How'd That Happen?

Saturday is Christmas. Which means next Saturday is 2011. How in the fuck did that happen already? I'm pretty sure I'm still 12 and hoping to stop getting zits within the next year...Right? No? What do you mean by that, exactly?

Oh, you mean I'm 36 and still have one Christmas gift to buy and about eight others to wrap? Dammit...

Well, you know how my mom and I were trying to figure out what to cook for Christmas dinner, since we've both decided we're tired of the stuff we've been making twice every year since 1994? We finally made a decision; we're not cooking. Nothing "special" anyway. No cooked-all-night dressing. No sweet potato pies. And I can honestly say I won't miss it.

The thing that'll really be odd, though, is that since we're looking at a combo of frozen rain and snow starting early on Friday, I likely won't be going to my mom's for Christmas Eve. That will be the first time, literally in my entire life, that I won't be with my mom the day before Christmas. She told me yesterday that she thinks I should just stay at home if the weather is bad, but I already feel neglectful.

And? And! I'm having end-of-year/beginning-of-year anxiety. I can never really find a good way to get myself to get things done. (Important, advance my station/happiness in life things. Not laundry type things; I do that shit all the time.)

I make To-Do lists, and do you know what happens? I do the stuff that doesn't scare me, every time. The really important things always get pushed back because they're not so easy and they freak me out and I'd rather avoid them. Even though I know avoidance has always gotten me nowhere.

Wow! I did not mean to be a downer when I started on this post. Apologies. Now enjoy a little levity via 1967...

Blast The Bah Humbugs!

Well, thank God! I've successfully pushed away my bah humbuggeries by getting off my ass, baking homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, blasting Ella Fitzgerald holiday tunes and putting up some additional Christmas decorations. I've been craving fresh baked cookies for weeks now, and I'm even cooking dinner for the first time since Monday. EEEEE!


Granted, I went up and down the stairs too many times (made me feel a bit weak and dizzy) getting out decorations, but overall? I feel so much better. Much of this is due to waking up and feeling like a real, non-sick human being this morning and having it last all day long. I didn't even have to take a nap!


Alright, maybe I went overboard with the cookies. But how was I supposed to know the recipe was going to make a million of them?

Listen to Ella, y'all, and make your yuletide gay!

Citygirl Bites! Smoking Joe's BBQ

My lovelies, it's time for another installment of Citygirl Bites! On December 3 HUBS and I finally went to Smoking Joe's BBQ, a joint downtown that we'd been meaning to go to for a few weeks.

Despite the cold and the late hour that we finally got our asses out of the house, I was excited. I luuuuuuuuuuvre BBQ! If would be fair to say it's one of the few foods I really crave on occasion. Unfortunately, after our jaunt to this place, my craving is still intact.

My first objection with the place is that it's freakin' hard to spot on a dark night when you haven't been there before. SJ BBQ! Invest in a large sign, please!



There is a nice atmosphere inside, though. The place is moodily lit for romance, dressed up for Christmas and they even have live music and a bar area. It's more of a BBQ nightclub than a straight-up stuff-your-face joint. They've kicked your standard BBQ place up a notch.



That would be excellent if I didn't think they did it to divert attention away from the food. It's not horrible, but it's not good enough to deal with driving all the way downtown, either.

The meal started off pretty good. We ordered BBQ chicken nachos for an appetizer and they were large and good (though it did take a while for them to get to us). SJ BBQ has three different sauces: sweet, mild and hot, and all were tasty.



I ordered the ribs with beans and cole slaw. Let me start by saying that the sides were excellent. The main course, on the other hand, arrived almost cold. If you don't already know, cold ribs aren't much fun. That wasn't the worst part, though.

My ribs were also incredibly fatty. So much so that I couldn't take a bite without getting gobs of fat. I had to cut around the ribs and remove the fatty bits before eating. Also? Not much fun and kinda irritating. I kept the leftovers but ended up giving them to the stray cats because I knew I wouldn't feel like doing all the work involved to eat around the fat. I'm glad someone was able to enjoy them.



HUBS wanted their small combo platter, but he wanted to sub its chicken and ribs for pork and turkey. They wouldn't let him. Usually BBQ places have a general combo platter where you can get set portions of any of their meats, but not here. And there was nothing on the menu that said No Substitutions, either. That's another strike for them, as far as we're concerned.



After that disappointment, HUBS settled on their pulled pork platter with potato salad and green beans. This time, at least, the main dish was as good as the sides. The pork was tender and flavorful and those green beans were a definite stand-out.

All in all the main attraction for this place is the price. Most of their menu items cost $8.99 or less. Be aware of the live music times, too. It got really loud in there once the band started and having to shout across the table at each other was a bit maddening. (I know, we sound like old fogies. Oh, wait, we kinda are!) If you're already in the area, I'd give them a shot. But stay away from the ribs.

Tuesday Tipday: Longing For The Days Of A Sore Throat

Well, well, well...Looks like my body decided that an intermittent sore throat wasn't punishment enough. As of last night I've got a full blown cold: running nose, congestion, tired, fuzzy-headedness and all. Yay!

On the plus side this cold is nothing compared to what one of my cousins has been going through. He's been battling pneumonia since August; the doctors put him in a drug induced coma for a while and then on life support. Each time they tried to dial down the life support, though, his organs stopped working on their own.

On Friday my mom told me my uncle had decided to fully take him off life support. We were all expecting that Saturday would be his last day, but we got an actual Christmas miracle when all of his bodily functions kicked in and he woke up. That? That's some unbelievable God Magic right there. Can we all say a little prayer that he'll continue to get better? Thanks.

Now, on to the fun stuff. Do you see that video up there? Friends, it just happens to be the music video for my all-time favorite modern Christmas song, Wham's Last Christmas. I figured since a large portion of the country is in the grips of winter weather advisories and such my music offerings could stand to get in the spirit of the season.

I ,myself, am having trouble getting into that same spirit. My lack of holiday enthusiasm started before I got sick, and now that I think about it I might see what the problem is: everything is the same every year. Mom and I cook the same stuff (We did talk about that and she's bored with what we cook, too! And totally game to make something different.), and HUBS and I run around on Thanksgiving and Christmas days to PT's and his parents, who are two hours away.

I suppose I'm just a little tired of the routine, though I've got no idea what we could do differently. Remember when you were a kid and the holidays seemed so magical and mysterious and full of fun? I suppose it'll never feel like that again, but I wish I could get some of that tingly feeling back.

So, today's tip: Don't get so bogged down in feeling the holiday spirit that you can't have any fun. I think it's natural to have a "blah, it's the holidays again" feeling every now and then.

How are you 'feeling' your holiday of choice this year?

Contests Beget Progress

Internet! Things are good today. I may still feel a bit on the iffy side, but in my haze I've managed to accomplish something very big this week.

See, there's a screenplay I've been knocking around for six years now. The last time I actually looked at it and did any editing was almost three years ago when I entered it into a contest. Well, another contest deadline comes along tonight before midnight, and I finally went back to my work Wednesday and today. I added some stuff, moved some things around and took out others. All of this is to say that I'm moments away from entering it into another contest!

Winning is a long shot, I know. But, the big thing here is that I revisited the screenplay. It's the very first one I ever started, and is currently the only one I've ever fully written down. It feels basically finished to me now, unlike last time I put it in the running for a competition, and I think I can finally start to really work on some of the other ideas I have.

So, progress! Yay!

In other news, there's a contest over at Chronicle Books that ends today. There are two ways to win: post a list of all the Chronicle Books titles you want (up to $500) on your blog, or comment on someone else's blog list. Blogger and commenter will win all the books on the list. Here's mine:

Chronicle Books Dream List

1) Allure by Diana Vreeland $35
2) Curious Cats by Mitsuaki Iwago $16.95
3) Lickshot by Ben Watts $50
4) Hot Shots by Kevin Meredith, Heather Champ & Derek Powazek $16.95
5) Secret Lives of Great Filmmakers by Robert Schnakenberg $16.95
6) Art of the Modern Movie Poster by Judith Salavetz,Spencer Drate, Sam Sarowitz $75
7) Television Without Pity by Tara Ariano & Sarah Bunting $15.95
8) Picture Show by Dianna Edwards $19.95
9) The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex by Kristen Schaal & Rich Blomquist $24.95
10) Gig Posters Volume I by Clay Hayes $40
11) What's Next? by Kerry Hannon $22.95
12) Curious Lists: A Creative Journal for List-Lovers $12.95
13) 1,001 Ways to Live in the Moment by Barbara Kipfer $9.95
14) Living Out Loud by Keri Smith $17.95
15) Penny Saving Household Helper by Rebecca DiLiberto $12.95
16) Secrets of Stylists by Sasha Charnin Morrison $24.95
17) Macaroni & Cheese by Marlena Spieler & Noel Barnhurst $16.95
18) The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt $19.95
19) The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt $19.95
20) Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor & Leigh Beisch $22.95

There's my awesomely long list. Don't forget to comment and maybe we can both win!

Happy Weekend!

Citygirl Bites!

The soft pretzels and cheese and Kirkwood Ice and Fuel.

Since HUBS and I like to try new restaurants and eat out in general, I've decided to begin a new feature here on citygirl where I review some of these places for a little bit of food porn.

Up first is Kirkwood Ice and Fuel. We've been passing by this place for three years and finally went in the Sunday after my birthday back in November. It was surprisingly dive-y inside, but luckily that doesn't mean the food is crappy. These folks know what they're doing!

Those pretzels were perfect, soft and warm with a bit of crispiness outside and just the right amount of salt. The cheese sauce was warm and creamy. Very nice.



I got this Cajun chicken sandwich which came on a nice wheat bun. It was perfectly seasoned and juicy and the onion rings were amazing, just filled with crunchy, onion-y goodness.



HUBS went with the chili nachos for his meal, and even though it's really an appetizer there's more than enough for a main course. Good, cheesy, bean-y chippy nachos.



If the look on HUBS' face isn't enough, listen up: GO TO KIRKWOOD ICE & FUEL. I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

Tuesday Tipday! Switcharoo!!

Wow. I mean really, I thought I was basically over my sore throat/extreme tiredness issue this weekend, but after trying for two days to act like a normal person who doesn't need to sleep all day, I can see that that's not the case.

It always floors me when I get sick. I stay away from filthy little children, I wash my hands well and avoid sick people and hospitals whenever possible. And yet, sometimes a little bug will still catch up with me. Blech. Of course, it doesn't help that 'the store's closed', which is HUBS' way of saying that I'm on my period. As he put it yesterday, "it's hard to re-open when the employees come in late, keep asking for time off and won't get their overtime pre-approved."

Ain't that the truth.

Combine my current physical states with the fact that I got overconfident on Sunday night and stayed up watching a stupid movie that I, nonetheless, remember fondly from my childhood. I was up until 2:30 Monday morning, and then got up at 8:30 to drive HUBS to work and spend the day with him. BIG MISTAKE STAYING OUT IN PUBLIC FOR 10 FULL HOURS WHEN I FELT LIKE TOTAL CRAP. BIG.


Yeah, this is what I watched...On purpose.

I'm trying to comfort myself, but nothing seems to work. So for Tuesday Tipday this week I'd like your tips. How do you guys pamper yourselves when you're feeling down or just plain sick?

Wednesday Tipday And Music Extravaganza!

Woooooo! Is anybody else worn out from Thanksgiving? I managed to pick up a mild sore throat/hard to breathe deeply/upper chest tightness thingie that had me in bed most of the day on Saturday, Monday and today, though, I must say, I do feel better.

I tried to create a fantastic playlist for you guys Monday, but my widget service was on the fritz, and since yesterday's Tipday was short-circuited by my convalescence, I figured I'd mash everything into one Mega Wednesday Post!!



As you can see, I'm posting videos throughout so you never get bored. Speaking of boredom, do you guys eat the same thing for Thanksgiving each year? My mom and I always make the same stuff: cornbread & turkey dressing, sweet potato pies, homemade mac 'n' cheese, candied yams and some kind of veggie (glazed carrots, Mexicorn, fresh green beans...). I had an inkling about this last year, but now I know it for sure...I'm tired of it. Especially since we eat the same thing at Christmas every year, too.



The thing is, I don't know what other meal will feel like the holidays to me. Plus, making the pies and dressing is kind of a big deal, mom and I have been making these things since the early '90s together; it's a tradition. And since we've lost so much family lately, and so much has changed, I'm afraid of hurting her feelings or freaking her out by switching things up now.



I know it seems like it's just food, but it's really more. We bonded over those pre-holiday nights cooking when I was at home from college and my dad had already crapped out on us. If we don't have those, rather involved, dishes to cook what are we going to do on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve? Will anything I suggest be doable for PT, who already had a history of hating change and difficulty making small decisions even before she lost her big brother and mom in less than a year? If you guys have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate them.



Meanwhile, since the holidays are fully upon us, I thought I'd pass along some tips from around the web that should make all your festive planning go a bit smoother. Happy Wednesday, y'all!

Got an action-packed December? Plan the shit out of it.

Need help with in-law irritations? Killing them is not the answer.



Like a little help getting into the spirit of things? Try these movie guides and music guides.

Want to eat and drink your way merry?

Are you letting holiday pressures beat you down? Stop it.

Last, but not least, don't forget to laugh:

Music Monday: Favorite Things!

In honor of Oprah's last Favorite Things show ever, which aired today, I'd like to present some of my favorite songs. This is my no means an exhaustive list, I love music too much to be able to do that! But, this is a pretty good sampling of the songs that make me tingle every time I hear them.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and Happy Monday!

Stud Pants and Princess Panties: Two Phrases You Need To Know

Cats in maxi pads...I am embarrassed for all involved...Especially the cats.

Music Midweek! Old School Rap

Aren't Wednesdays nice? Just a couple more days until the weekend...And, my birthday, which is on Friday. I spent a huge amount of time today trying to think of cool things to do that won't cost too much money. I thought about having us go to a bounce house this weekend, but now I'm not sure.

Any ideas for my 36th birthday festivities? No? Well, maybe listening to some old school rap from my youthful glory days will help. Enjoy!

Tuesday Tipday!

My grandmother as a little girl, standing beside her dad, in the hat. By the way, she grew up to look almost exactly like her mom, just a bit lighter.

Happy Tuesday everybody! I do apologize for missing our Music Monday, but I'm working on a playlist for tomorrow so we can have Music Midweek instead.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine turned into more of an ordeal than I thought it would. I got my hair did Saturday and then stopped by my mom's place since she lives near the hair dresser's. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but I ended up staying for about four hours.

Why? Well, shortly after I arrived my mom started crying...And then revealed that she'd been crying all day long. My uncle and grandmother's birthdays were the last week in October, and mom has been having a really hard time dealing with their loss since then. I immediately felt horrible because it didn't occur to me to call her on either of those days to see how she was. Fuck, I'm a bad daughter.

But, she did say that talking to me helped her. It is unbelievably hard to watch my mom cry and listen to her talk about how lonely she's been and how she feels stuck and can't move on. She talked a lot about the fact that everybody else is moving forward and she feels like she's the only one who can't quite get over losing those two less than a year apart. I had to keep reminding her that just because her siblings seem to be fine, it doesn't mean they aren't crying themselves to sleep three times a week. Appearances and actuality are often two very different things.

So, I've got two tips for today:

1) Remember, everyone's going through something. Regardless of how happy they look (or are).


Before/After

2) If you'll notice the photo above, you will see HUBS and my current joint home improvement pride and joy: we refinished our deck. I swear I thought it would only take one weekend but ended up taking a whole freakin' week; with all the sanding, power washing, drying, waiting to make sure it didn't rain, first coating, more drying and second coating. We finished in late October and I was sore until early November. Here's a guide if you decide to tackle the job yourself. I would recommend buying a power washer, power sander and stain sprayer if at all possible, or at least renting them. Getting between slats is a tricky, tricky business without 'em.

Tuesday Tipday!

Man, I am tired! I don't know what's going on with me this evening, but when the clock hit two? I was done for. Unfortunately, I was still in my first digital storytelling class and still had to write my SLIFF movie wrap-up. I have never had a tougher time writing, I don't think.

Today's tip is all based on the day I've had. When you need to sleep, do it. When you need to slow down, do it. When you need to lock yourself away from the world and be alone, go ahead and get it done. You'll just make things worse if you wear yourself out, even if you think it's for all the "right" reasons.

Now, off to eat a cookie and sleep.

Music Monday: Kitten Rescue!

HUBS and I did something that felt really good on Saturday; we rescued a one month old kitten.

We were about to eat dinner when HUBS looked out the window and saw a tiny kitten following some of the other strays around. We'd never seen this one before, but earlier in the day a neighbor knocked on our door because his mom had sent him to ask us what to do about a bunch of kittens wandering around in their driveway.

Why'd she send him to us? 'Cause the whole street knows we're the cat people. Observe our front yard on a daily basis:



Anyway, it was pretty obvious that this kitten got away from that other bunch because he was so small and aimlessly following the others, meowing and praying someone was his mom. The other cats were not being nice to the little guy, so we went out to see if he'd let us catch him.

It took about ten minutes but I was finally able to sneak up on him and scoop our new pal up. HUBS ran inside, covered our dinners, got my purse and his keys and we set out for the Humane Society. We got there in about 20 minutes and in that very short time came up with a name for him: Murray Von Katenstein. I think it suits him well, what do you think?



So, for this Music Monday, I'm sharing some songs to rescue kittens to. Enjoy!

Did I Tell You About My Teeth?

This must be another of the signs that my body is giving me to show that I'm getting old.

I used to be able to brush my teeth like a normal person. Brush for a bit, swirl some mouth wash around, maybe floss, and in about two minutes I was done. Then, out of nowhere, around January my gums started to hurt. I was scheduled for a dentist visit anyway and told him about it when I went.

He did his dentist thing and started poking around with that little silver hook, and my gums started to gush blood (Sorry!). I was shocked and oh so massively horrified. See, I've always had really good teeth. I've never had so much as a cavity. My dentist even calls me Miss Perfect. It just never occurred to me that I'd ever have chomper trouble. Then, at my latest visit about two months ago, the final verdict: I had...Gingivitis!!!

I've had to develop a very serious and rather lengthy regimen to keep my gums from getting torn apart when I brush. I brush for the complete recommended two minutes, then I floss, then I gargle for the complete recommended one minute, all while walking in place. (Two birds to kill, and all that.)

Believe me when I say it feels like it takes longer than three to four minutes. I have to brush very, very gingerly to avoid irritating my still raw gums. Though I am happy to say they no longer bleed.

On the plus side? I still totally have teeth! I. AM. AWESOME!

Happy weekend everybody!

Are We Really This Fucked Up?

I tell you what, I learn something new and frustratingly sad every day, it seems. Have you guys heard of drunkorexia? Apparently a lot of young women are not eating during the day so they can go out after work and drink their asses off without gaining weight.

God. Really? They're that worried about gaining weight? And they need to drink that much...Every night? Sometimes I just need people to stop and think, but they almost never do. I hope anyone taking part in this craziness comes to their senses sooner rather than later.

Also? Drunkorexia is a fucked up word. If this unfortunate business has to be a real thing, can we at least get some kind of clinical terminology for it? Please?

Have you ever done anything that seriously jeopardized your health? What made you stop?

Tuesday Tipday!

Photo

Do you all know about the free stuff? When money got really tight a few months ago, I got plugged into the internet freebie web. I've gotten magazine subscriptions, vitamins, Post-It Notes, whole bottles of Advil, sodas, toothpaste, laundry detergent, cereal bars and loads of other samples and full-sized products totally free and for little or no effort.

Now, the linkage:

1) All You Magazine

2) Hey It's Free!

3) Kraft First Taste

4) Freebies 4 Mom

5) P&G Everyday Solutions

6) My Points

7) Right at Home

8) Walmart

Want another tip for tipday? If you decide to go the My Points route (and I really think it's worth it) or even the multiple contest entry route (here and basically every major magazine website) it's worth opening up another email account just for that stuff so that your freebie mail doesn't get in the way of your business/family emails. That was one of the best decisions I made when I started entering contests about ten years ago.

Happy Tuesday!

Music Monday: Dance!

How was your weekend? Considering the flurry of activity around here (dinner out on Friday, a trip to pick up the 10 film screeners I'll be reviewing for SLIFF, lots of shopping on Saturday and a Sunday spent recovering from all the previous day's running around), I thought we could use a Music Monday dance party to start the week off right.

Put your dancin' pants on...Let's go!

Lazy Days Into Winter

You know when you get a song stuck in your head and can't stop humming it or singing to yourself? Even as you grow tired of repeating the same lines, you can't stop yourself; if you're awake, there it is, stalking the corners of your mind.

I've been having the same sensation for the past few weeks, but with a single quote that I've heard in two different places over the course of about a month.

"How you spend your days is how you spend your life."

Every time I sit on my ass and do nothing (even when nothing-doing is well-deserved, like after cleaning the living room windows and scrubbing the bathroom) it rings in my head like a school bell. It's become an automatic response, and I know why.

I have a history of wild and improbable ideas. Things I really, truly desire to try or just plain get done. But, I also have a magnificent history of letting the enormity of those ideas push me into ambition-less funks where nothing gets done because all I can think of is the impossible-seeming glory that'll result from the end product.

If you didn't already know, I'm screwy.

So I know this quote from, I believe, Annie Dillard is my mind's way of pushing me forward. And yet, as the words reverberate in my own mental voice, all I can seem to do is what needs to be done: empty the dishwasher, clean the windows, do the laundry, feed the cats, take a bath, pay bills, run books back to the library...

I don't want to leave this Earth only having done what I needed to. I want to finish my screenplay and build on my other ideas, write my books and get them published, sell my photographs, spiff up this blog even more, go to networking events and not vomit from fear beforehand, travel wildly and make money doing something I enjoy. You know, among other things.

I suppose I've made some small steps recently. Last week I signed up for a digital storytelling class that may lead to work (Paid? God, I hope paid.) with our local PBS station. Last night HUBS and I went mini-golfing in the dark. That may not sound like a big step, but I'd never been mini-golfing before and it was on my list of things to try. We had fun and I foresee us doing it again soon.

I want to know, how do you spend your days and how do you want to spend your days going forward?

Dammit Grooveshark! And, Tuesday Tip Day!

I fully intended to file the first half of this post yesterday. But, as you can partially see from the title, I was having trouble with my nifty little widget. But! Today I finally figured the thing out and now I present to you the inaugural (pretend it's still Monday, y'all...) Music Monday!

See, I've decided to start some weekly features here on citygirl to keep things fresh for me and you. I love music. Almost as much as I love movies, self-help books and TV shows that make me feel warm and things that sparkle. Also? I think I've got pretty fine taste in music and I have a knack for finding cool new music.

The playlist above is a gift for when you're in a turn off the TV, wrap yourself in a big sweater and ruminate over your life's many dilemmas mood. Just a little bit of rock, some soul, some oldies and some pure fun pop for when you need a bit of background music.

In other news, there's also a weekly feature for today! From now on Tuesdays will be Tuesday Tip Day.

Today's Tip: When trying to save money, use half. I've been using half a dryer sheet for months now with no change in the static free-ness of our clothes. Try it. Half a slice of cheese on your sandwich, half a tank of gas if you're not driving much these days, half of that giant cookie you probably shouldn't eat all in one sitting anyway. You'll stretch your resources and save some dinero.

Editor's Note: If you have trouble playing the songs, let me know. I don't want to have to put a smackdown on Grooveshark, but I will for you internet.