Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Totally Random jojo Musings

Menu of the Day 

Photo: I don't think i've posted this one before. I took it at a restaurant in Sedona (for obvious reasons), which is where we were this time last year. Which is where i want to be right now. I am sick to death of our crappy concrete colored sky, the kind of dampness that withers your bones into the consistency of tofu (and not the firm version), my tofu/mushroom colored skin tone, and that horrible feeling like the clouds that cover our blue skies are also in my head making me forget even the smallest things like... did i take my vitamin this morning? Or was that my antihistamine?

Mood: See above. (Truth is, it should have been a Valium instead of a vitamin.)

iTunes: i bought this Justin and Steve Earle song called "Time You Waste". It's a little country, but i really like the song and the lyrics. 


The Best Thing That Happened: The fact that nothing BAD happened. 

OK.....on with the randomness. Let's see it's 8:23 as i write. I am just going to go for it and not think about what i say. Here we go:
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1. Sometimes when i want a glass of wine but don't think i should because it's a school night i will get on the scale. if i am over my 'magic weight' it's easy, i don't pour any. If i'm under, i'm good to go. 

2. Though i don't think it's the wine that affects my weight so much as the carbohydrates, such as my propensity to eat frozen bread right out of the freezer in my carbo desperation. 

3. But i think somewhere i read in an Oprah magazine a long time ago where either she was quoted or it was in an article that alcohol slows down your body's ability to burn fat. (I don't get that magazine anymore.)

4. Today i was running. And ahead of me a ways on Phillips Road was a younger girl and she looked like she was about my pace. So i decided to make it a goal to pass her up. It took me a bit, but i did pass her up, along with a little bit of help from a Foo Fighters song: the fast version of "Times Like These". 

5. The problem with this is that she was behind me for almost the rest of my run ( i know cause i sneaked peaks). And because of that i had to keep up that fast pace because i didn't want to feel like a schmuck to just pass her up and slow down. 

6. And when i got home i had to run around the almost the whole circle of our condo to get my whole 35 minute run in. That run wore me out today. 


7. My husband just came in to interrupt me and talk about his band, which is going through some disorganization or whatever you call it when a band isn't coming together. I told him he should let me manage them and i will only take 10% over what they make. Which is $0. I thought i offered a good deal. But he ain't hiring. But he should.  

8. He interrupted my random chain of thought. I'll try to get back to it, but first let me put my music back on: here comes Joe Purdy's "Just Can't Get it Right Today"...or the Kia commercial song as i like to call it. 

9. Speaking of commercials: Who else thinks the "Mayhem Like Me" Allstate guy is hot? 

10. If i didn't already have the best insurance in the world (Pemco), i would switch on those ads along.

11. I am sucker for good advertising. (I actually think i would have loved to have a career in advertising and my husband actually does, only he is selling one product: education, which right now is sort of like trying to sell nuclear power to the Japanese).  Because of good advertising I researched and ending up buying (and loving) my D90 Nikon camera all because the Ashton Kutcher commercials caught my attention.

12. I've said this before, but if J-Lo was pimping Nikon or Tom Cruise, i wouldn't have given them a second look.

13. Y'all might recall (I like how that sounds, "Y'all might recall") that i collect obituaries. It started a long time ago with pet obituaries because i thought it was so funny that people would spend big bucks for a photo and an obituary for their dog (Do y'all know how expensive an obituary is with a photo? We're talking $500 bucks at least, depending on how many lines.) Anyway it struck me that Fido and Spot can't read, nor do they have texting abilities, so it's not like Fido can call or text Spot and say, "Hey did you know that Marley died?"

Anyway after awhile i started collecting any unique obituary and now have enough to fill more than one scrapbook . (For example, one of them is for a homeless man...and sadly, some are in the scrapbook because i know them.) But it's been a long time since an obituary was 'jocucina scrapbook worthy'. 

But today there was one. And here it is (link below) : Thomas Christopher Hansen was born the same year that i was, which is why i noticed it in the first place.... (I love the ending the best.)

And i think i'm going to post an online tribute after i get off of here, because i remember one of the comments on my nephew Josh's obituary was from someone none of us knew and i remember how much i appreciated that she felt compelled to write  simply because of what Troy had written about his son. And i remember feeling better after i read it. 


16 comments:

Amanda said...

I saw this obituary yesterday! A coworker and I had a weep-fest over it. (Damn PMS.)

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

Dean Winters is the Allstate guy Mayhem. He was on Oz, Law and Order SVU 1st season, and lots of other stuff. Had a health scare a few years ago and nearly died. He's really funny.

I like the Old Spice Guy! His voice is cool.

equeyaya said...

I just added a comment to Tom's obituary. Life is hard sometimes.

I don't know the commercial you're referring to, but I have been noticing some commercials are getting better lately.

I love your jogging story. I went jogging in the rain yesterday. Well, I spent 20 minutes jogging and 40 minutes walking, on what is normally a 70 minute walk. It felt good.

And I totally relate to your philosophy on wine intake based on today's weight being down. Such an unproductive approach, but here I am sipping a cabernet.... anyway, i would totally unsubscribe to that magazine, too.

I absolutely think you should manage Brian's band. I just tried the link to their website and it is sadly inactive. Haven't they been playing?

We had a nice day today. A ray of hope after days and days of rain.

I'm listening to Neil Young, actually CSNY right now. "Feel Your Love" from the American Dream album. Nice.

Random fact from Heifer International's World Ark magazine I read today: The world's population includes nearly 1 billion hungry people and 1 billion people who are overweight.

jojo cucina cucina said...

That is a weird fact. the 1 billion hungry people and the 1 billion fat people.

equeyaya, you totally know that commercial. it's the guy amulbunny is talking about...thank you amulbunny for reminding me who he was.... he is the one that says "i am a teenage girl" either driving or jogging.....i posted a link i think once.

It was another crappy day here in the Pacific Northwest. I swear i do not think i am exaggerating when i tell you that i believe that in one whole year we might have only 25-30 days, at the most, of a totally summery very warm day, from beginning to end . And i think i am actually being generous.

it doesn't always rain, that's the fallacy about our weather, it's just that the sun doesn't come out and we have that bone white sky, so it seems like it's raining every day because it's not blue and sunny.

This year, somehow seems worse than the others. I can see it in people around me every day. it's getting to them. We're ready for murdering maiming people over the slightest thing in our cloudy heavy seasonal funk.

equeyaya said...

oh, yeah! i do know that commercial.

grace passed her driving test last night and the teacher reminded me that she can't drive at all until we settle up with the insurance company, now that she is a licensed, versus permitted, driver. she asked me if we had geico, because of the commercials. i told her we had travelers and i described their commercial with the dog laying awake worrying that something will happen to the bone that he's buried, with Ray LaMontagne's song "Trouble" playing. She knew the commercial, and approved of my choice of insurance, hahaha! here's a link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G7bGBUlx2M

i hope you get a sunny day soon!

louielouie said...

I do love the Mayhem insurance Ads.

The GEICO ones come and go for me. I cannot stand the easy enough for a caveman ones and am not wild about the ones featuring the gecko either. The make your own commercial in 15 minutes are too dumb for me. I do like the GEICO questions guy and the new ones with the piggy crack me up.

Speaking of voices, The Allstate-You’re in Good Hands guy is the best, hands down. Haha Hands-down.

I do not like the University of Farmers ones with the chief from the Closer doing a training gig. They are dumb.

I’m a little bored on the cheery Progressive girl.

The “State Farm is There” are pretty dang funny too. They have so many different versions.

We have insurance through USAA. No ads at all

jojo cucina cucina said...

You know the other commercial i like? That one where the wife and husband are all dressed up to go out and the wife hands scissors to her husband and asks him to cut off the tag on her dress. And he does telling her (paraphrasing here, cause i don't remember) "How did i ever get someone as hot as you" and she replies the same and as she turns around you see that he has not only (maybe) cut off the tag on her dress, but also a big chunk of her beautiful straight auburn hair right in the middle.

It's the same commercial as the woman calling her cat and lets in the raccoon instead.

It's for vision care. not remembering which company, but i love those commercials.

I can't get over the Progressive insurance's girl's bumpit in her hair. And AMANDA....everytime i see it, i think of you!!!

jojo cucina cucina said...

Damn, only 7 posts in one whole week. My feelings are hurt!

Not much to report. For two days i got to run without it raining and i even got to run without my Moss Brown jacket. Though it is still not exactly warm out, nor has it been blue skies. I got a hanging fuschia basket for Secretary's Day (a week early) and i'm keeping it inside the garage at night.

I did, however, notice that the maple trees that line the sidewalks outside our condo community are all blooming. Today was the very first day that became apparent to me. I swear just last week they were totally naked. So i have hope!

I have put away my boots and i don't care if my feet freeze, i am wearing open toed shoes. I can't stand boots anymore. Some days i even boldly go into work without a jacket. I am going to harass spring into getting here by being obstinate and not giving in to the cold and gray.

EoDE said...

OK, you guilted me into posting. ;) I still regularly read your blog and I would so miss it if you stopped, but most days I'm either too busy to post or can't think of a thing to say.

Random answers to your random musings...

I love the Allstate commercials, especially the ones where Mayhem talks like a teenage girl and the one where he's a tree limb that falls on top of a car ("shaky, shaky").

If I were to change insurance based on an ad, though, I'd go with Travelers because of the commercial where the dog buys insurance so he doesn't have to bury his bone (or put it in a safe deposit box at the bank). (Love the music for that one too.)

I'm a sucker for most commercials with dogs.

I also like the commercial where the newlyweds are still in their wedding garb, preparing to spend the night in a tent, when a storm blows in.

Maybe you should go into advertising. Thanks in part to you, I've gotten hooked on the show Parenthood. You've mentioned it a time or two, and I started watching it and love it. It's produced by and stars some of the same folks from Friday Night Lights, which is in its last season and is one of my all-time faves.

Well, that's all I've got. Now go kick winter to the curb!

louielouie said...

I remembered two other insurance ads I like, but now have forgotten. I think one was a sort of pass-it-on kind of thing.

Forgetting is part of my life these days; appointments, words, all sorts of things. My only solace is that most the folks I work with are just as bad.

We are in the process of a board resolution regarding budget cuts, possible RIFs, it’s not a pretty sight. Pretty sure I will keep my job (no one else wants it) but am sure we will be having furlough days

Am looking forward to this weekend. I am making yeast rolls and we are having an old-fashioned ham dinner at my mom’s on Easter. We will not be having a Easter beer hunt this year. I don’t think that can be an annual event, although it would have been fun to hide the beers at my mom’s, she’s got a big yard.

Just got back from a neighborhood walk. It was cold and windy but still light out when we got back. There is hope!

Keep on posting Jo, I look everyday, mostly am too dumb or numb to post.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Oh, i was so excited today to see 10 posts when i logged on today. i was so expecting to see 8. Thank you EodE and louie for letting me know you read anyway.

I love commercials. EodE i loved that honeymoon commercial and once posted the YouTube here. What's funny is i can't remember, is it a car commercial?

I am not making yeast rolls for Easter. I turned down two family invitations for Easter. Three if you count turning down my mom twice....We're doing whatever we want to do.

EodE, i was just telling my friend Karie tonight who was over for wine and antipasto about Parenthood. and i tell equeyaya often that she has to watch it too. It's so real! I am not even a parent and i love it because it seems so real. It's written or produced by Opie from Mayberry RFD i think. What's his real name? He also directed Backdraft. See, louie, you aren't the only one who can't remember shit.

jojo cucina cucina said...

I just this second remembered and i didn't even google it....Ron Howard.

jojo cucina cucina said...

OOOOH, my custom vanities for the bathrooms came today They won't be installed for a while yet) but they are beautiful! And what's amazing is they are built by these cabinet makers to my design and their bid was the lowest of the three. Though i think they like me because they also made my built in hutch back in the late 90's so they gave me a deal.

The cabinets open and the shelf slides out. And i finally have a nice bottom drawer!

The custom medicine cabinets they made me also blow me away. They match the beautiful maple vanities. I took them in to get the mirrors and the girl was so impressed with them she had someone come out to look at them. Then she got their name so she can hire them. I just love maple wood and the finish on them.

And these medicine cabinets total cost?....for two? only $30 a piece. The vanities themselves were only $450 a piece.

I wish i could have them do my whole kitchen cabinets! But since we aren't planning to stay living here i guess not.

When we upgrade our living room TV I do think i will hire them to built something when i replace our pine armoire with the TV inside.

i just love good wood.

When things get closer i will post photos before and after.

It's a beautiful sunny Friday and tomorrow promises to be better!

I'm going outside now.

equeyaya said...

EODE - I have travelers insurance and I love that commercial (but I had the insurance before I saw it). They are good. And the song is by Ray LaMontagne.

That's exciting that your bathrooms are coming together, jo!

I have no plans for Easter. Going to try to make a couple of visits, but Grace is being stubborn, so it may just be Mel and me.

Our spring has been very inconsistent. A random warm and nice day here and there, but mostly rainy and cool. I wore my boots out to dinner tonight with the girls. I told myself I wouldn't wear them anymore since it's April, but it's cold and I love them, so I let myself pull them on tonight.

Now I suppose I'll pull them off and get into my pj's.

EoDE said...

Eque, I wasn't sure who the singer in the Travelers commercial is, so that's good to know.

Jo, when Parenthood first came out, I didn't watch it because I wasn't sure I could relate to the story lines. But I find myself being drawn into the stories and identifying with so many of the characters. It's just such a good show.

We are looking forward to the weekend. We'll attend Easter services with my husband's mom and then go out to a brunch buffet at a nearby restaurant I've been wanting to try.

Our iris are in bloom and they look and smell divine. I cut some and put them in a vase on the table and have enjoyed them all day. They are yellow, lavender, and a deep rich purple---very "Eastery" looking.

louielouie said...

Have been looking for a photo of a louielouie restaurant to link to, but to no avail