Things i have recently discovered...

MENU OF THE DAY:

Song: "Remembrance Day" by Mark Knopfler. (What a beautiful song!)

In my glass: Melange, which is a really good red blend by Waterbrook

Good book: I am reading that book The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society book that my other friend Sarah/(who is cowboy here) mailed me. LOVE IT!

Last iTunes purchase: Springsteen's "If i Should Fall Behind".

What i keep forgetting: That damn dental appointment. AND something else, i swear...right now, i cannot remember it. (I'm not trying to be funny - i was sitting here for about 3 minutes trying to remember it.) Oh well, it's on a post-it note on my desk at work though, so I'm sure I'll get to it.

Last good netflix: The Wrestler. I did not expect to like this movie as much as i did. It was like watching Micky Rourke's real life, as i might imagine it.

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I think we wore out the irresponsibilities post because we were all so good right out of the shoot thinking of them. I loved it. So here's the new one:

I have discovered___________________

1. I have discovered that i don't believe i could ever in my life really truly pull off being Super Irresponsible. I am incapable of letting some stuff slide and it would probably cause me as much stress trying to leave it as it does trying to make it work, if that makes sense. (Just making the make believe list sometimes made me cringe!)

2. I have recently discovered that when drinking wine (even on a weekend) i can be perfectly happy with only two glasses.

3. My brother loaned me the Tom Petty "Running Down the Dream" DVD. Oh my. It was so good! i have about 4 cds of Tom Petty and i looked today and have not even loaded them on my iPod yet. He is so good. And such a cool guy too. Very principled. Fought the record company to retain ownership of his songs when he was pretty young and also successfully got them to reduce the price of LPs.

4. ...I like running more than i thought i did.

5. I have a habit of saying "OH for God's Sake!" (with bold inflection). I am not aware that i have this habit . But recently Irene in my office (who is British) said she cracked up because she caught herself saying it at home and thought of me. (She's the second person i've worked with over the years to tell me this.) I responded that SHE has me saying "chit chat".

6. I discovered JJ Grey and Mofro from iTunes and bought their whole cd "Orange Blossoms". What a great fun cd. Good cooking music too!

7. ...If you pour a half bottle of really dark beer and a big square of baking chocolate in chili it is REALLY good.

8. ...there is way too much dust floating around. it is a phenomomen to me every time i push around my big old microfiber dust mop over my hardwood.

9. I discovered that there are people i really don't respect in the workplace, but i can learn to get along and find some common ground so as to keep from making it a hostile work environment.

10. ...I have vulnerabilities when it comes to my family.

11. Tearing off wallpaper is not a job i will ever do again, i don't care how much i love you! Even if Jesus asked me to come and tear off the little lamb wallpaper that Mary put up in the stable where he was born i would say NO. (Then i would cuss out Mary for putting up little lamb wallpaper in the first place, it wasn't even HER house!)

12. ...that i have some really good friends.

13. ...that asking a question that is difficult or scary to ask can open a door and sometimes the person is secretly hoping you will ask it. (so don't be afraid to ask it.)

14. ...my husband is a man who can always be counted on to do the right thing and the thing i need.

15. .... that i need to figure out when someone wants my advice or when they just want to vent. (I am too quick to think of course, they want MY advice and jump in prematurely.)

16. ....i am ready to get out of union work. I have made a decision to retire after next year. (I'll get another job though, somewhere maybe in the schools.)

17. ...that i must have had a lot of influence on Kylee/Modern Hippie, because sometimes when she posts i feel like i am reading my very own words. I'm sure y'all may have noticed it too. (and i love our kindred spirit-ness very much.)

18..... Lyle Lovett has one of the sexiest voices every. "Simple Song" just came on as i was typing and every time i hear this song it brings me to my knees.

19. It takes a long time to write a blog post. I think i have been at this for one whole glass of wine or at least 45 minutes. (Next time i will time it.)

20. I want to end on an even number and make a plea to the 23 followers here to join in. I know that the way we talk to one another here might feel cliquish at times, but the truth is most of us here don't know each other in real life. I meant this blog to be a participatory blog that people will join in.

So c'mon. Everyone has a list in their life. Post yours!

It's too hard being perfect so I'm going to start being irrresponsible.

Menu of the Day:

Music: David Gray's "Draw the Line"

In my glass: Millstone French Roast.

Book: finished my second David Ellis courtroom drama book "Line of Vision". Looking for a new book now. Heard that John Irving's new book is out tomorrow.

Last iTunes purchase: Dispatch's "Carry You". BEAUTIFUL song.

What i keep forgetting to do: Make a dental appointment.

Welcome: to EoDE (Empress of Divine Expression), jojo's 23rd follower! And Furline! So glad you finally got your low rent ass over here! Dick Cheney break up with you or something?

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Yesterday Ms. Hippie/Kylee's mom, Marie and i went over to Troy's house to stage it in hopes that he can sell it. (Right now it looks like frat boys live there and i think the realtor is afraid to go there.) We got a lot done, uncluttering and rearranging furniture and throwing away crap, and it looks great! Marie was smart enough to leave before it was time to scrape off wallpaper. I had no idea what a terrible job it was! (And I am so sore today. )

Troy and his son got off work and around 4:00 pm and we started scraping. The three of us to pass the time started talking (before my husband and Kylee/Hippie came down to help too - which took until 10:00 pm). Anyway, I don't know how the subject came up, but i think it started with me saying i was sick of being the First Born Type A person and that got me to come up with all the ways i was going to start being irresponsible from here on out, because irresponsible people get all the attention and people often think that irresponsible people are more fun. So here is what we came up with:

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1. I am not going to even go to the dentist anymore ever.

2. I am going to quit flossing my teeth everyday too. (Maybe only on Wednesdays and Sundays.)

3. And maybe not even at all!

4. I am going to start showing up late to everything.

5. And when i have a get-together planned with someone i am going to cancel at the last minute.

6. And not only that, when someone wants to plan something, i am not going to commit right then until i see if i have a better offer with someone else who i think is more interesting.

7. I am going to file my taxes late.

8. I might even cheat on them. (I'll claim Ms. Hippie/Kylee as a dependent!)

9. Hey, i might not even file my taxes at all!

10. When there is a long line of merging to one lane in traffic, i am going to cut in front of ALL the cars and get in the front of the line.

11. When people stop to let me in i will not even wave thank you to them.

12. I will stop saying thank you to people when they do something for me, as if i am entitled.

13. I am going to drink too much everywhere i go and i will pretend to fight with people when they want to take my car keys away from them just to piss them off.

14. I am going to re-gift the presents my mom gets me to other family members. (and i won't even care if they know!)

15. I'm not paying my bills on time anymore either.

16. I am going to park in the handicapped spaces on days it's raining and i don't want to get my hair wet.

17. I might even park in those spots when it is NOT raining.

18. When grocery shopping i will go in the express line with 50 items and beligerently complain if anyone tries to tell me i can't.

19. I am going to call in sick on Fridays when i am not even sick.

20. ...and maybe on the following Monday too!

21. When i got to dinner at somebody's house, I am going to take home my bottle of wine that i brought if it's still half full.

22. I might even show up empty handed when i got to dinner at someone's house!

23. I might even take home other people's bottles of wine!

24. I am going to take more than 5 items in the dressing room.

25. I am going to leave our jack-o-lantern out until Christmas!

OK, y'all know the rules. What are the ways you want to be irreponsible?

High School Year Favorites (70's) : Cat Stevens, Ali MacGraw, American Pie, Serpico, Catcher in the Rye and more...

Menu for the Day:



Listening to: Faithfully Remain by Ben Harper (Thank you eque for this beautiful song!)



In my glass: La Crema chardonnay



Last music purchased: I actually bought 3 cds from Amazon: Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, the new Brandi Carlile and the new David Gray. They haven't arrived yet.



Reading: David Ellis is the prosecutor who nailed Blagojevich. AND he's a pretty good writer too. I'm reading The Hidden Man. (I love courtoom dramas.)



Last good Netflix movie: I just finished "The Groomsmen" which is written and directed and stars Ed Burns. I loved this movie! So did Brian. Ed Burns has interested me since he directed The Brothers McMullen in the 90's. He does such a good job making New York movies filled with great characters that you care about. This is just a really good story.



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Troy wrote me an email recently about listening to Cat Steven's Foreigner Suite cd and it got me to thinking about Cat Stevens and how much i LOVED him when i was in high school. I still have most all of his vinyl records which i play on my patio stereo in the summertime. Only this year the stereo seems to be broken and i didn't get to play them. I purposely didn't want to buy them on cd before because i liked the special-ness of listening to them in the summer. But now I might have to break down and replace them with cds. Because the truth is 40 years later, i still love Cat Stevens. (My favorite songs were Wild World and Father and Son, Hardheaded Woman.) To me he was THE most handsome man. (I bet equeyaya will like him because he's a little bit like Sayid on Lost.)



Anyway, i was trying to come up with a new blog idea. And it got me to thinking about the 70's and all the stuff i had passion for back then.



So here is my list:



1. I had a total girl crush on Ali MacGraw from Love Story and wanted to look exactly like her. (The closest i got is that i have catepillar eyebrows very similar to hers. )



2. I probably fell in love with Al Pacino as Serpico for the obvious reason that he reminded me of Cat Stevens. To this day i do love a man who knows how to look good in a beard. (I probably married my second ex husband for this stupid reason.) Kris Kristofferson is another man who comes to mind. The Serpico movie was very good though too. Still a favorite movie.



3. Don McLean's American Pie. I knew every word to this song. I might still. I wore that song out on my reel to reel. (Remember those???)



4. Catcher in the Rye was my favorite book. I discovered it around the time our English teacher was making us read A Separate Peace, Cry the Beloved Country, and My Antonia. I HATED those books.



5. I also loved Valley of the Dolls and Peyton Place.



6. I am embarrassed to admit that i read Rod McKuen poetry. (But mostly for the sexual references. I remember a line: "I plunged my life deep into hers...." He was really bad. How did he get to be published?



7. I also pretended to like Kahil Gibran's The Prophet. But really i didn't. I just read it because everyone else seemed to be.



8. Truth be known, i don't much care for poetry at all unless it's funny and rhyming. I like to read what is clear to me without metaphors and symbolism. I don't have much patience for trying to read between the meanings.



9. I also loved football back then and was a big fan of Joe Namath, Larry Csonka, Roman Gabriel (I loved quarterbacks. Gabriel played for the LA Rams and also acted in a movie The Undefeated with John Wayne and Rock Hudson. Roman Gabriel played an Indian and i thought he was so cute!)



10. I also had many albums by Grand Funk Railroad. I loved Mark Farner. (I have always liked long hair on men, but not the combination of a beard AND long hair, just one or the other. ) My favorite Grand Funk song was "Mean Mistreater".



11. I used to fantasize about being married and having kids. And as mentioned earlier somewhere on this blog, i was going to name my daughter Harmony.



12. Somewhere out there Harmony is very happy with a different mom.



13. My favorite food back then was french fries with gravy.



14. I remember when i got my first little cassette player. I was so proud of it! My brother Scott and I used to record our voices on it. Sometimes singing to records! We were so terrible.

Ok, i had to add Roman Gabriel from that movie, The Undefeated. (Now that i think about it, i seem to remember thinking if Harmony was ever to have a baby brother, i might name him Roman.)

So what are your favorite things from your high school years?

Let's do the Saturday Shuffle...

Menu of the Day:
What I'm doing right now: making a cd mix for my nephew Brian.

What I should be doing: Actually...nothing. My house is clean and my laundry is done.

What I'm thinking about doing: Putting on some shoes and a bra and heading out to Albertson's to buy another iTunes card cause i'm down to 79 cents.

My new favorite song: thanks to equeyaya, it's Long Grey Mare by Fleetwood Mac. It makes me want to go dancing. What a great song. I love harmonica.

What i'm reading: The Doctor's Wife, it's a psychological thriller. So i'm told. I like it so far. I am also reading about three other books. I forget their titles.

What i'm drinking: Some red Gatorade.

What I'm thinking about drinking: There is a bottle of Toasted Head Chardonnay that i'm thinking about opening up.

My last favorite thing i bought: I was at Costco the day before yesterday and they had these super soft tank tops for $12.99.

What I'm putting on my nephew's cd mix: That Black Crowes song The last place that love lives and the Long Grey Mare and some John Hiatt and Delbert McClinton because he is taking guitar lessons from my Brian's friend and wants to start playing the blues.

If i had a hammer: I would NOT hammer in the morning, I would beat in the heads of some of the union members who voted back in the incumbent president. I might also use it on Glenn Beck and Kanye West.

My new favorite commercial: Actually used to be my least favorite commercial. It's the "Cell Phone Minute Mom"... Not being hot on cell phones, i totally forget what the ad is for, but i think you know what i mean. Anyway, it's grown on me for some weird reason. It is the one with the mom and her kids in the back seat of the car and the cell phone minutes. I love when she stares down her son and he looks away. Great acting in such a short commercial.

What i am procrastinating about: I do want to fix that red shoe photo in Photoshop and take it to the printer and have it framed. The photo on my blog shows up dark so it's hard to tell why it might be frameable, but it is. At least i think so. I am also proscrastinating about doing some touch up painting around the house.

Song playing right this very minute: Sister Hazel Fortress. I just discovered this band from iTunes. I really like this song. It's on the cd mix i just made.

Looking forward to: John Irving's new book, Brandi Carlile's new cd.

Biggest Disappointment Lately: Pat Conroy's new book South of Broad.

Guilty Pleasure: I blame louielouie. Both of us keep up with that wretched awful lame-o Mary Worth comic strip. EVEN after our local newspaper dumped it. it was her fault. I wrote a Letter to the Editor years ago protesting the dumping of Boondocks and listed Mary Worth as a strip worth dumping more. louielouie said i couldn't speak of such things unless i actually read mary and knew what i was talking about. So i started reading it. And got hooked. it's so stupid, you can't stop making fun of it. We share many emails about the characters in this strip as if they were friends of ours in real life.

If ever i was to karaoke: I would sing Summer Wine. And my husband Brian could sing the guy part of it. Hint: if you ever need to do a song, try one that Nancy Sinatra once did. These Boots are Made for Walking is a good one to try too.

What i wish would go away: Kate and Jon Gosselin tabloid news. I knew them when they were happy. those poor kids.

What I'm going to do right now after posting this: Pour myself a glass of Toasted Head. And get my Doctor's Wife book.

OK y'all know the 'rules'....