An actual post about my home!

So, after a lengthy hiatus (I can't even count how many times people asked me "So how's the house coming along? and I had to sheepishly reply "Uh, it's not. It's the exact same.") we decided to get moving again. It's amazing what a warm weekend does for the drive.  The plan is to do as much demo as we can to get ready for new floors to go in the first floor, so we are going to be removing all the old flooring and.. dun dun DUN - taking out the horrible half wall and prison bars between the kitchen and family room! I seriously HATED this wall, but because it had 2 outlets on it, it wasn't something we could just tear out without help (we know nothing of the mysterious forces that power our cell phone chargers). Here it is, lookit how ugly:

 I never bothered to strip the wallpaper because I knew it was coming down, so it was even uglier.  And the view from the other direction:

 (That's our new bathroom sink sitting there on the family room floor. It's only been sitting there, eh, 5 months?)

First casualty - the bars:

 Brad decided to saw this one then we switched tactics to the old "smash it out with a hammer technique" (I use the term "we" freely). Ha, Brad's face:

 And then they were gone. Brad spent a few minutes trying to convince me that we should just keep the half wall and it would be a good place to set your drink. No, thanks. It would be a good place to set a lot of other crap as well! The main reason I wanted to open this room completely up is because I thought it would be best to have one continuous floor and make the room more versatile - we could put a few tables together to make a looong table for holiday dinners or pull a bunch more chairs in to watch TV for a Superbowl party or something. Can you tell I like parties?

Don't forget your protective eyewear! And your camo hat, redneck!

 Off came the top:

 

And the trim:

 Here's the part where Pat "cool guy" Zim kicked through the wall and his leg went right through and he was just standing there on one leg with the other sticking out of the other side of the wall.  I'm so pissed I don't have a picture of that, but you can see the damage:

 

Turns out some of the boards went right through the floor and were nailed into joists (they didn't mess around in this place) so we have an odd rectangular shaped hole in the floor. Can't wait to see what I drop in there over the next few weeks.

And then she was gone!!!

 

And then Josh and Pat put their butts up in the air, and it was done. YAY! 

 

 We did a little test to see how hard it was going to be to remove the white tile in our kitchen. It's apparently attached to linoleum, which is glued to the sub-floor, so it will probably be a huge pain in the ass.  We will see. It's in good shape, but ugh - it really showcases what a bad housekeeper I am. It always looks so dirty and every little speck of dirt or debris shows up clearly.  I will not be sad to see it go. 

 Meanwhile, I kept going outside just to poke around since it was so warm. Since we moved here toward the end of summer, I haven't seen what springtime plants will be popping up, so it was a fun treasure hunt! I found a bunch of unidentified bulbs coming up in the weird corner bed out near the street:

 

And crocuses! (I think!)

 

Don't know what these are but I like them!

Then I started clearing out the raised beds in the garden. This thing is legit, and seems like it will keep out the critters. It is under a tree though, which IS questionable.  I've never had a real garden, so I'm actually really nerding out over it.

 

Then I went serious hippie shit and went out and bought a tumbling composter (oh, yeah, it's made of 100% recycled plastic. Get off my cloud, man). Yeah I'll probably forget about it in a week. We'll see. I always get overly ambitious with yard shit when we get a few nice days, but I'm hoping that this ridiculously huge property will turn me into a gardener and then I can have garden parties and then I'll use enjoyable yard work as my cardio and I'll be in great shape.  (HHHAAA!)

 

 Speaking of the yard, our nephews came over and we ran around pretending to be bats:

 

And then we burned the wall in the fire. I know you're probably not supposed to burn it cause it was treated or stained or something but I was just not winning that fight. I succeeded in convincing them not to burn the painted wood. Me and my hippie shit.

 

FIN.

All of the emotions that can possibly fit into half an Italian sub

3:45 PM, right before I left work

Brad, text message: Hey, I got you a sub so you don't have to get anything for dinner.
My thoughts: Shit, that's nice. I really like when people buy me sandwiches. I am so relieved because I know we have no food at home. Brad is so thoughtful. I love Brad. Brad's the best. 

4:10, upon arrival at home, opening the fridge:

Me: You dick! This isn't buying me a sub. This is half of your leftover, gross, grocery store, pre-made sub with onions, slathered in mayonnaise. You know I hate everything about this, now I have nothing to eat!  (et cetera).
Brad: You're such a brat. I'm going out for wings with the guys.
Me: I hate everything. I'm hungry and YOU'RE going out for wings?! You're not even HUNGRY! I can't believe you would do this to meeeee!
Brad: Goodbye.
My thoughts: I know I'm over reacting but seriously, trying to make me think he bought this sub for me?! What a phony. He just didn't eat the other half because he was going out and decided he was going to make me think he was doing something thoughtful and it backfired! I see right through your shitty plan! Fuck this! Mayo, gross!! I'm staaarving and there is nothing in this godforsaken house for me to eat! Whatever will I dooooo!!??!

6:30, after forcing myself to take a nap because I was so miserable and angsty about there being nothing I wanted to eat, not wanting to go get something, generally over reacting as I tend to do about food.

Me, text message: Hey Brad, sorry I was a total bitchy spaz. I ripped the guts out of the sub and toasted it on bread and it was delicious and I love you. Sorry.
no reply.
My thoughts: I am such a bitchy spaz. Why do I act like that? This hot, toasted Italian sandwich is the best thing I ever ate. I feel so bad that Brad has to put up with me. I love Brad.

10:00, after meeting up with Brad at a friend's house, drinking a lot and coming back home

Brad: Where's the sub?
Me: What!? I ate it. I sent you a message and told you I did.
Brad: WHAT THE FUCK?! NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO EAT!! AFTER YOU SPAZZED YOU STILL ATE THE FUCKING SUB ANYWAY!? NOW I'M DRUNK AND HUNGRY AND THERE IS NO FOOD!! I WAS COUNTING ON THAT SUB!
ME: FUCK YOU! YOU NEVER READ MY TEXT MESSAGES! I WAS BEING REALLY NICE! I APOLOGIZED AND TOLD YOU I ATE IT AND IT WAS DELICIOUS! AND I SAID I LOVED YOU AND SORRY! BUT NOW I'M TAKING IT BACK!
Brad: FUCK THIS! I AM GOING TO BED. HUNGRY!
My thoughts: The number of emotions this fucking sub has caused is unfuckingbelievable. 

Moral: go to the fucking grocery store once in a while. 

Top Whatever Lists

2012! It's almost over. This year was seriously a great one for me. I don't actually have any problems, which I try not to gloat about (because who wants to hear about how someone else doesn't have any problems? Oh, you? Let's talk!) but I just want to say that I don't take it for granted. My job is the best, my friends are incredible, my husband is super tolerant of my bullshit and is super funny, and I put in place my self-imposed fake "happiness project" which basically involved seeing live music again. And it all added up to a great year. And I've been doing my thang, and meeting some new people, reconnecting with some old friends, and it has made me intensely happy.  2012. Yes, I love you.

So,  I've made some "end of year" lists because any tradition that involves lists is one I can get behind.

TV 
I have not really watched much tv in my adult life, but this year I've been doing some serious catching up and duh!? Tv is much better than it used to be and everyone was right.


5. Boardwalk Empire - terrible characters (seriously, everyone is a bad guy?) but Prohibition era shit gets me and it is exciting to see what people will do when they are solid, selfish evil. Richard Harrow!
4. Girls - celebrating being fucked up and unsuccessful! So honest it makes me cringe.
3. Dexter - I'm not even fully caught up on this show but it's just so smooooth. I even really like the opening credits.  I never thought I could fall in love with a serial killer.
2. Game of Thrones - I avoided this show because I've never really been into fantasy, suspense or you know, dragons.  But I learned that I'm a big nerd and I love it. I named our groundhog Daenerys Targaryen, and that is why I no longer hate wildlife.
1. Homeland - Maybe this is just because I watched both full seasons in 3 days, but I guess that speaks volumes. I literally danced around and made up a song when Brad agreed that we should never go to bed and stay up and watch them all.  I also love Claire Danes and her superhuman facial expressions and this made my day (actually it made me ignore the people I was at the bar with and stare at my phone for 15 minutes, cause I'm polite like that).

2013 - I am looking forward to watching Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Downton Abbey (hopefully losing months of my life watching it all in a row), the return of Game of Thrones. Anyone have them on DVD?


Movies
No, I'm not talking about movies this year. 


Music
I used the very scientific method of choosing my favorite bands of 2012 by looking at my play count, not my heart.  Because I'm heartless.

7. The Tallest Man on Earth - quick, folky, poetic and somewhat nonsensical, it's a feast for mine ears. I like to listen to it when I run, but I'm a weirdo about running music.
6. Dr. Dog - Their newest album, Be The Void, is great and I've spent more time this year exploring their back catalog. No tour dates around here at this time, wah. Crossing my fingers for this summer.
5. Good Old War - Early 2012 saw a serious GOW addiction and a few really fun shows.
4. The Civil Wars - I am not usually a big fan of a female voice (with Ali Wadsworth and Leslie Feist being the main exceptions for many moons) but Joy Williams has one of those voices that stabs me straight in the heart and makes the back of my neck tingle. Chills. I know this is from last year.
3. Toy Soldiers - I think I may have seen them more than any other band this year. Their live shows are high-energy fun times. Plus, they come to Lancaster a LOT, which brings me lots of joy!

2. Jack White - a perennial favorite. Blunderbuss delivers. I've still never seen JW live, sigh.

1. The Districts - Best find of the year, hands down. I found that I have listened to one song 108 times. People have been making fun of me for liking them so much, but I have no shame and make no apologies.  I've seen them live 6 times in the past 3 months and can't wait to see them again. Their singer, a 17 year-old kid that you might want to take home in your pocket, has another one of those chills-down-the-spine voices, but big and strong when it should be. 

Looking forward to in 2013:  The Toy Soldiers new album, conversion of Tellus360 into a cool, new music venue for my friendly town, lots of Districts shows before they move to the big city or go on tour far, far away from here.

Things I didn't like in 2012

This list is not going to make any sense, because some of this shit isn't even from 2012.
5. The Wire - Brad and I tried to watch this and totally couldn't get into it. I KNOW?! Da fuck? Everyone says this show is the shit and I couldn't even make myself pay attention. Tell me if I should keep trying. I watched 9 episodes of season 1 so far.
4. Photo sessions - I quit them. I love the people and catching up with people was actually really fulfilling, but it all just became too much with work, school and my laziness. Maybe I will do them again, but for now, I'm happy just taking pictures of bands and parties and editing when I feel like it (or when I'm drunk. It's actually fun for me to drunk edit, what a loser). I don't actually "not like" them, I was just feeling overwhelmed and am incredibly relieved to have some real days off. 
3. Twilight, The Hobbit, get the fuck out of here.
2. My braces - another thing I don't really hate but will be happy to be rid of! Though I will miss asking people if I have food in my teeth when I have a shitton of food in my teeth and being immature (jk, immaturity for life.)
1. Semi-automatic weapons. Any weapons, really.

Things I liked in 2012

5 -  My job. I know. Obnoxious. But my co-workers are awesome and my students are seriously great this year and I cannot believe how lucky I am to have found something I like and am good at that gives me money and liberal time off. 
4 - Twitter.  I know. You might think I'm lame-o, but there are a lot of funny people on there.If you do it Jocelyn Plums, Josh Gondelman and Brendan OHare make me laugh so much and it is odd/awesome that some people's exact skill set is consistently making funny, inappropriate jokes at 140 characters or less, but it works. I'm way less productive because now I have way less time for boredom!
3 - My new house - We now have reliable heat, central air conditioning, a monster yard for super parties, a killer 80's basement with my precious jukebox, Lititz is really a perfect little town and I'm all "Kumbaya, in the middle of our street, our house".
2 - Seeing my friends all the time. There have been years where I would only see people every month or two and that SUCKS. Due to showers, bachelorettes, weddings, 30th birthdays, etc... I've spent more time with my friends this year than any year in recent memory and I've loved it. I also decided that I do not care at all about the drive to Philly because it's a great excuse to buy a new album and listen to it alone, on repeat if needed, and quench my thirst for something new. I enjoy the drive (except that time when I lost my car in south philly and me and rose had to walk around looking for it playing Dude, Where's my Car, and then there was flooding on all the on-ramps to the highways so I drove around in the city for two hours before I could get out. That was just last week but it was awful!)
1 - My pretend happiness project. My word to the wise (Shouldn't it be "word from the wise"? or maybe "Word to the unwise"?) is to think about the thing that makes you happiest, (art, music, writing or RPG or remote control cars or something) and figure out why you're not doing it (I mean, if you're not doing it). My favorite, favorite thing -boating- well, I don't have a boat or the money to do that so it was pretty clear why it wasn't happening. But after that, what I love and makes me giddy is live music. There was no good reason I wasn't doing it, other than no one around me was doing it and I wasn't putting in the effort to find the bands I wanted to go see and just going. So I changed it, and couldn't be happier about that. I will make no apologies about making the effort to do the thing that makes me happy, cause I only have this one life, ya know? As long as the thing you want to do isn't serial killing or crystal meth, I guess. My theory doesn't work for everyone.
Blastoff - You.

Any suggestions for things I should watch, listen to, do, etc... ?  Me and a friend have a new secret (not really secret) internet project in the works and someday I'll let you in on it. It's gonna be good. We have some work ahead of us! Happy 2013 and thanks for reading all this!

About the braces (with grotesque pics)

SO. I have braces. Not those clear, barely detectable totally adult in.vis.a.lign braces that only your closest friends know you have. No. I have metal mouth, tinsel teeth, train tracks, incredibly visible, hideous budget braces. This fact makes me 100% sure you already knew this.

(don't get me started about the grammar issue with this picture. I did not make it.)

But why?

My dentist suggested when I was young that I should have braces and my mom immediately dismissed it.  I know my teeth were never really terrible, but someone who shall remain nameless called me "dinosaur teeth" and they are jacked and I've always disliked them.  So when Brad's new insurance had adult orthodontic coverage I was all "mmmyup".

I am actually as surprised as anyone, to be honest. Brad mentioned that I could get braces if I wanted, mentioned it again a week later, (which I use as my argument that he wanted me to get them. Why mention it on two different occasions? I did it for YOU!) my coworker who has the same insurance told me the name of the place that her kids go.  I called on a Monday and had the braces by Friday.  Wham!

He thinks I look like a seventh grader and I don't really disagree.  The clear ones were about 4 grand more and would taken double the time (I should have these for 12 to 18 months, and the clear would have been 3 years! no thanks!), so I didn't really think that was an option. I kinda liked the idea of having a badass attitude and not giving a shit about a mouthful of metal.  My adult braces comrades promised me I wouldn't regret them.

At first, I was really excited, then they fucking stabbed the shit out of my mouth and I was fairly regretful, then I couldn't eat shit because my teeth were all loose and lost 7 pounds in 10 days so I was excited again (that didn't last - don't get too excited about braces as a weight loss strategy)!  They don't hurt or really bother me anymore. Unless I'm talking to someone I don't really know and then I'm embarrassed, even though I tell myself not to be and I have nothing to be ashamed of.  They are just ugly. I had convinced myself that in my life I'm not really trying to impress people, but I guess that's just not completely true. Also, food gets stuck in them, I think my teeth look super yellow (maybe because I constantly drink coffee, iced tea, diet coke and smoke), and I spit when I talk!  You've been warned.  

So this is true:

Now for some grotesque before pictures so you can see how jacked they were/are. You probably don't want to see this, but here ya go anyways! You are warned! Look away! I can't believe I'm posting these! (Moira, you told me to take these and never show a soul why would I not talk your advice?!)

 

And this is what they look like now, 9 weeks later:

A little less jacked! I'll report back! So sorry you decided to see this!

'Tis the season (uh, you mean It's the Season?)

I don't love Christmas.  Neither does Brad.  We like the actual day, to be honest. We don't see or talk to anyone and don't do anything. We don't even give each other gifts, we don't listen to Christmas music or have a Christmas tree.  It's a day to spend quality time with our laptops, couches, coffee, maybe watch some TV and drink if we feel like it. It's good.

But I am a little jealous of the people who are bursting at the seams with joy at the thought of the season: people that get all starry eyed at putting up the tree, love the lights, the decorations, the singing, the wrapping, the cheesiness, the MAGIC {jazz hands}.  I guess it's somehow related to being an atheist (seeing as it's generally celebrated as a Jesus birthday party [though it is historically a secular holiday. Oh, I will not be getting into that here. But if you want to know more about my heathen beliefs: FisheswithFeet]) but I think there's something more than that for most people.  I loved it when I was a kid, and I was (unknowingly) an atheist then, as well. I guess it was just the presents and I was a greedy little punk?  And now that I live a life where I pretty much buy myself whatever shit I want I'm just a lazy little punk? Oh, this is a bit more of a depressing character sketch than I'd considered.

Anyhow, I'm hoping that when I have kids someday I will feel a little bit of that magic again, and maybe won't hate the thought of needing to buy gifts, and you know, do a lot of shit and then clean up a lot of shit afterwards (sidenote: I still haven't put all the halloween decorations away and will probably leave that sweet life-size zombie family poster in my garage forever).

I appear to be painting myself in a terrible light here. Part of my holiday indifference is that I really appreciate thoughtful gifts and generally fail at procuring and distributing said thoughtful gifts in a timely manner for Christmas so I'm disappointed in myself and the stupid Onion book and Phillies hat I buy Brad every year (in my defense, he always wears it and manages to lose it before the next Christmas) (Also, I bought the same Phillies hat for my boyfriend during college, which takes it to the next level of uncreative) (non-creative?) (Oh mah gah with the parentheses, I think I need parentheses rehab).  I feel guilty when I get thoughtful gifts and annoyed when I get shitty gifts* and also, don't care.

There was one year that we got a tree and had a little spirit. 2006. Here is some fantastic evidence:

Anyway, here is the list of what is going to be putting the joy in my heart during the most wonderful time of the year, this year:

• 3 weeks off from work ( I KNOW! I'M SORRY! I HATE ME TOO!)
• Watching a shitload of The Wire
• Good Old War at the TLA
• finishing up this ABA1 class (it's not horrible but enough already, school addiction.)
• The Districts at Tellus 360 (fuckin yeah! Dec 21st! You should come! And sleep over my house!)
• Not going to see the fucking Nutcracker at The Academy of Music (my mother's strange addiction, so boring the 11th time and every time after that)
• Christmas Eve Eve where all the coolest people gather to get kicked out of McGillan's and like it. 
• Laying on my ass and day drinking on Christmas. 

So I'm going to accept that as enough. We're not getting a Christmas tree or decorating our house (our new neighborhood is realllly Christmased up, so we're going to try and ruin it for everyone).  I might play a few She & Him Christmas songs if I need motivation to clean my kitchen if people are coming over.  That's my holiday spirit and I'm sticking to it. 


*Once my mother bought me a boat when I was a sophomore in college, living in (landlocked!) State College.  Yes, I said boat.  A really, really old mustard colored boat that got passed by a sailboat the one time we took it out.  That I couldn't tow and had nowhere to store.  Also, I didn't even have a car at the time.  And one year she bought my sister a full set of living room furniture and I got a pair of $30 boots from Target and her response was "It's not your year".  The boat year had apparently been "my year". Christmas has always been different for me, but it makes a good story, so I'm not complaining!  Oh, Linda, keepin' it fresh.

I don't mind your cussin'

I've had a rough day. I hate vague posts as much as anyone, but let's suffice to say that I'm fine but some people close to me are dealing with some heavy, heavy shit and I've got that pit in my stomach and feel powerless and sick.  Way to cut to the heart of Thanksgiving, cruel world.  It's a terrible way to really feel the gratitude for everything you have. 

Now for something completely different, my mom brought a 4Loko to work with her on her first day of work at her new job! Go, Linda!

She thought it was an energy drink that my cousin had left in her fridge and pulled it out at lunchtime. Thankfully she noticed that it said 12% alcohol written on the label before cracking it open.  I mean, honestly,  it would have made a much better story if she drank it, but I AM glad for her sake, as I'm not (totally) a monster.  She then proceeded to show her boss and (again, thankfully) "it made her day".  I'm glad the boss had a sense of humor about it, cause that kiiinda could have gone either way!  When she got to my sister's for dinner that night she wanted to crack it open and drink it, but to a woman who usually drinks 1 (that's ONE) wine cooler, I told her it would probably land her in the hospital and she backed away from the Loko. I can not imagine what she would be like on that juice, as she is an absolute lunatic sober. That shizz is Loko!


Update on my mini-addictions:

• We have fully caught up on Boardwalk Empire. If you want to commiserate and sob with me about the cruelty of the Boardwalk gods, I am game. Also, I know this is sacrilege for most, but 8 episodes into The Wire and Brad and I aren't really loving it. I have faith that the love will come, but Brad does not.  What to do?
• I have replaced my Chinese food addiction with Thanksgiving leftovers but will probably retreat as soon as they are gone. After mentioning my constant desire for Chinese food to my sister, I found out that she has also been really into potstickers in recent weeks. Could this and our mutual dislike of saxophones be genetic? Really?
• I have started adding back in some other music to my rotation. Ok, so mostly I have just been watching this YouTube video on repeat. Oh, to be able to write a song like that. It's perfection.
• The pants addiction is as strong as ever. Stretchy black pants forever. Why don't I just marry them?

 Well, I guess that's it for today.  I had a lovely Thanksgiving and have a big wedding coming up next week for some of our favorite, favorite peeps.  Also, a shit ton of school work due, which probably means I'll spend an inordinate amount of time on facebook and twitter.  God, it's an exciting day-to-day existence. I use the word peeps like it's nothin'.

 Love y'all.

Smelly Pirate Hooker (with pictures!)

I had a super awesome weekend and just wanted to relive it as I edited up these pictures. So here you go! Warning: it's long and probably boring!


We went out Friday for one of our good friend's birthday, and somehow I got incredibly lucky to find that the thing he wanted to do was... go to the Elks Club to see one of MY favorite bands. Sometimes things just work out really nicely.  It was a hilariously eclectic crowd - a mixture of old people from the Elks that came up from downstairs to dance, your run-of-the-mill Lancaster hipsters, and a gaggle of hippies (Frogholler was playing after) including the tallest hippie I have ever seen.  Focusing on people's physical differences isn't really cool, but this was a 7 foot hippie with 4 foot dreadlocks. He was amazing! I hope I see him again someday!

I fell into my being old patterns of being a weirdo at shows, awkwardly ignoring people I'm with (and then awkwardly apologizing), accosting band members just to tell them I like their music (as if they wouldn't know by you know, ya know, my presence), being shy and mumbly mouthed when I talk to people that I approach. I have no idea. Insert additional awkward apology here.

Anyway, I had a conversation with Brad about my photography and what I want to do, I realized that one thing I'd like to try is to take pictures at concerts (which is kinda missing the point of music, but whatever) and he asked how I'm going to make money doing that, and I replied that I don't want to make money doing that. I just want to do it. Epiphany. I'm still timid to walk up to the stage but I it's getting a little better.  I took some pictures at the Elks but I had my settings effed up so I only got one that I like. Toy Soldiers was awesome as usual.

  

Saturday:
Maggie and Paul are engaged! These lovable weirdos have been together for 10 years. And no one else could be right for either of them.  He proposed in the afternoon, then they went to dinner with their families and then there was a surprise party for Maggie with a million friends and family members. I'm guessing it was 50 or 60 people.   It was the best surprised reaction I have ever seen and these pictures are horribly blurry, but they capture the emotion. Everyone was really happy.

And Paul's mom gave Maggie a wrist corsage and that pretty much made my life.


Sunday we got up super early to cheer for our Meatball and Mory (that's Moira and Cory) running the Philly half marathon. They were awesome! After getting there 45 minutes early and being super anxious to see them, I got one picture and didn't even see Mo and Cory at all, even though they were all together.  Fail. Julie was adorably teary eyed, Laura was a GREAT cheerleader (I had no voice from smoking too many cigarettes the night before. Not only could I not RUN like that, I couldn't even make noises. Loser.) and the family standing next to us with pots and pans for their little kids to bang was one of the most precious things I've ever seen. I liked it a lot.

Go Meatball! Great job Mo and Cory! Cory has an awesome blog over here. Sometimes I need to read the entries 5 or 6 times before I "get it", but once I found a typo in his blog which made me feel less inferior.


Later, I went to my very first Friendsgiving, which was just as cozy and cheery as I imagined a Friendsgiving should be.  Our friend Jimmy hosted and made a Turducken. It was a day of firsts!  He also made the most delicious gravy I have ever eaten and I never thought I would have such strong feelings for a gravy but I just can't get you off of my mind, Brown Gravy. Do you think about me?

Also, I ate the cutest and most delicious pumpkin pie with tiny fall shapes on the crust. Steph made it from a pumpkin that Jeff grew with his students.  Could you make me feel any less put together, you two!? Oh, you want to give me some of your delicious pie with apricot jam brushed on the crust and a tablespoon of cornstarch to help it keep it's shape (how would you know that?) and homemade whipped cream, IGUESSTHATMAKESUPFORIT. KIND OF.  nom.

All the food was so delicious and my contribution of a bottle of wine that I took from Julie's house was much appreciate by myself, as I'm the one that drank it. What an awesome guest.  In my defense, I didn't know about it until late the night before or I would have made some effort.  I bet? The hospitality and "big belly blues" were much appreciated.




Sunday night Brad and I went to a cool, local place called Tellus360 for a show (Andrew Combs and Angel Snow). I've wanted to go there for a while and it was glad to finally get it together and go. The setting was unique - dark, quiet and intimate with a super attentive audience.  The stage, lighting, and performers were beautiful and I got some lovely pictures. I especially liked Andrew Combs' song E-M-I-L-Y (and was thrilled to sing it obnoxiously at Brad, who was grumpy and annoyed with me at that precise moment. Torturing him is my bag! I am also thrilled that he doesn't read mah blog!). I took a little video of it but am too lazy right now to post it. Later, I promise.

Gorgeous, right?  My favorite band, The Districts, will be playing there on Dec 21st, and I am super, super psyched for that! If you are alive, you should go, not cause it's free but because it's going to be sick. But it is free. Word.

In sympathy,
Bremily