Chicago, California

Yuletide Carols

2011-12-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas music is polarizing. It's one of those things people either love or hate. Like sushi, Nancy Drew or the Lakers. I don't love Christmas music enough to listen to it prior to December 1st, but once the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...IT'S ON! And for years I have firmly believed that Baby It's Cold Outside is the greatest of yuletide carols.

The lyrics include: "I ought to say no, no, no sir/Mind if I move a little closer", "The neighbors might think/Baby it's bad out there/Say what's in this drink?", "Man your lips look so delicious", "There's bound to be talk tomorrow/at least there will be plenty implied" and "Baby don't hold out/Ahhh but it's cold outside". Sexmas, anyone? And if we blame it on the a-a-a-a-a alcohol and bad weather we might still make the Nice List.

Some versions include spoken commentary between the verses making the song more like a play or short dinner theater. Lines like: "Make it worth your while baby. Ahh, do that again..."

The major reason it tops the list though has more to do with the pairings. The song was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser, who originally sung it with his wife. But over the years it seems most of the duets are sung by young girls and much older men. Here are 4 of my favorite parings:

{Okay, okay I realize Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart are peers, but it's still hilarious}

Have yourself a pervy little Christmas now!

Playlist Highlights
Santa Baby                                                 Kylie Minogue
Merry Christmas, Baby                             Elvis Presley
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus           Jackson 5
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)    Michael Buble
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Neil Diamond
Last Christmas Wham!

Snowpocalypse!

2011-11-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

Nine months ago today there was blizzard in Chicago. 20 inches+ of snow. Fox News called Labor and Delivery today inquiring about spikes in the birth rate that could be attributed to the storm. Apparently while most of us were shoveling driveways and looking into purchasing snow plows a few people were listening to Al Green and Marvin Gaye and gettin' it on and stayin' together and all that. Currently I hate those people. And the birth rate spike. November is historically a mellow month in the obstetric world. Not so in 2011! Thanks, blizzard. Thanks, 11/1/11. Thanks, 11/11/11.
In an effort to thwart karma and avoid becoming fortune's fool as a result of my grumbling and lamenting I will now list four rad things about November 2nd:

Brand new pillows. Extra firm. Authentic down. Legit. Pure love. I look forward to not needing Ambien tonight. {Thanks, mum!}

Two months post pre-ordering on Amazon this finally arrived. Ryan Gosling in all his airbrushed sexiness.

She & Him Christmas album. Nuff said.

Returned Game of Thrones to the library and picked up this. In a very atypical {for me} fashion I saw the movie trailer and was intrigued. "Redefined the spy novel." Thems fightin' words.

Doctor's Orders

2011-10-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

Post 3 1/2 day mini break in California I got sick. I swear as soon as the plane touched the tarmac at O'Hare my head started pounding and the lymph nodes started paining. After suffering through two days of work one of the OBGYNs prescribed a z-pak and I called off work. My uber productive sick day involved 1.5 viewings of the new Jane Eyre, drinking excessive amounts of Naked Mighty Mango juice, sleeping, working on medical terminology homework and catching up on my television shows. I also spent a copious amount on my Mac and online. Upsides: Updated the iPhone to iOS 5, purchased the Season 4 finale of Breaking Bad, cleaned up my Inbox, saw a 'I'm a Mormon' video while watching Parks and Rec on Hulu, and synced my BodyMedia Fit. Downsides: two status updates on Facebook in less than 8 hours, and spent more than 4 minutes on the E! website reading about Kim Kardashian's birthday plans, and realized my blog has been relegated to position of red-headed stepchild these last five months in lieu of the quicker, sexier Instagram.
As a bonus realization I discovered that colds amplify the way emotions sound. Especially crying and colds. Everything sounds so much more pathetic, spilt milk sad, end of the world sad, 5150 sad, Jane leaving Rochester sad. Whilst I don't want to delve into the reasons for aforementioned crying I do want to talk about Dr. Suess. And not so much talk as quote.

"Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you."

But I am ready for the Boom Bands to start playing. And the Hakken-Kraks to stop howling. And my nose to stop running.

Playlist Highlights
Nightcall                                             Kavinsky
Money                                                The Drums
I Would Do Anything For You           Foster the People
Lion's Share                                       Wild Beasts
Pain In My Heart                               Otis Redding
Emergency Exit                                 Beck

Easy Access

2011-05-10T19:24:00.001-05:00

Netflix is occasionally the best thing that ever happened to me. Especially since my Sony Blu-Ray player and Netflix are BFF and I can stream movies directly to my television. Pure love. Last weekend I re-watched the entire series of My So-Called Life. There was only one season. 19 episodes. So it was NBD and not nearly as pathetic as it sounds. In those 19 episodes Angela Chase {Claire Danes} must have worn at least as many pairs of overalls. Jean, maroon, long, short, corduroy. No boy as hot as Jordan Catalano {Jared Leto} would ever date a girl so fanatically devoted to such a hideous article of clothing. Even if he were willing to overlook the plethora of plaid and sunflowers. I am fairly certain overalls repulse all men, including rapists. Even Sex and the City could not make overalls sexy. Overalls are for train conductors, painters, carpenters and toddlers not hot women. Consequently I laughed heartily, reflected on my own overall wearing days and enjoyed the early 90s flashback. Imagine my shock and disgust when I saw this whilst watching the "Rumors" episode of Glee on Hulu this morning:

Vomit in a bucket. These cannot be making a comeback. Please do not let summer 2011 be the Summer of Overalls. Ryan Murphy what were you thinking? Not even gorgeous Naya Rivera can make this work. Somewhere Anna Wintour is sobbing.
Playlist Highlights
Night Moves              Bob Segar
Houses of the Holy    Led Zeppelin
Sherry                              Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
The Chain                        Fleetwood Mac
The Midnight Special      Creedence Clearwater Revival
Beast of Burden              The Rolling Stones

I Wish They All Could Be California Girls

2011-04-28T14:23:00.001-05:00

Sixteen months. I have been in Chi Town and out of California for sixteen months. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Time flies when you're....well whatever. My car registration was set to expire this month and I had to make a decision about re-registering in California or transferring my title and registration to Illinois. This is Jezebel's last year as a road worthy vehicle and she will be retiring when I leave the Midwest for PA school. After calling the DMV in California and discovering my 2011-2012 registration fees were going to be in excess of $300 and that they wanted an emissions test it was an elementary decision, my dear Watson. {$200 of it was in bogus unpaid parking violations to the City of Huntington Beach. Veird that those didn't show up when I was registering last year. Governor Brown is getting desperate}. After a painless 20 minutes at the DMV at 7AM this morning {that's right, twenty minutes} we went from this to this:

An official Midwest Farmer's Daughter. But I don't know that anybody drove away from that DMV feeling all right. Switching out the plates was fairly bittersweet actually. To compensate I wore sandals and shorts to accomplish the task despite the 40 degree weather. Similar to going from this to this:

But it's just how I do. Chicago to California. An established pattern. Born in Chicago actually. A Chicagoan based on technicality. But raised on the Best Coast since my sixth birthday. {After a brief two year stint in Dallas. Maybe I'll go to PA school in Texas just to really solidify the symmetry}. What is that stupid shirt Texans have? American by birth, Texan by the grace of God. I much prefer Chicagoan by birth, Californian by the grace of God. Put that on your shirt and smoke it. From this to this:

In addition to the Department of Motor Vehicles this morning I also had the great pleasure of going to the dentist. Add a trip to the gynecologist and you have yourself a five-star day. Although for me the dentist has always been a nice self esteem boost. I have a nice set. Of teeth. Eyes up here, please! It was a glorious 45 minutes of being complimented on my smile and the brilliant {nearly} natural white color of my chompers. Leaving my appointment I remembered a conversation I had with one of the OBGYNs I work with. He is a male. And was making the point that as a male OB you cannot ever tell a patient that everything "looks good" post va-jay-jay exam, you have to say "looks healthy". So your patients don't think you're a pervert. Or hitting on them. Dentists have it so much easier.

The Vegan/Vegetarian research is going well, if you must know. Currently reading and loving three books. And I had this delicious avocado, tomato and hummus sandwich for lunch. With a big glass of water. It was delectable.

There was also a quick stop at Target. Where the gentleman working the electronics department made it very difficult for me to make eye contact. And forced me to reevaluate the wide berth I give my love of facial hair. Never have I wanted to snap a photo so badly and text it to everybody in my phone. He had a Rocky Horror style skullet and unfriendly mutton chops. I say unfriendly because friendly mutton chops require a moustache and he did not have one. Add the following two pictures in your mind and you'll have a general idea what I was working with:

Playlist Highlights

Excuses The Morning Benders

Gangsta Tune-Yards

Floating Vibes Surfer Blood

Friendly Ghost Harlem

Collector Here We Go Magic

Dystopia Yacht

Vegan, Vegan bo-beagan

2011-04-24T17:07:00.001-05:00

6+ months ago I read this book. Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my favorite authors and I was interested to read his take on the whole raw-vegan food movement. While I was {and am} appalled I really didn't make any changes to my eating habits. The animal cruelty factor is vomit inducing, however I was really more taken with the environmental impact of our dietary habits as a meat eating society than the moral issues. Equally alarming was the link between factory farming and human illness. As a science gal and future health care provider I was appalled. But continued to enjoy In N Out Cheeseburgers {Animal Style}, fish tacos and Chicago style hot dogs. Since turning 29 last week though it seems my body has decided to hate me. And all food. Developing gluten intolerance and celiac disease in ones late twenties seems to be all the rage these days. I refuse to put that label on my particular problem, but have decided maybe it's time to reevaluate my current diet. I may or may not have 3-5 books on hold at my local library about Vegetarian and Veganism. This might be happening, people.

Playlist Highlights
You Are The Best Thing         Ray LaMontagne
Let It Be Me                                 Ray LaMontagne
Empty                                         Ray LaMontagne
Shelter                                          Ray LaMontagne
Jolene                                           Ray LaMontagne
Old Before Your Time                   Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs

Pumalicious

2011-04-21T13:32:00.003-05:00

I like old dudes. People Magazine can keep Ryan Reynolds. I think Jeff Bridges is The Sexiest Man Alive. And not even young Starman Jeff Bridges. Preferably Crazy Heart Bridges, True Grit Bridges. The Dude reigns supreme. In actual life being hit on by a 60 year old would probably disgust me and I stick more to the Franco-Brolin age range. {33-43 for the layperson}. The large percentage of males I have dated and "dated" since reaching the Mormon age of date-abilty at 16 have been four to six years my senior. Maybe it's the whole "women mature faster than men" thing. Maybe the worldliness and power factor. Or maybe it's just a facial hair factor. They are MEN. I want to be with the Manther more than I want to be the Cougar {or Puma since I'm not 40+}. However, the older I get the more fresh young things seem to clamor for my attention. Unlike Michael Jackson I don't want to love you pretty young thing. Sometimes in desperation or boredom I have caved and become a reluctant Puma. Ridiculousness ensues every time. Once my prey of the moment was forced to put on a loaner t-shirt at a bar because his DVS jersey tanktop was deemed inappropriate dress. {At a bar where on a non-Halloween night the dance floor was swarmed by pirates, complete with parrot}. Currently I have piqued the interest of a Jersey Shore loving, minor league football player at work named Vince. Yes, Vince. I've had to consult Google multiple times in the last 24 hours to translate his texts. LOL. IDK. JW. WTF is what I have to say to that. It's gurl not girl. Gonna not gunna. Shoot me in the face.

Playlist Highlights
Grown Ocean             Fleet Foxes
Please Be It        Generationals
Cold War                         The Morning Benders
You Yes You                      Tune-Yards
Sound and Vision             David Bowie
You Said Something         PJ Harvey

**And I am stoked about this: Jeff Bridges Record Deal**

One Thing Very Dull Indeed

2011-04-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

There is a line from Jane Austen's Emma that reads "...and she only demands from each of you either one thing very clever, be it prose or verse, original or repeated-or two things moderately clever-or three things very dull indeed." I'm ashamed to admit not only do I not have one very clever thing to write about today, but I don't have three very dull things to write about either. Just one very dull thing. PTO requests for work have to be made months in advance and back in January I was planning to celebrate my 29th birthday in Indio, California at Coachella. However, between exams at college and rising oil prices due to the political unrest in Libya and Egypt and booking an eight day Caribbean cruise for May, California just wasn't feasible. Thus I ended up with a welcome but slightly unnecessary 4 day hiatus from work. Most of the morning has been spent sleeping in, watching a Yahoo video about a 7-year-old that just had cosmetic surgery to "ward off bullies", eating frozen Thin Mints for breakfast, starting Tron: Legacy and cleaning my room. At the end of a busy week my room has a tendency to look like it was hit by Charlie Sheen's Tornado of Truth. Minus the hookers and blow. As I was putting away my shoes I realized I've essentially been purchasing the same pair for nearly a decade. Five inch wedges. Occasionally heels. Sometimes espadrilles. Always sandals. Do I need an intervention? Consider this a cry for help.

Playlist Highlights:
He Gets Me High Dum Dum Girls
Alice Practice Crystal Castles
VCR The xx
Norway Beach House
Time To Get Away LCD Soundsystem
Texico Bitches Broken Social Scene

Staying Classy

2011-04-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

This is Jezebel. Jezebel is my 1994 Geo Prizm. We got Jezebel when I was twelve years old. And she became 'mine' when I turned 16. It was then she was endowed with her name (we were studying the Old Testament in Seminary at the time). Prior to that she was Dad's Geo or The Geo or the blue car. With Jezebel I mastered the art of driving stick shift and then the greater art of driving one handed while eating (mainly In N Out). We went to the beach and swim practice and water polo practice and school and life guarding and to concerts and friends' houses. We nearly got a speeding ticket. We listening to alotta rad music. And we car danced. And then I left for college. Jezebel stayed behind in California and then moved to Chicago with the family. When I would come home in the summers Jezebel and I would have a fling after which I would head back to Utah. When I graduated she was still here. My parent's officially bequeathed her to me, title and all, before I moved to back California in 2007.

Just a few weeks ago Jez hit 200,000. After nearly 18 years. And 3 trips cross country. Her years near the beach and in the snow have made her a bit rusty. Literally. But still running fair to strong. With the exception of one little thing...the speaker on the driver's side in totally blown and the passenger side speaker more or less blown. I am a music-lover. An enthusiast. An aficionado, if you will. Something had to be done. Check out the classy set up we have going:

iPod Classic (circa 2005) and an Altec Orbit Ultraportable speaker riding shotgun. On occasion the iPod is replaced by the iPhone in order to stream Pandora or SiriusXM satellite radio. As Paris Hilton would have said in 2005 "That's Hot."

(Special thanks to my uber rad friend Monti for inadvertently providing the speaker)

Playlist Highlights:
Jezebel Iron & Wine
Reptilia The Strokes
French Navy Camera Obscura
Wildcat Ratatat
Wires and Waves Rilo Kiley
Don't Turn The Lights On Chromeo

What Is Pine Valley, Pennsylvania?

2011-04-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

I love Jeopardy. Love. I have been known to TiVo it. I will watch it anywhere, with anyone. Jeopardy is my Green Eggs and Ham. I would watch it in a boat. I would watch it with a goat. I would watch it in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. You get the idea. Partially this love is for the adrenaline rush of feeling intelligent. But most of it is for Alex Trebek, let's be honest. I prefer him moustached, but dago moustache or no I love to watch him work. We can talk First Name's The Same, Potent Potables or Copping Out At The Movies anytime.

With the exception of one summer when Sunset Beach was still airing on NBC I've never fancied daytime soap operas. Daytime is an important qualifier here because I've been watching Grey's Anatomy for all seven of it's seasons and quite enjoyed Friday Night Lights and Felicity. Recently, however, the volume of hours I spend in the gym has increased. As a member of Lifetime Fitness I enjoy the highest gym fees and crappiest treadmill television of my life. At 24 Hour Fitness I could look out over the basketball courts or free weight area. And anybody that's seen Anchorman knows there's nothing hotter than a guy sculpting his guns. At Gold's Gym each piece of cardio equipment had an individual television screen. Lifetime offers me Judge Judy, CNN, Fox News, and soaps. All in closed captioning, of course. Last week I attempted to stream Netflix to my iPhone and watch Zombieland during my daily 10K. It was rough. Holding a phone, doing hill intervals and keeping one's heart rate elevated are a threesome I'll not be repeating soon.

Unfortunately, the air time for Jeopardy and my gym workouts don't always mesh. I'm pretty sure it's a conspiracy. All My Children must be paying Lifetime Fitness a stipend. Maybe the doctors on General Hospital are offering free medical care to the trainers? All I know is even if I could keep track of all the secret love children, murder plots, mysterious strangers and cliffhangers how am I ever supposed to tell any of the characters apart?!

Playlist Highlights:
Muscle Museum Muse
Set You Free The Black Keys
I Think I Like You Donora
Ten-Twenty-Ten Generationals
Don't You Evah Spoon
Black & Blue Miike Snow

Food Porn

2011-03-29T18:37:00.002-05:00

It's Spring Break. As a real adult this is kind of an oxymoron. And with 29 looming a mere 18 days away I am unfortunately a real adult. That's the reality of it, people. The only way adults get spring break is to become eternal students or have kids. Currently I'm single and applying to PA school so I guess we all know which route I'm taking. However, graduate school unfortunately requires Statistics and PA school requires Organic Chemistry forcing me to enroll in community college part-time. It is not as glamorous as Joel McHale makes it out to be. Curse you Jeff Winger! Irregardless it's still Spring Break. As responsible said real adult I nevertheless still have work. On the upside I work in a hospital. 12 hour days. Three days a week. Leaving Tuesday and Thursday entirely open to indulge my every whim. Normally this would involve alotta sunshine and tanning oil and Diet Coke and Klosterman and a rad indie soundtrack. But alas, I am still in Chicago. A Chicago currently in the throes of an uncharacteristically cold March. Today's high was 40 degrees. To compensate I spent some quality time in the tanning bed and made coconut cupcakes. Behold! If I can't have a vacation at least my mouth can. Not one to keep my culinary endeavors to myself I promptly sent this photo to several friends. At which point I realized I have unnatural volume of food pictures saved in my iPhone. The majority of which are things I made. Primarily cupcakes. D-Cups, if you will. Which seems awfully narcissistic and ironically perfect for blogging about. There was one can of Diet Coke and a rad indie soundtrack involved in Un Dia of Spring Break 2011. The guilt over baking and then photographing these miraculous cupcakes drove me into a major sweat-a-thon in the gym. Welcome to bikini season.

Playlist highlights:
Living in America Dom
Under Cover of Darkness The Strokes
When They Fight, They Fight Generationals
O.N.E Yeasayer
Bizness Tune-Yards

**Blog Post Dedicated to WJM**

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-a, Wipeout

2010-03-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

If you're thinking the title of this blog makes no sense I invite you to pause for a moment. Click on iTunes and in the 'SEARCH' box type Wipe Out. The 1963 surf anthem by the Sufaris. Press play and continue reading. Today in Chi-Town it was 76 degrees and breezy. Spring has sprung and apparently in my boredom I am sprung on cycling. Because it seems like exercise and involves some degree of work it alleviates a portion of the guilt I feel for doing absolutely nothing else. Goals for today's Passionate Pedal included riding harder, faster, and stronger and by default burning more calories. Things started out well, but apparently my helmet and the addition of a CamelBak had me feeling a little too hardcore and Knievel-ish. And an uber light, responsive bike, top heaviness and a sharp turn are a bad combination. B-A-D. Dangerous, injurious and hazardous to one's health. Crashed and burned. Big time. Eight pretty gnarly abrasions. One sprained knee. And a bruised ego. Plus it totally blew my stats for the day. I was forced to cut today's excursion short and bike home instead to clean out the gravel.
Today's Stats
8.77 miles
1:06:50
478 calories burned
6 Wild Animals Spotted
3 Teaspoons of Blood Left Behind
2 Major Highways Crossed
1 Wicked Wipeout
And a partridge in a pear tree
Play List Highlights
Two Dancers Wild Beasts
Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond
Strange Times The Black Keys
Supermassive Black Hole Muse
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich Lady GaGa
1999 Shout Out Louds
When I'm With You Best Coast
Pon de Floor Major Lazer

Who needs an ocean view when you can have this?!

I Get 70 Miles To The Gallon On This Hog

2010-03-30T16:11:00.000-05:00

Rarely have I met a bike I didn't want to ride. From the unicycle to the tandem, the beach cruiser to the penny-farthing, the tricycle to the exercise bike. If it has handlebars and at least one functioning pedal I am interested. Currently, I am on hiatus in Chicago and unfortunately unemployed. And have gained between 2-6 pounds. {Although that is probably a severe under exaggeration I refuse to own to any more.} In the hopes of burning some daylight and a few calories I decided to go on a Passionate Pedal For One this afternoon. And I felt like Queen's Bicycle Race come to life on the Prairie Path. "Fat bottomed girls they'll be riding today. So look out for those beauties oh yeah." Okay, okay considering I was wearing black leggings and zero makeup maybe only the first part applies. And possibly the chorus of "Bicycle bicycle bicycle!!". As a side note I don't recommend listening to this song whilst riding ones bike. It is neither ironic nor cool. What is ironic is how often Freddie Mercury sang about fat bottomed girls and girls in general. As far as music I do recommend: gangsta rap. During today's bike ride the play list favorite was Dr. Dre's Still D.R.E. Yes, I am serious. The Flaming Lips Watching The Planets, 40 Day Dream by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Creedence Clearwater Revival Born On The Bayou weren't bad either. But whoever claimed it was possible to bike one's way thin was full of horse crap or had far too much time on their hands. Today's ride was 59.50 minutes long. 8.32 total miles. And according to my fabulous RunKeeper App only burned 320 calories. WTF?! Who Da Hell?! I could have chopped wood for 15 minutes or jumped on the bed 4008 times and burned more calories. And I wouldn't have had to wear a helmet for either of those activities. That's right I wore a helmet. My father insisted. Being the good daughter I am I obliged. Although I considered taking it off and hanging it from my handlebars fifteen minutes into my ride. That's what all the rad kids do right? Until I remembered that I was wearing the above mentioned spandex pants and zero makeup and had no concrete plans to meet up with anybody for a romantic rendezvous on the Prairie Path. {But might be open to the idea in the future}. Additionally, I think the bike helmet is a good rapist and murderer deterrent. Similar to Mace or overalls.

Jagger-isms or Mick-tums

2010-03-25T16:29:00.000-05:00

Chicago + Winter = Cold. Literally and figuratively speaking. The Windy City and I are completely incompatible right now. Illinois just cannot seem to grasp my needs. The need for a tan 10 of the 12 months of the year. My need to wear flip flops. My need for a sweatshirt or a jacket to be superfluous. My longing for moustaches and hipsters and Pedro's Tacos. My demand for snow-less sidewalks and the ability to run outside without feeling like the protagonist in a Robert Frost poem. Uggs make me nauseous. And sweatpants with 'Juicy', Pink or UIC stamped across the butt arouse in me a desire to brutally maim the wearer. And those are the two main elements of the Midwest Uniform: Female Edition. In protest I have gained 2-6 pounds and spend a lot of time listening to music and pining for the Wiltern, the Troubadour and apparently 1969. The Rolling Stones discography has played at least a minor part in the last decade of my life, but lately their music infiltrates everything. All nine of my Pandora stations. Two of my workout mixes. And I may or may not have watched part of Shine A Light online last week before falling asleep. Apparently if loving Mick is wrong, I don't want to be right. Mick is profound. Mick speaks to my soul. "A good thing never ends." "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." "I can't get no satisfaction." Oh no, no, no. Hey, hey, hey. That's what I say. Eat your heart out Langston Hughes. Bite me, Walt Whitman. Bugger off, Shel Silverstein. However, the most profound and personally applicable thing Mick Jagger ever said was, "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes well you just might find you get what you need." Pretty sure I don't need a wind chill factor that makes it feel 15 degrees colder than it actually is. And I'm quite sure wild horses could drag me away. But I'm willing to trust in Mr. Jagger just a little bit longer.

5 Months 17 Days

2008-09-17T08:50:00.000-05:00

Apparently I am horrific at blogging. Despite the Mac. And the love of writing. And all the rad things I've done in the last nearly six months. So in an attempt to kick things off again I'll start with a universal tag from my older sister. Who got it from my younger sister. I guess we're just keeping it Blotter. Here we go...

4 Movies I Can Watch More Than Once:

*Memento

*Anchorman

*Batman Begins

*Fight Club

4 T.V. Shows I Watch:

*Gossip Girl

*Grey's Anatomy

*LOST

*Pushing Daisies

4 Places I've Been:

*Seattle

*Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

*Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

*Washington, D.C.

4 Favorite Foods

*In-N-Out Double Double Animal Style

*Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes

*Diet Coke

*Zen 5 Sushi

4 Places I Would Like To Visit:

*Thailand

*Greece

*Fiji

*Spain

4 Things I Look Forward To In The Next Year:

*Getting a real grown-up job with normal hours and better pay

*Getting into/starting nursing school

*Hopefully going to Thailand

*Spending Christmas with the entire Blotter clan

Anybody that reads this blog...tag. You're it.

Tour de 405 South

2008-03-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

Pinkberry. The Supreme Leader of Southern California FroYo. It's trendy like Sprinkles or Pink Taco. And worth the buzz. Hype, if you will. (Although I hear that Spoon Me in Salt Lake City trumps it). Perhaps Oprah has mentioned it? Maybe she even has it flown in and served to her audience. The frozen yogurt is tart and fantabulous. And the fresh fruit makes dessert seem quasi healthy. Mangos and strawberries and kiwi, oh my! And the Cap'n Crunch ain't bad either. After a shake-free lunch date at Ruby's we were craving something sweet. In an attempt to keep it green and reduce our 'carbon footprint', save some money on gas and burn a few calories to rationalize away our decision to NOT go to the gym we made the brilliant decision to ride our beach cruisers to the Pinkberry at the Bella Terra. Bella Terra is an outdoor mall on the edge of Huntington Beach, right off the 405 Freeway. Decidedly not anywhere near the beach. It's 5 miles away from our house. And it was 7PM. We got to Main Street, not even the halfway point, with burning thighs and a few beads of sweat. Those sidewalks could rival some
mountain bike worthy terrain. I should write my city councilman. We should have turned back, but the call of the Berry was too strong and insisted that we push forward...and find alternate means of transportation home. Cell phones in hand, we continued to pedal. 60 minutes later we reached our destination and were still without a ride home. We contemplated the bus, but ended up calling our friend Todd. Todd drives a Nissan Altima with a smallish trunk. Or beach cruisers are a biggish bike. Translation: only room for one. So much for keeping it green. Sorry Al Gore. And Leonardo DiCaprio. This pick up took 2 trips and 2 cars. The icing on the cake was Wendy's trunk being smaller than Todd's.
I had to lie across the back seat and hold my bike in the car as we cruised down Beach Blvd. For future reference this might be a good way to get a sneak attack date. Maybe check movie times first? Hmmm...

Surf City Here We Come?

2008-03-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

It's official. On Monday March 31st I have been back in SoCal for 365 days. One year. It's true that time flies when you're having fun, but I think time also just flies when you're getting old. In celebration it's time to blog. The Beach Boys sang about California Girls. And Surf City. Maybe Brian Wilson would consider this blog a two-fer? I'm into that. Huntington Beach became home in June of 2007. I live in an insanely overpriced beach bungalow blocks from the sand and Main Street. It's similar to being on vacation. But with a job. My roommates are brilliant and gorgeous and some of the funniest people I've ever met. We keep it classy. On occasion.

So..Big Gulps huh? This first blog is rough. It's mind bottling.

On that note, I'm just going to act natural. Walk off the situation. And blog more later.