Rhode Island makes 32
Topic: Daily Posts
Yesterday, we went to Rhode Island. We visited the historic Blackstone River Valley on a beautifully, warm, sunny spring day. That trip to Rhode Island added one more state that I have now been to. I don't actually remember Nebraska, and I didn't count states that I flew over, but here's the list of states I have visited:

1. Illinois (born there),
2. Missouri (lived there),
3. Michigan,
4. Wisconsin,
5. North Dakota,
6. South Dakota,
7. California,
8. Kansas,
9. Tennessee,
10. Georgia,
11. Kentucky,
12. Florida,
13. Montana,
14. New Hampshire,
15. Maine,
16. Ohio,
17. New York,
18. West Virginia,
19. Oklahoma,
20. Colorado,
21. Pennsylvania,
22. Nebraska,
23. Massachusetts (live there now),
24. Arkansas,
25. Alabama,
26. Maryland,
27. Connecticut,
28. Wyoming,
29. Indiana,
30. Iowa,
31. Montana,
32. Rhode Island

Left is:
1. Washington,
2. Oregon,
3. Idaho,
4. Nevada,
5. Arizona,
6. New Mexico,
7. Texas,
8. South Carolina,
9. Louisiana,
10. Mississippi,
11. North Carolina,
12. Hawaii,
13. Alaska,
14. Utah,
15. Minnesota,
16. New Jersey,
17. Virginia,
18. Vermont

5-7-5
Topic: Poetry
Rememeber the summer of bud haikus? I make a motion to bring it back.

Here's mine:

kabobs on the grill
sarah maclaughlan playing
enjoying my bud


Here's a haiku classic:

REDNECK HAIKU
Oh brother squirrel,
Your tail, my hair. We are one.
Yet I must eat you.

Also, check out the Haiku Generator

He'll have the Rare Piece
Topic: Tiger
Yesterday, my wonderful husband, in his foresight, decided to take a large steak out of the freezer to thaw on the stove while we were at work. The idea was that we would come home to a steak, ready for the grill.

Instead, Tiger ate the entire, raw, frozen steak BONE AND ALL while we were at work. Pete came home to a styrofoam tray and plastic on the floor of the living room.

Listening To.......
Topic: Music
Well, I did, in fact go to the Joseph Arthur show Monday night at The Paradise. It was incredible. There he was, the place was EMPTY. He played "On All Our Hands" and "Honey & the Moon" and all the other good ones. Incredible. Just incredible. He painted and sang. I was in heaven. Even Pete enjoyed the show.

Somewhat unrelated.....Over the Weekend, I visited Newbury Comics for the first time. They're legendary around here - somewhat similar to Slackers in the Missouri area. They have F I V E H U N D R E D indie CDs on sale this month. That's more CDs than I own. Having already picked up Joseph Arthur's CD, I tried to contain myself, I limited myself to one - The Arcade Fire - funeral. Awesome. (Think Modest Mouse meets Neutral Milk Hotel.) They are another show I'm sorry that I missed. I need to get on it. Next, I'll pick up the Kaiser Cheifs CD and fall in love with it since I missed that show, too....

"Keymaster" or "I am an Idiot"
Topic: Daily Posts
I found them! The keys! They're found! No, they weren't in the freezer.

Apparently, when I came home from walking the dog on Sunday night (the last time I had them), I put them on a CHAIR in the kitchen. Then, I quickly pushed in the chair under the table with the long table cloth on it. Then, for three days straight, while trying to recover from our "weekend hangover", we ate all meals in the form of junkfood and empty calories on the comfort of our sofa in the living room in front of the mind-numbing television. Then tonight, while finally getting around to cleaning the kitchen, I took the tablecloth to wash out the lobster stench and rearranged the table to remove one chair. Voila! There they were! On the CHAIR! Somewhere stupid where they don't belong!

Oh sweet, sweet Shaw's Card, Stop & Shop Card, PetSmart Card, Petco Card, Bob's Card, Vitamin World Card. I've missed you all. I'll never be so careless again.

Dude, where's my keys?
It's a been a very busy past few days. Here are the highlights, er, lowlights?

Juice was here over the weekend. No one was arrested, and our house wasn't burned to the ground, so I guess it was a success. Honestly, compared with previous weekends with Juice (and with the exception of the slight indescretion in choice of entertainment) I would say that the weekend was good. I never thought I'd say that about him.

My keys have gone missing. I have just about turned the house upside down looking for them. Sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, the disappeared. Did I accidentally throw them away? Did I drop them while taking out the trash? Maybe someone has them and is plotting to break in.... Perhaps I mindlessly put them in the freezer. If anyone has seen them, please return them to me. I miss my Shaw's rewards card.

I got a demotion at work. Yeah, they reassigned titles with our move to the other division. I was given the LOWEST title. Entry level. There were others in there with me though. Some, even, with master's degrees. Here's the part where I refrain from saying too much for fear of being fired. The upside was that my manager complained and requested that I be given a higher title. Gotta love that. I have to admit that I don't care about my title. They can call me the "lab bitch" as long as my job doesn't change and that paycheck keeps coming.

Drunken Underoos Internet Shopping
Topic: Daily Posts
Why am I allowed access to BEER, CREDIT CARDS, and SHOPPING at the same time? Oh sweet internet, I love you. Not only can I shop in my underoos, but I can be completely drunk while doing so.

Among the items aquired during drunken internet shopping sprees are: Old Navy capri pants (with $5 shipping!), NUMEROUS Nine West shoes, CDs from amazon.com, a subscription to Maxim magazine for Pete (what was I thinking?!), and, as of tonight, a new blog. I'm testing out typepad's blog service. I have to say that I thought it would be different from tripod. Not so much. Thankfully, they have a 30 day FREE trial period, so I can cancel at any time - any time after a few beers, as that seems to be when I make my MOST rational decisions......

Joseph Arthur
Now Playing: Joseph Arthur
Topic: Music
I LOVE Joseph Arthur's music, but sort of lost touch with what he was doing since I moved here. So, when I saw that he'll be here on Tuesday (I hate going to shows on a "school night". I'm so f-ing old.) I thought about making an exception. Yeah, he's worth it.

I decided to check out his website and see if I could listen to anything off his new album.

I loved his haunting melodies and wicked-ninja-awesome lyrics on Redemption's Son. He has a true gift for combining his imagery with his musical genius. Amazing.

Apparently his new album will not disappoint. Here are some lyrics from: all of our hands

"until we clothe the naked, all of us are damned..."

"and in time, fire will rain down on our head, the sky will open up and life will be bled."

"murder by indifference, murder by our greed, murder by our riches taken from the ones in need, murder in our churches and murder by belief. We who just do nothing will be murdered in our sleep."

This song will give me something to think about for years.

All the furniture is in the garage....
Now Playing: LCD Soundsystem
Topic: Music
Does anyone else LOVE "daft punk is playing at my house"? I keep hearing it everywhere: the radio, GAP, my head. Over and over. Such a great pick-me-up!

Spring? No, it's "Not Winter".
Topic: Daily Posts
In New England, we don’t so much have “seasons” as we have Winter and Not Winter. The Winter portion of the year is obvious: consecutive days below 0 degrees, 3 feet of snow at all times, wind chills hovering around absolute zero. The Not Winter portion of the year is trickier. Just as it begins, we get slammed with a cold snap and 6 inches of snow. But now, I believe that Not Winter has begun. We have had successive days above freezing. Not too long ago, the last traces of snow disappeared from our yard. And today, ladies and gentlemen, I did not wear my winter coat to work. I wore a jacket. Our high for the day (two days in a row): 58 degrees.

The beautiful synergy of this weather and the recent time change (giving me a whole extra hour of daylight) has awakened the sleeping Martha Stewart in me. It’s Not Winter! I think alphabetize the linen closet! Raise 234 varieties of tomatoes,! Send hand-made thank you notes to everyone I know! Start a chicken farm! Re-upholster the furniture! Learn to hand-tie authentic alpaca rugs! Take up conversational Japanese! And that’s just this weekend!

Last night, the wild Martha Stewart hair up my ass caused me to: rake the yard - making sure to get the dead leaves, grass, and sticks carefully to leave the newly planted grass, chop and marinate beef, chicken, and veggies for kabobs on the grill – with separate marinades for the beef and chicken to bring out their unique flavors, order plane tickets for the upcoming bachelorette party, take the dog for the Long Walk up the giant hill (as opposed to the Short Walk, which he hates), email everyone in my inbox, call my sisters, clean the living room, all while leisurely drinking a beer. I totally deserved that beer.