Apparently, when you begin going gray, any and all hairs on your body are up for grabs. After getting side-swiped with a silvery eyebrow hair earlier this year, I now have another pale demon to contend with:
A GRAY MUSTACHE HAIR!
I swear to FUCK, you guys! It's bad enough that I have to deal with upper-lip facial fuzz, but now that shit is turning white on me? Insane in my membrane!!
Oh well, here I go, fighting nature again. Let's get to some linkage!
1) If you like Mindy Kaling (and if you like The Office, then you do) you might enjoy hearing about her new book and website.
2) Oprah's teaching the world again. This time she's using case studies from her old episodes to try to help folks live better day-to-day. I signed up months ago and then totally forgot about it, I'll get to it eventually!
3) Need more help making your life better? Try these other online resources.
4) Anyone interested in glam shots of African-American icons of the past should head here and learn some stuff.
Not that we were ever super-tight, but Sharpton said some ridiculous shit when he gave Tyler Perry an award from his National Action Network last week. What did he say? Al Sharpton said that Black people who diss Tyler Perry films are "proper Negroes."
What kind of idiocy is this? There's no Black Handbook, that lists appropriate likes, dislikes and opinions for African Americans. And you know what, Al? If there were, it would be WRONG.
We are just as free as White folks, Latinos, Koreans, Native Americans, and everyone else to dislike Tyler Perry movies if we want to. The idea that True Blackness = Loving Tyler Perry Movies is out-of-this-world foolish. I am a 100% positive that ALL Mexicans don't love Eva Longoria and that ALL Caucasians don't love Leonardo DiCaprio.
Life doesn't work like that, regardless of race or creed, and someone Sharpton's age should certainly know that. Will the asininity among Black people never cease?!
Has anyone been watching The Chew? It's the show ABC killed All My Children for. Now, I'm going to admit my bias toward soaps up front; I'd watched AMC off and on for around 16 years, though for the past two our relationship was mostly 'off'.
However, I wanted The Chew to work out. I love cooking and am a huge fan of cooking shows, even ones with stupid names. I've now watched about a week's worth of episodes and can state without a doubt that it's semi-painful to watch. Separately, all the hosts (There are five. FIVE, people!) seem likeable enough. Together, though? It's just too messy. Here are my reasons why it's not working.
Why The Chew Sorta Sucks
1) There's already four chef/food people in the house, we don't need an official moderator. Clinton Kelly, why are you here?
2) Even with Clinton, the conversations are always awkward. I don't think any of the hosts are used to dealing with a live audience...Or each other, for that matter.
3) Dammit, there's just too many bitches on stage! And they're never all doing the same thing. Two people are standing, three are sitting, someone's cooking, someone's chopping, someone else is gesticulating wildly...THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH GOING ON AT ONCE!
4) No one here is a journalist or has any real interviewing skills. Yesterday Mario Batali asked guest and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, "What do you expect from a New Yorker?" I could see Bloomberg's befuddlement and really wanted him to answer, "Well, the least you can do is not be a dick." But, he answered without a hint of sarcasm. Damn!
5) No one here is Regis. The hosts tell stories, but none of them have the right oomph to make them pop. Cue additional awkwardness.
6) Crap, I just found out they have a correspondent. Are you really telling me Clinton couldn't do the remote pieces for them? It's not like he's running a restaurant at night. Again...Too. Many. People.
7) The food looks good, but the prep work lacks even the most remote appeal. Part of this is due to the lackluster set; it just barely looks like a kitchen in there.
8) None of the hosts seem to be very well prepared. And, on top of that, they seem to be trying really hard to make us like them. As a result they come off as super desperate.
I'm not the only one thinking the show needs some major tweaking to work. Even at it's silliest, AMC was still a better, less jumbled and boring, package.
Well, Happy Friday once again, friends! It's always a bit crazy how fast the weeks go by, isn't it? We are in full-on fall, and with the temps this week, it's clear winter is just around the corner.
I've been updating Citygirl, as promised. My About Me A Lot page (up top) has totally changed and I'll likely give it a new title as soon as I think of one. I've also added some of those ever popular social media buttons and a cool version of my resume under my profile on the right side. Before long I'll also be adding pages for links to my writing projects and the services I offer as a writer. So, Yea! EXPANSION!
On to some Friday fun links:
1) Apparently, folks are getting hot about the Dr. Pepper TEN ad campaign. I don't know why, I thought it was silly and funny. What do you think?
2) People are also pissy about this British singer, since she admitted that her image was manufactured by managers and the like. I think a lot of musicians have images that aren't completely in-line with who they really are. So, what do you think is bothering people, that she allowed the manufacturing or that she admitted it? More importantly, if you like the song, should it matter?
I know it seems odd to become obsessed with a roll of paper towels, but dammit! These are awesome!
HUBS and I had been using generic paper towels after becoming addicted to Viva but giving them up to save some household supply dough. I was shopping at Walgreens and saw that they had a six pack of Scott Naturals for $4, so I figured trying them out wouldn't be a big deal.
I was wrong. It was a huge deal! I've found the perfect paper towels, people!
At first, I hated them. They are as hard as the day is long, my friends. But, it turns out that that's a feature instead of a bug. I'd advise against wiping your mouth with them unless absolutely necessary, but they are amazing for:
1) Hand washing dishes 2) Scrubbing the stove 3) Cleaning cat barf off the carpet 4) Wiping down dirty kitchen walls 5) De-grubbing baseboards 6) Carrying cat kibble
I'm sure there are more uses that I haven't thought of yet. The key thing you should know? You can wet them and scrub away for several minutes before the barest hint of a tear will appear.
My Monopalooza 2011 fog cleared a bit last night (finally) and today I've been able to stay awake all day and even had enough energy to leave the house.
At some point early this morning a thought about my general personality crossed my mind: could my life long lack of ambition really just be depression?
Don't get me wrong, I've had times where I've worked extremely hard to prove myself and done things I didn't really want to in order to show employers/friends/family that I was serious about work/opportunities/connections. But? I've never had the kind of drive that makes people mention 'ambitious' as one of my attributes.
It occurred to me that, instead of a character flaw, my semi-drive-less state could be my depression hanging around. I know for a fact that I've been dealing with depression since I was around 11 or 12 years old. Isn't that about the time kids start wanting to accomplish things on a higher level? Thinking about their hopes for their college-bound and adult lives?
All I remember thinking is that I wanted to finish school and go to Georgia Tech because my godmother lived in Atlanta. That was it. I had no dreams of how I wanted to live my life (none that were realistic, anyway). And there was, throughout college, no idea of how to get from point A to point B. In fact, I was so focused on getting out of college that I graduated without the barest hint of an internship or career in journalism.
Granted, college was one of what I'll call my depression 'peaks', but I totally flaked on my own future. Was it just stupid laziness, or was it depression? I don't know how to tell the difference.
The thing I'm having the most trouble with now is networking. Back in June, prior to Monopalooza, I was able to go to two networking events even though talking to strangers without context is hard work for me. Since then, though, I haven't had the energy for socializing. Is it the mono? Laziness? Or, am I still depressed even after years of therapy and medication? Or...Oooh! New Thought! Or, is my lack of ambition something that's been leading to my depression all these years?
Crap. I could stand to go back to therapy, couldn't I?
Well, y'all it's been a chilly, grey, rainy day (totally unlike the photo) and my Monopalooza has clearly turned into something much more evil. I've now been sick (That's me being gentle so you folks don't have to think about me being trapped in the bathroom for three hours at a time...Oops...) three times in about a month. The last two incidents happened yesterday *yowza* and this morning *egad* when I was this close to getting my assignment done super early.
As much as I hate to go back to the doctor two months after getting my mono diagnosis, I am obviously not well. Who knows, maybe she can give me something to settle my stomach, or at least give me some ideas for natural, at-home remedies I can use.
In much better news? The Cardinals are headed to the World Series! We got enough free lunch this Sunday to feed both HUBS and myself! We wet to church again! I made peanut butter cookies with chocolate and peanut butter chips, ate four of them and didn't throw them up!
Now! On to the music! I'm still on an oldie kick, so enjoy the past, lovelies!*
*It's possible I've used one exclamation point too many.
I'm taking a teensy blog break to straighten up some things around the old blogging homestead and make some cool additions.
I know! You came here for entertainment, so...How about watching Tom Hanks' son sing in a music video? He's actually not bad! Though, I do see why folks are making fun a bit.
I could write scores about our exciting weekend of sleeping, sleeping, sleeping, going to IHOP, sleeping, sleeping, taking PT to Bandana's for her birthday and then sleeping some more. But, you'd likely feel just as enthused about that as Miller looks in the above photo. I know you'd rather just get straight to the tunes. Here we go!
I was puttering along just fine a few hours ago: I'd sent out some networking letters, made a list of things to get done and signed up for some networking events. Then, about an hour ago, I tried to make calls to set up interviews for next week's stories. Every time I placed a call it cut off as soon as someone picked up the phone.
I have now tried each restaurant twice and HUBS three times at two different numbers. He's also called me a couple of times, and there is only one conclusion I can come to: SUDDENLY, MY PHONE NO WORKY. Gah!
It's amazing how fast I went from being fine to feeling cutoff from the world and unable to concentrate on the tasks at hand. What's killing me is that my phone was fine yesterday, and I had meant to make my interview calls then, but got lazy and waited until today. Dammit! My fuck up + technological woes = LOTS OF FUCKING CURSING!
Let's move on to some interesting things online, shall we?
HUBS and I have been having what I'm going to call mono flashbacks this week, and Lord knows the last thing you want to do when you're headache-ridden, weak and racked with dizzy spells is...Stand. So, cooking anything major is out for a few days.
I drove us out to Smashburger for lunch today. It just opened a few months ago and still has that new restaurant feeling inside. The first thing we noticed? Their little corner of the strip mall smelled amazing as soon as we opened the car doors. That's always an impressive sign of quality, I must say.
The small (1/4 pound) Spicy Baja Smash with sweet potato smashfries and chili was my choice. It was topped with guacamole (which I passed on to HUBS), lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and spicy chipotle mayo on a chipotle bun. What else can I say about it...Oh, yeah. GOOD! Juicy and spicy without being killer, meaty and crunchy and really just perfect.
The fries were covered with rosemary, olive oil and garlic, which was a nice change from your traditional cinnamon-sugar topped sweet potato fries. There was a lot of nice crispness in that basket, too. Yummy (said with guttural growl).
Their Angus chili was truly some of the best I've had. They laced it with onions, jalapenos and cheddar cheese. It was really meaty, which usually gets on my nerves, but the sauce was so good I just wanted to suck the whole thing down. My only gripe is that I wish they'd chopped the jalapenos so I could have skipped that step while eating.
HUBS enjoyed this production, which is a St. Louis Big Smash with chili cheese fries. His burger was on a nice pretzel bun (good, though it didn't taste as pretzely as some of the other pretzel breads I've had) with grilled onions, sweet peppers and garlic mushrooms, and provel cheese. He, of course, loved it. And, in case you're wondering, the standard fries are great as well.
I can absolutely see us going back; it's about a 20 minute drive away but it's worth it. Yea! New food! What new food have you enjoyed lately?
Isn't it funny how our minds work? For the past couple of weeks I've been having a very brief recurring dream: I'm right out of the shower and looking down at my breasts. They are pitiful. Completely deflated, lying flat against my chest and as droopy as the day is long. It's a short, unattractive sight...And then the dream is over.
I just had the dream again last night, and I have to say, I had no idea I was worried enough about my boobies to have dreams about them. A quick Google of "sagging breast dreams" turned up meanings that made no sense for my life at all.
Is it possible I just need to do more wall push-ups and wear sturdier bras during my down time? It's. Possible. What do you keep dreaming about that you didn't realize was that big of a deal to you?
Unless you slept through the weekend you know that we've hit October. That's right, friends! Now is the season of changing leaf colors, warm and gooey comfort foods, and holiday planning. We've only got about a month until we turn the clocks back one hour and night falls when most of us are heading home from work for the day.
HUBS and I had yet another EXPANSION weekend. I actually cooked our big weekend meal on Saturday morning, something I'd never, ever done before. Usually I wait until the last possible moment of Sunday evening to do any major cooking. This time, though, I'd been putting off the prep work of chicken and dumplings for about four days. I like cooking, but honestly? Whenever it involves a lot of cleaning and chopping of veggies or the handling of massive amounts of raw meat I always hesitate.
When I woke up Saturday I had the distinct feeling that if I waited any longer to make this dish, I'd end up not doing it until all the veggies I'd bought for it had gone south. And who wants to waste food? So I bit that bullet, scrubbed, chopped and boiled my little heart out. Our Sunday dinner was done by 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
I got the recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Mad Hungry, and it's really rather simple:
1 3 to 4 lb whole chicken (neck and giblets removed) Half bag Baby Carrots 3 Small/Medium Turnips 2 stalks Celery 1 half Onion 3 Green Onions 3 Parsnips 5 or 6 springs fresh Parsley Salt, Pepper & Sage Dumplings 1 cup Flour 2 teaspoons Baking Powder 1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt 3/4 cup Milk 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Chop the veggies coarsely, except for the baby carrots which you leave whole, then put the first set of ingredients in a big pot and barely cover with water. Bring it to boiling and turn it down to a simmer and cover. The recipe said to leave it for 50 minutes, but I cooked mine for about two hours to make sure and it still turned out juicy.
Take out the chicken and veggies and when the chicken has cooled enough, take the meat off the bone and shred it.
To make the dumplings combine the dry ingredients and add the wet ones. Drop the dough by tablespoons into the simmering broth, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. When the dumplings are done, put the veggies and shredded chicken back in and viola! You've got chicken and dumplings.
I made the mistake of stirring the pot after putting my veggies/chicken back in and the dumplings, though done, all fell apart except for one. It just served to thicken the broth and was still tasty. Serve with your shredded cheese of choice and either hot sauce or soy sauce (really, HUBS liked the soy).
We also we to church for the first time in about a year and a half on Sunday. HUBS and I have been looking for a church that's modern, but doesn't try too hard to be hip. This church has only been open since August, but the group seems nice and the only knock against the minister is that he said (I kid not) "Peace Out!" when he wrapped up the service. I can still see myself going back, but HUBS isn't sure yet.
In case you aren't up to speed, men all over the world are goofy just like the one you've got at home! See the Taiwanese woman up there? She found that out at a baseball game the other night when her husband dropped the shit out of their daughter in his effort to catch a fowl ball.
The look? Classic Black Lady Anger. The fallout? I bet he's never been beaten harder.
Pay attention to the middle left side of the video:
Yup. He tossed her ass aside like a rag doll. Thank God she was alright, otherwise that woman would have given her baby to a stranger so she could kill her husband right in the stands. Lordy, men! What's wrong with you people?
I've been indulging in freebies for months now via several websites and eclubs, but a post on one of my favorite freebie blogs has put my modest efforts to shame.
Hey, It's Free! shows a pretty comprehensive list of companies that hand out free stuff to eclub participants on their birthday (not to mention, throughout the year). I just spent about a half hour scanning the list and signing up for things. It's a good idea to get yourself an email address just for this type of thing, so you don't gunk up your professional email with coupons. Just remember to check it regularly!
Lovelies! How was your weekend? Mine sorta sucked ass, since I was sick on Saturday and then exhausted all through Sunday night. I was absolutely no good.
That's translated to my, not bad, but rather blah day today. I got a late start on the article I needed to turn in, then downloaded some desktop publishing software to try creating a cool, graphic resume and failed miserably. I don't have my good coffee at home and am craving this and this, even though I had lunch and have yet had dinner.
Screw it. I'm gonna eat what I want, watch reruns of The King of Queens and Big Bang Theory, and watch some classic videos on Youtube.
Happy Friday, everyone! The weekend has gotten off to a bit of a sad start for fans of '80s/early '90s R&B. Singer Vesta Williams was found dead last night in her hotel. I realize most of you had likely never heard of her; she never 'crossed over' to the pop charts, but was well known to lovers of soul and R&B. If you take a look at the videos, you'll see why.
What's sad for me is that, even though I liked her back then, I'd completely forgotten about Vesta until I heard the news today. She had been so completely out of the spotlight for the past 18 or so years, that her music got tucked away among all my other childhood memories and buried. I suppose it bothers me because it's so sad that she's gone so soon. Well, now.
Need some Friday cheering up on a gray day? Look no further:
* Want to create online music play lists and share music with friends? Spotify has you covered.
* Want some good advice and inspiration? Here you go.
Unless you've been under a mossy rock for the past week and a half, you know we've been getting new fall TV shows. Yay! I've been watching as many as possible and hopefully by the end of next month I'll have a few new faves that I can look forward to each week.
Here's what I've seen so far:
Ringer: I cannot tell you how intriguing it was to find out that Buffy herself was coming back to TV. I missed the second episode, but plan to catch up online. I found this story of identical twins with screwy back stories interestingly twisty and something I can see myself getting into. Up All Night: Normally a show about new parents probably wouldn't appeal to me. But, the average show about the newly parented doesn't generally star the likes of Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph, does it? I have to admit that I was hoping the show would be funnier than it's ended up being so far. But! I will keep watching for a few weeks to see if it amps up the laughs.
Free Agents: I wasn't planning on watching this one, but decided to give it a shot anyway. Again, not outrageously funny so far, but everyone is so likeable I find it hard to turn away during an episode. It's pleasant and just amusing enough, so, for now, it stays on my radar.
The Secret Circle: Oh, Jesus. We've got another teen supernatural show on our hands, folks. I never got into Vampire Diaries, but I've seen enough of it to know that The Secret Circle looks and feels just like it. It wasn't horrible, but one viewing is positively all I need.
2 Broke Girls: This one was another nice comedy that didn't knock me out laughing. If you've seen the previews you know the girls in question are a sassy brunette and a stuck up blonde. But the thing I really liked about it (and PT...and HUBS) was that the blonde is actually smart, industrious and rather tough. We all thought for sure she'd be dumb and so rich-bitchy that she'd begrudge her waitressing gig and hardly work. I'm so glad to have a sitcom surprise me! That's enough reason to keep giving this one a try for a while.
New Girl: Now, here's a comedy that really did it for me. I'm willing to put aside the improbability of someone as cute as Zooey Deschanel not being able to get a guy, because she and everyone around her brought the funny. If you haven't seen this one you should check it out.
The X Factor: Wow. Just...Wow. As soon as this singing competition went off for the night I wished it was still on. It was that compelling and entertaining. And? Simon didn't piss me off once last night. Fabulous!
Revenge: Oh, my. We're still trying the glittery night-time soap, are we? I must say, I either hated or couldn't have given less of a shit about any of these characters. I also don't know how they could possibly keep things going for more than a season. I wish Everwood was still on.
I'm looking forward to about six more new shows, airing through October 30, plus I'm watching all my returning faves (P&R!) and looking into other new shows. Is there anything better than curling up on the couch with a warm piece of pie and a good TV show? Is there? What new fall shows have you liked so far? What are you still looking forward to?
In five short years I've gone from being slightly terrified of even the fluffiest four-legged creatures to loving cats like my life depended on it. And, in that time, I've gotten pretty skilled at capturing the little buggers on camera. I figured I'd share some quick tips on how I get my most interesting shots.
How To Get Photos Of Your Pets That Don't Suck
1) Timing is everything. If your pets are anything like mine, they can usually be found running around like crazy or sleeping. The easiest way to capture them? Totally abuse nap time. Keep your camera out, so you don't have to do a lot of digging that might wake them up when the time's right, and click away.
2) Being a stalker pays off. I'm almost positive that animals commit their most interesting acts of cuteness when we're not looking. The best way to combat that? Follow them around for an hour or two and see what happens. Did Toby jump into the window to sun himself? That's perfect portrait light. Is Mittens playing with her favorite toy? Awesome action shots await.
Turn on your camera's continuous shooting mode, so you can hold the shutter release down and take (nearly) unlimited shots back to back, assuring you don't miss a thing. A photo that shows your pet doing what they love to do will always make you happy.
3) Revel in the details. The best shots don't always show everything. Use your camera's macro setting, get in close and take shots of your pet's whiskers, paw pads, or any distinctive markings. Get extreme close-ups of his face, ears or nose. You will not be sorry.
4) Interactivity is nice. Don't be afraid to get playful with your pet while you're taking photos. Some of the best shots could come from their reactions to you or whatever toy you're using with them.
There! Now get out there and show Mittens what you've got!
But! I have heard that some cool-ass people won. Including Melissa McCarthy, Peter Dinklage, Kyle Chandler and Margo Martindale. If you don't know who those people are...You should! They are awesome and/or on awesome shows. Check 'em out.
HUBS and I had another EXPANSION weekend, since we finally left the house early enough on Friday to go to the annual Forest Park Balloon Glow. We got stuck in horrendous pre-glow traffic the previous two years we tried to go. Last year we were actually in traffic four hours! By the time we got there it was clear there was no place to park and I had to turn frustratingly around and head home.
We were in the car by 4:30. Since most people weren't even off work yet, traffic was no problem and we even got to park right near the event. The actual glowing was amazing. I'd been twice before, in '98 and '99 I think, but I'd never been on the actual balloon field. I have to say, though, I do have some complaints about the evening. Let's make a list, shall we?
Things the Balloon Organizers Should Know That They Did Wrong
1) Remember how I said HUBS and I got there at 4:30? Well, the glowing doesn't start until about four hours later. I just knew there'd be entertainment for that huge amount of empty time. And yet, no. I mean, aside from the children's area with ponies, a climbing wall and bouncy house stuff, and a team of trampoliners. Seeing as how you have to get there ridiculously early to get in if you drive, next year there had damn well better be a few local bands, some belly dancers and fire eaters or something. Do you hear me?
2) HUBS had wanted to get Rally's before we headed in, but I was afraid any detour would land us in gridlock land, so I didn't stop until we hit the park. We ate at three different booths, spent around $40 and almost all the food was crap. One booth proclaimed to have Cajun delicacies, but their "jambalaya" consisted of half-cooked crunchy-ass white rice with some chicken and sausage chunks and a can of tomato paste. I had three or four bites before it started making me sick to my stomach because it was so nasty.
HUBS got their "crawfish etouffee" which looked so disgusting I could barely stand the sight of it. Being ever the trooper, HUBS finished both things because he was hungry and we'd paid actual, real money for them.
We then tried soft pretzels and cheese from Gus' Pretzels, a local place that's been around since 1920. I will never again, unless I've literally been starved for days, eat another Gus' pretzel.
You know the expression "What's up your butt?", well, I can now tell you that it's one of these pretzels. They were that hard, y'all! And cold. And the little cup of nacho cheese we got was cold, too. How the fuck does a business that's been around this long send out product like this to an event? All old, cold and hard as hell? Shame on you Gus! Shame!
We got burgers from a booth called Elvis' Place. They sucked, but at least the $7 funnel cake they made was rad. Jesus, Balloon People, make sure the highly expensive food is at least edible before you let these crazies in.
3) Last and not least, getting out of the park was a mess. Would it really be so difficult to have some cops around to direct traffic and the masses of walkers?
Phew! But, as with a lot of experiences that don't turn out much like you expect them to, at least now we know!
