept her and named her sophie. we lived on an acreage at the time, and sometimes in the middle of the night, sophie would start barking and it would wake me up. then i would get out of my bed and go to the front door and softly call her name. she would run from wherever she was up the door. i would tell her to stop barking. she would lick my hand. then we would both go back to bed and she would be quiet. the thing that stands out to me now is how cold the air always felt when i opened the door and how warm her breath was on my hand. that was one cool dog. here's to you, sophie. wherever you are.

the other thing it reminded me of is that billy collins poem (it must be a billy collins night...) which you can read if you clink on the title of this post. i will give you a link to because this thing never respects the line breaks as i type them. does anyone know why that is or how to solve it? i can't figure it out and it ruins my life on a regular basis

here's to barking dogs everywhere. may they be happy and quiet.

Introspection

Self-absorption is the beginning of insanity.
We beguile ourselves in thinking that it is not so.
Our empty hands are open and our hearts are closed.
Which is the worse of two - the seen or unseen?

reminds me of you

i love this blog. it is like the poem, "influence," in which billy collins says to a friend, after a singular but good conversation:

"and your comment, so astute and perfectly weird
made me feel enclosed again in the coded talk
of friendship, that tall pagoda
where companions sit on pillows
and observe the great China of life filing by
and say whatever comes to mind."

well-traveled

click on the title.

monday.

i just came out on the front porch, bra-less (which can be dangerous), with my laptop to sit in the swing and work on some songs. so i'm swinging here and notice that i've got a wireless signal somehow. i've been chasing that signal all over the house the past few weeks. i wonder if one of those crickets is wearing the hub and carrying it around. nothing like a cool drink, saggy boobs, and a free wireless connection for relaxing. hope YOUR monday is going well.

to start my day...

"It is a great loss if we greet every day with clenched hands stuffed with our own devices. We will never know what is out there waiting for us if we don't extend an empty hand to the world and wait for the wonder to happen."- Fr. D. Homan

we must confess

ali and i went to mcfoster's last thursday night. we were both wearing headphones, listening to music on ipod and ibook. we were trying to drown out the really bad guitar soloist. he had skill but had so much reverb on his guitar that i felt like we should have been in hawaii. and then we played cards there. and i won't say who won.

music makes the people come together

becky said that austin's band is playing thursday night at the goofy foot at 9:30pm. anybody wanna go?! last time i went to see austin play, he was solo and it was at this bar that had formerly been a strip club. they had black lights. it was on 132nd street. even so, the music was great. i can imagine only the same on thursday.

getting stuff for free

i am watching my nephew today. it's fun. he and annabelle were holding hands in the backseat while violet was snoozing. so i pulled into starbucks to get some coffee because it's friday and what the hey! and i was feeling sleepy and it had been raining and tomorrow is saturday! finally! saturday! oh ah saturday! and so the lady said to me at the window: i'm not going to charge you today. the colombian is almost done brewing. it'll be a second. happy weekend! we've invaded my parents garage while they're in florida waiting for the hurricane to hit them, and we are oh-so happy.

Carmina "Beerana"

The video says it all.

Rude Awakening

This morning we were both jarred awake by the sound of sharp honking and the sight of a bright flashing light outside of our bedroom window. Kyle pulled himself out of bed to see if we were being abducted by the mother ship or not. It turned out to be a school bus waiting in front of our house. The driver obviously thought that someone inside needed to get their rear out of bed and onto his bus. It brought back memories from my own school days.

the foundry

there's this new coffeeshop in benson. it's called "the foundry". i read about it in the world herald. i kind of want to steal a couch that's in here, actually, but i don't think that's such a good idea. 1. stealing is wrong. 2. i think a church runs this place. 3. it probably wouldn't fit through any of the doors in our house, anyhow. but there's a drum set here, a stage for live music (i feel a show coming on!!), a deck of cards (think we could get GOB for a magic show?), and...for me the best part...a room for kids to play in!!!! AMAZING! FRIENDS. FRIENDS. you've got to check this place.

SUPERMARKET LABELS!!

when i worked at the graphics company, one of my very first jobs was supermarket label design. you know those flourescent labels that grocers place on their packaged meats..."BOSTON BUTT" or "FILET", etc? well, if you buy meats at hy-vee, no frills, or bag-n-save, you'll see my handiwork! and so this afternoon i got a little roast beef sandwich from this new cafe in our neighborhood* and on the outside of the sandwich was one of my labels!!! it's like seeing our old jeep wrangler around town...all the memories! but wait, i hated that job! must be the caffeine.

Gift Card Tree

Yesterday we finally decided what to do with the gift certificate that Kyle's work gave him the other day: we bought a tree. But, not just a tree-- a Japanese Maple tree. Described by a tree website as : "aristocratic trees esteemed for their beauty and versatility." We've been wanting one for a while.

raining

i'm looking out the window. a little while ago, we had a gentle rain coming down, and andrew, ready for class, put on an old blue rain jacket (over his backpack, which gave him a very turtle-ish effect) and headed out on his bike. now the rain is pouring in earnest, getting stronger by the minute. a bit of thunder. i hope he's found somewhere to wait it out. i love him.

Taps, again

they came and took our couch yesterday. NFM is stupid. never buy anything there. defective. here's to you, most perfect and luxurious couch: you looked so nice. we loved you for a time. i read many books on your cushions. annabelle barfed on you twice. you added coolness to our home. and now, we have nowhere to sit.

Taps

i've played mock-lip-bugle twice this week. first: there was the advil i took on an empty stomach, ended up huddled over le toilet, decided to call ja to see when he'd be home (inspired by annabelle standing at the door, then putting her hands on my back and saying, "how bout a ride") and why the toilet! why water in the toilet! why my cell phone in the water in the toilet! if cell phones had memorial services, they would say: he died in the line of duty. ha! i will miss you, super mario bros. ring tone.

second: i finally killed the basement cricket that has been plaguing us for weeks. i saw it hop under some clothes on the laundry room floor, so i started stomping on the dirty clothes...and that did the trick. crickets are so tricky because you think you hear them over there...but when you get over there...they're not there. you suddenly think you hear them over THERE. and it just keeps happening.

phobia

ever since looking into a shark's eye when i was two years old (shedd's acquarium, chicago), i've been phobic about underwater photography. the national geographic spreads of sharks, lookind dead and dangerous, mouths gaping, surrounded by blackness, made my heart skitter. whole pages with no text, just full frontals of shark teeth and eyes. who would do such a thing to all the young, impressionable readers who's parents get national geographic for them because its educational? even footage of the titanic (also thanks to national geographic, now that i think about it), full of floaters and mushy-looking stelagtites (sp?), got my palms a little sweaty. i found the evian mermaid while writing a psychoanalysis paper on the marketing of bottled water. she's pretty, and she's swimming in bright blue evian, but i still can't look at the water behind her.

changing

i'm changing some stuff on the blog. also, you can no longer comment unless you're a member, for now.

folgers crystals

i woke up this morning and realized we were out of coffee. it was 5am. most mornings i wake up at 5, make some coffee and sit on the front porch with the baby monitor and watch the sky get lighter. trying not to let my wake up routine be spoiled, i remembered a can of instant coffee i had in my backpack in the basement. "how bad could it be?" i thought. friends, this was a big mistake. i was ignorant. i was blind. i'm here to testify: instant coffee is horrible.

BREATHLESS

remember the rapper from the lyida house benefit show last year? you know, when we spotted that dude sitting next to marQ smoking a joint...she went onstage right after me...well, she's having a show in the homer's parking lot on saddlecreek on saturday at 1pm. get yer freak on to that mustard-colored shack. wiggity whack!

red head

for some reason, i feel like watching "run, lola, run" today. here's vi, as of late. and: i realize that all of you regulars are outta town. get back here. soon, fast, rapido!

somebody hire me

hello world

finally. i fought the blog and the blog won every time i tried to post. then caron sent me the link onemoretime and voila. here i am, in the best company in the world. sigh of contentment.

OH, APPENDIX

and so it was one year ago, what a year ago!, that i hobbled around elmwood park with my nephews, trying to play soccer with them and wondering why my gut was hurting.
inquisitive as ever, kate calls and says that pain sure sounds strange, comes over and pushes on my belly, calls FLETCH. corrie, kate, and i lay around and start watching "rabbit proof fence" until it just gets worse, FLETCH says to go to ER, i take a shower, drive to methodist. blah blah. here's to being able to live without an appendix. what a strange organ. and here's to have doctor friends. and while i'm feeling so thankful, here's to neighbors that have mariachi bands playing late into the night!

a nice little job

so, if you're looking for some easy cash and have an open schedule, may i suggest my favorite place of employment, innovation research. you taste-test new foods coming to market. yesterday i picked up a turkey pot pie as part of a take-home survey. most surveys take 10 or 15 minutes and are taken at their 78th/dodge location. they usually pay $15 for a 15 minute survey. the pot pie take home test compensates $80 for testing 2 pot pies. cmon friends. you do the math. if you want a packet to register, let me know. if you sign up, though, DO NOT TEST THE BOLOGNA OR CHICKEN PATTIES. yuk! yuk! and yuk!

JOKES

here's a really good one:
Q: Why was Piglet looking in the toilet?
A: He was looking for Pooh.

man, that's funny.

arrested development

we bought the box set to this show and it is hilarious. i know you can check it out at blockbuster...get it, watch it, live it, LOVE IT! (or borrow it)

SOOF YAWN!

it's not ricky martin or janet jackson...but you've got to get this album (or convince me to hook you up). and to think you could see this fella in omaha! cmon! feel the illinoise!

Green Tea Coffee Strike

After watching a show of ill repute - one widely known amongst our little circle - several of us have sworn off coffee for the month of August for the benefits of green tea. I personally would recommend St. Dalfour's from Wild Oats - the Mango is particularly tasty.
The promise of such a sacrifice? Check out the link, but the idea is that you will lose ten pounds.
Time will tell.

vino fantastico

i picked up this book the other day and it's been surprisingly good. i love this passage:
a few weeks later i learned an invaluable lesson from a wealthy businessman here in Portland who owns a chain of coffee shops. a few of us were sitting in one of his shopes one molrning, and another friend asked if we had seen the world series of poker on television the night before. none of us had, but that mention led to a conversation about gambling. my friend who owns the coffee shops told us, in a tone of kindness and truth, that nobody he knows who is successful gambles; rather, they work hard, they accept the facts of reality, they enjoy life as it is. “but the facts of reality stink,” i told him. “reality is like a fine wine,” he said to me, “it will not appeal to children.”

neat

This is a cute technology thing ladies.
We are passing digital notes.
It's so great I've never blogged before.
Can you tell?
Ha. (i'm embarrassed)
Two reasons
one it might be read
two it will be edited

Austin's playing a show tonight
I'm his biggest fan and you'all should be there
NoWhere Bar 120th center 9ish

sweatin' to the oldies

we used to do sweatin' to the oldies in gym class. ha. can you believe it? reminded of it today as i watched moise in the boys home do his calesthenics. it was great. i think he'd really love sweatin' to the oldies.

it's fabulous to be here in romania. and even more fab to be in an a/c internet cafe at the moment. dang it's hot here. my entire body is salty, even my lips. even more fabulous that cool air - caleb is sitting next to me typing typing typing...he might even be faster than me! i woke up three times last night with cockroaches crawling on me. i was sleeping int he kitchen at my rented place because it's cooler in there. i'd like to take a poll. would you rather be super hot or have bugs crawl on you?

when the trumpet sounds

jason and i were talking last night about stages in life. one of those stages that i'm always thinking about is child-bearing. given my rocky pregnancy with violet, it's been hard for me to imagine having more kids, even though we want a big family. but as we were talking last night, i realized that i won't be able to do this forever. someday i won't have the opportunity to wake up at 3am and nourish our little baby. that my vision is so short-sighted and IN-THE-NOW. it's still, after being married and having 2 kids, way too ME-centered. far too: eh, i don't want to be huge again. -or- eh, i just got used to eating more than cereal. -or- eh, but i want to play music! i want to write essays! i want to be canadian! (ha!..that's for you, alex/darci).

so funny how music will never embrace me, essays will not spontaneously congratulate me while i'm going to the bathroom ("mommy, i'm so proud of you") or beg me to play with them. they will not be at my birthday parties or at my funeral.

misc.

for mother's day jason gave me a collection of gift cards to different places that i like. so today i went to office depot and picked out some fancy pens and notebooks in honor of back-to-school that doesn't include me. i'm dressing the part. and i love office depot. we got this DVD collection of "arrested development" (the TV show, not that 90's band) and that show is hilarious. it's "royal tennenbaum" TV. thought i'd mention some good music i've heard lately: sufjan steven's "illinoise", maria taylor's new one, and i finally got that janet jackson song "escapade". as DW learned while cruising around wal-mart, janet does shout "minneapolis" in the middle of the song. it's a lovely evening at the easley home--always good when the cardinals are winning. hope you are enjoying life, wherever you are.

ray lamontagne

i caught the 1% productions email. ray lamontagne is playing at the scottish rites hall in omaha on september 17th. anyone up for it? ALSO: orenda fink is opening for the faint on aug. 16th. also, the midgetmen! haha. that one made me laugh. didn't someone mention midgets on saturday night?

please remember me, fondly

i spoke with daphne before she left for romania today. what she said is what i want to say: how many people have friends that would love a night like saturday night? poetry and good music. creaky dundee concrete and cloves. we even forgot to make the chai! it was dreamy.

pic