a little friendly competition never hurt

my friend sarah's girlfriend says that sarah makes the best meatloaf ever.

hey jane and sarah, next time you're in vermont, come on over for mine. it's definitely in the running. plus, you'll get my kick ass parmesan garlic mashed potatoes, some cooked seasonal veggie(s), and homemade caesar salad. you guys bring the wine.

then we'll talk best meatloaf ever awards.

short cuts

today was pajama day at rory's day care in the 2s and 3s room (next door to rory's room). don't you think people would be a little happier if they got to wear their jammies to work every once in a while?

i have a good friend named stacey foster. this is not her website.

track the most popular words on blogs, as well as most popular links

and finally, no more beautiful days in the neighborhood.

darwin awards anyone?

yet another smarty pants try to get something for nothing.

i rule the winter sale racks

so yesterday, i had to wander around hanover for a bit so gnomon had time to finish some training manuals that they were printing up for us. i did the few errands that i needed to get done in downtown hanover, and then had to kill about another half hour. so i did some browsing of stores (and there's not much of that in a 3-block downtown). i decided to go into talbots-a place that i rarely shop in unless i'm desperate for some floral garden-party type of dress. their merchandise is WAY more preppy that i am, and i seldom see or find anything there that i don't think is a little frumpy. little did i know... after making a circuit of the store, i made my way to the sale rack and happened to find velveteen jeans marked down from $70 to $19, as well as lined velvet palazzo-y type pants marked down from $108 to $34. the kicker? they were both petite sizes, so no hemming is necessary.

now most of you guys out there, like my husband, may not understand what a coup this was. brian thought i was completely nuts last night because i could not stop talking about my shopping triumph, or thinking about which pair of pants i was going to wear to work today. most of my girlfriends, i'm sure, will understand the little rush of adrenaline i got when i saw $19 written on that price tag as well as the glee i felt about the entire purchase.

it has to be said that i am really not that much of a 'shopper'. but a good sale find-it's really something, ain't it?

secret obsession

i love steve martin. i used to just think he was kinda weird and goofy, but over the years he's become very attractive to me. for whatever reason, he strikes me as extremely sexy. plus he's funny as hell-which only adds to his appeal. team him up with david letterman, and i might just pass out, since i pretty much feel the same was about dave. and no, despite the clip i've linked below, i don't mean 'team up' in THAT way. jeez, get your minds out of the gutter already.

check out the dave and steve clips at dave's clip page. dave and steve's gay vacation is HILARIOUS.

i could never be a vegetarian

note: if you are a vegetarian, this post will be of absolutely no interest to you

having a bigger kitchen has made me eager to try new recipes. i'm totally getting into cooking because i actually have enough counter space to be able to spread out. so last night, i tried beouf bourguignon (or however you spell it-this isn't the exact recipe i used, but you get the picture), and it was a rousing success. seriously, how can you go wrong with chunks of beef cooked in a pot with a whole bottle of wine (among other things) in a slow oven for 2-3 hours. serve with a little frecnh bread, glass of red wine and a green salad and voila! the beef was super tender and yummy yummy yummy.

i don't think i could ever give up meat. when my body craves protein, it is usually in the form of meat, and i enjoy it way too much.

sore neck?

there's this cool little software that will remind you to stretch while you're sitting at your computer. i can't tell you how many times i've gone home with a sore neck when i've spent too much time doing data entry-this little guy will remind you to stretch at any interval you want, and let you choose the stretches/exercises you want to do. very cool. (you can get a 30-day free trial to try out)

because i just read it and liked it

Nonsense Song by W H Auden

My love is like a red red rose
Or concerts for the blind,
She's like a mutton-chop before
And a rifle-range behind.

Her hair is like a looking-glass,
Her brow is like a bog,
Her eyes are like a flock of sheep
Seen through a London fog.

Her nose is like an Irish jig,
Her mouth is like a 'bus,
Her chin is like a bowl of soup
Shared between all of us.

Her form divine is like a map
Of the United States,
Her foot is like a motor-car
Without its number plates.

No steeple-jack shall part us now
Nor fireman in a frock;
True love could sink a Channel boat
Or knit a baby's sock.

words to live by:

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.
-Erma Bombeck

if you're happy and you know it clap your hands

just checked out the trailer for a mighty wind, brought to you by the folks who did best in show, waiting for guffman and spinal tap. i can't wait for this one to come out.

sun damage

check out the skinnies awards at skinema.com. very amusing, and kind of interesting in a weird sort of way.

time waster

damn mightygirl. she mentions one beaded vintage sweater she saw on ebay, and then i have to spend way too much time going through the vintage sweater listings. i LOVE vintage beaded sweaters. there aren't many vintage shops in the upper connecticut river valley.

heat wave

hooray! the temperature might actually approach, and quite possibly exceed freezing today! get the shorts out!

match made in heaven, match made in hell

do you ever read these? they're great, hilarious, and interesting. they don't seem to have the free daypass available for this particular article. crap. you'll have to subscribe to read the whole thing. but be warned: subscribing may not get you very much...unfortunately, salon.com may not last much longer (end of february?), which would be a HUGE loss for internet magazine readers who want smart, clever and insightful articles along with their news.

if i won big in the powerball lottery, i'd become an investor just to keep them in business so i could read it every morning when i got to work. and subscriptions for all my friends!

grrrrrrr

damnit, mr. president. you just don't GET IT. most of these people protesting war don't think saddam hussein is a complete saint, they just don't believe that war is the only answer, or that you've made a good enough case for war

burning sensations

remember the song 'belly of the whale'?

it popped into my head last night for no particular reason. so today i searched for it on amazon and there is very little. searching on burning sensations or belly of the whale will get you a link to their album, but you can only try to get it used. i was at least hoping for a 80s compilation cd with a few other good NU WAVE numbers on it.

and not even a mention of their album at the tower records website.

i thought you could find ANYTHING on the internet, even sweaters made from doghair. how hard should it be to find one measly out of print 80s tune?

help me obi won kenobi, you're my only hope

new category on census forms: jedi

makes me think of the time we were interviewing people for the front desk at desktop.com and at the end of an interview i asked this one candidate if he had any other things that were not on his resume that he thought people should know and he told me he was a klingon.

the apocalypse is coming....

from hipclicks: Casting has begun for Temptation Island 3. Excuse me while I bang my head with a stapler.

and who would you block?

Thirty-five percent of Americans who were polled said that if Anna Nicole Smith called them at home, they’d have the number blocked so she wouldn’t call again, according to SBC, a company that provides those caller-blocking services. Rock spawn Kelly Osbourne came in second, with 21 percent. . . .

generation gap

it's happened.

i've joined the classic fit/boot cut crowd.

for the longest time, i resisted. couldn't for the life of me understand why people wanted to wear what looked like bell bottoms (which i never really liked). but then i tried a pair. while not the most flattering pants i (or more than a few other folks) could wear, they don't look bad (esp now that i've actually started to get my pre-baby figure back). they aren't quite as drastic as the bell bottoms i remember from junior high, they go well with chunky shoes and boots, and my god, they are comfortable. so now, i want to go out and buy a bunch of pants that i can't really afford right now-especially with property taxes due at the end of the week. i have all these straight legged pants to wear, but i feel so hopelessly out of style when i wear them (even tho i still like the cut). stuck in a fashion dilemma.

from my childhood...

Today is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, born seven miles north of Pepin, Wisconsin (1867). When she was sixty-five, she set about to write her memoirs; Little House in the Big Woods came out in 1932, and it was a resounding success. She wrote Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, and seven more volumes about growing up in pioneer America. (from the writer's almanac)

give me all your money and a salmon fillet with a glass of pinot noir

can you say darwin awards runner up?

movie review

just saw about a boy last night. you know, nick hornby books seem to translate well to the screen. they are about real people with real conversations and problems and references to real things in our (or the UK's) culture, so they don't seem as brain candy-ish as some other films. and who would have thought that hugh grant could have so convincingly played will? anyway, this reviewer gives it a thumbs up.

i got simon burch for tonight. it's based on one of my most favorite books in the whole wide world, a prayer for owen meany by john irving. i hesitated for a long, long time before deciding to see it because i loved the book so much-often that means the movie will be disappointing. but i've heard a few good things about the movie, so i'm will to watch it with and open mind. and then when i get the chance, i'll probably read the book again.

beef. it's what's for cool teenaged girls.

via knowitallgirl, beef is cool!

not going to the national spelling bee

ever have one of those days where you can't do anything right?