What I'm {Triple Stealing}...

(Val stole this from Dani, who stole this it from Annie Blogs.)

What I’m [reading] = New Moon. I know, I know. I read the first installment of the Twilight saga about a year ago and it took me a year to cave, but as of this week, I am making my way through the second book. And I must say-- I am entertained. I like it better than the first one.

What I’m [also reading] = The Valley of Vision. It's a book of exquisite Puritan prayers, I've been making it a part of my quiet time and it's been very humbling and eye opening.

What I’m [eating] = Made breakfast this morning! Cheesy scrambled eggs, toast w/ strawberry jam, bacon, cheese danish, coffee and OJ.

What I’m [hearing] = Nothing at the moment. It's lovely. I've noticed that since working at the Arch and being aurally assaulted by voices and announcements for 8 hours a day, all the while being forced to talk and explain things to dozens of people over the hum of hundreds of voices, I have a lot less tolerance for unnecessary noise. Especially in my house.

What I’m [writing] = this blog... and maybe something else.

What I’m [missing] = Saffire Restaurant. The people AND the food. I've been thinking about it a couple times a week, I think I need a CFC fix.

What I’m [loving] = The Avett Brothers record Emotionalism. Great harmony, excellent writing/storytelling. It's just so good. And we're going to see them live at the Pageant in September! I couldn't be more excited :)

What I’m [googling] = Michael Drummond, the St. Louis designer who's currently on Project Runway! One of my friends walked in his show during STL Fashion Week. Pretty cool.

What I’m [watching] = Since LOST is over, Chuck is my favorite show. The relationships between all the characters are just so great. I've grown to love them all over the past 3 years... and I'm just finishing up Season 3.

What I’m [surprised about] = how early these tuckpointing jokers decide to start working on our house. At 7am, they start with the sanding and scraping and whirring and showering concrete dust EVERYWHERE in the back courtyard. We accidentally left a window cracked in the kitchen, and the entire counter got covered in a fine layer of dust. Not to mention them blocking the way to our basement laundry area with tarps and ladders AND standing on those ladders at eye level with our kitchen and bedroom windows. I'm happy for the repairs, but I'll be really happy when they're all done.

What I’m [wondering] = why and how Gotham has developed a new hobby of chewing through (unplugged) electrical cords. First my curling iron (which is fortunately pretty cheap and rarely used) and then a lamp in the living room. I am NOT amused and he got in BIG trouble. Guess I better get some Bitter Apple spray before he notices something expensive, like a phone charger or computer cord.

Two Completely Different Things.

Making the decision to sleep with somebody you just met is like picking up a half eaten, 3 day old burrito off the floor of a train station and putting it in your mouth. Potentially worse.

---

If I had written this song, I wouldn't ever have to write another one. I could die completely satisfied with my one-hit wonder. This is absolutely my favorite song right now, but I can't really imagine anyone not liking it. (and LOST fans, its even more fantastic if you picture Juliet & Sawyer as Love & Hate embodied. Serious.) Please please please, give it a listen. Or go to the show, they're touring with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Should be really good. :)

Finishing.

I never finished my high school scrapbook. (9th-11th grade)

I never assembled all the memorable bits and pieces I saved from my semester abroad.

I've been collecting t-shirts since I was in grade school, and have still never attempted to cut them into patches and assemble a t-shirt quilt, even though I've been wanting to do it since my freshman year of college.

I have furniture that needs stripping and a bedroom wall that needs painting and pictures to hang.

I also have letters to write; of the thank you variety, as well as the catch up variety. And I better get to it since Ben comes home from Afghanistan in October.

There are even songs I used to be able to play on the piano that I'm afraid I've forgotten how to play.

But between cleaning the house and the car and cooking and working and spending time with friends, I doubt I'll ever HAVE the time.

I'm going to have to make the time. I think it'd feel pretty good to complete some abandoned projects. Maybe once I get a few completed projects under my belt, I'll be able to tackle the most difficult project of all-- an abandoned story.

We'll see :)

This Week I...

• cut up my Discover card. Really, really.
  
• finished reading Huck Finn.
• decided to finish reading the Twilight series.
• ate fresh, ripe blackberries from a bush in my parents-in-law's yard.
• began convincing a bff couple of ours to name their future son after a swashbuckling hero.
• sat on my bed and talked to my (female) bestie.
• watched fireworks in a national park.
• stayed on a grocery budget for the first time in my life
  
• drank fresh cantaloupe/apple/grape/spinach juice, concocted by my husband.
  

Failed to Mention...

Oh, and during that same Jell-o promo at the zoo, I also met a little 3 year old boy named Anakin. No lie. I always knew there were a few running around somewhere, but I'd yet to meet one. His dad called him over to play some game we had laid out, and when they finished and came to pick up their jell-o samples, I confirmed it.

"Did you say his name was Anakin?"

The dad (who you could never tell was a fanboy just by looking at him) confirmed it with a huge nerdy grin. I had to grin back.

This Won't Be A Habit.

But today, I spent the majority of my day at the STL Zoo doing a promo for Jell-o. I thought it might be fun for you to see what I put my digestive system through today.

Food Journal 6/28/10

- honey wheat bagel with whipped strawberry cream cheese
- cup of chocolate mousse pudding
- cup of dulce de leche pudding
- cup of blue raspberry jello
- package of peanut butter crackers
- half a cup of chocolate pudding
- several bottles of water
- cup of strawberry jello
- 2 hand breaded chicken fingers
- 2 loaded potato skins
- 1 small square of cheese pizza
- roasted red pepper hummus & wheat thins
- small bowl of banana pudding (w/ real bananas and nilla wafers)
- 4 mini guinness chocolate cupcakes

I'm sorry, body. We'll do better tomorrow. Or maybe Wednesday.

Yum & Yay

It's been a pretty magnificent couple of days.

Wednesday, we (read: me, Todd & Erin) went over to the Fabulous Fox Theatre to try and win tickets to Wicked. They were running a lottery and if your name got pulled, you got to buy 2 tickets for $25 each on the second row of the theatre (partial view, but still excellent seats).

Todd's name got pulled! We got buttons, and Todd went to the box office to buy the tickets. But we still needed to buy one more seat, so I go to the box office window two down from him and just as we're about to drop another $45 for a seat in the first balcony, a lady comes by and says that since I didn't win the lottery, I can buy a ticket anywhere in the house for $40 bucks. So the box office lady quickly does another scan and finds me a ticket in the orchestra section! Forty bucks! I paid her and walked outta there grinning like a fool.

We get in the car and realize our seats are actually really close together! Row B, seats 10, 12, & 14. I didn't quite understand where row B was (that chart thing is kind of confusing). An hour and a half later, after a marvelous homemade spaghetti extravaganza, we get back to the theatre for the show and realize that for some reason, all the seats in our row are numbered evenly. So 10, 12, & 14 are all in a row.

In short, I got to experience one of my favorite musicals for the second time (and it was better the second time!), sandwiched between my husband and lil sis. AND I got to see both of them experience it for the first time (they both thought it was magnificent), all from the second row of the orchestra section. It was fantastic. I laughed out loud at Galinda's antics and shed a tear during "For Good" thinking of my beloved roommates. It was such an excellent night.

Thursday night, we attended our Financial Peace class and Todd's mom had us over for dinner afterwards. Free food and family is a great combination.

Friday afternoon, we sold one of our vehicles. For more on that, see the post below this one. It's a very good thing. And on Friday night? We celebrated. Our friend Joel turned 30 and Todd and I went out with him and his wife and our friends Josh and Kim to celebrate. There were mojitos and there were tapas. Lots of tapas. Braised short ribs with cherry reduction on green apple smashed potatoes, lobster/crawfish risotto, tilapia spring rolls, short ribs mini burgers with potato cakes and smoked ketchup, herbed gnocchi with asparagus sauce, flash-fried baby artichoke hearts with sweet chili sauce, pot stickers with peanut sauce and petite beef tenderloin with wilted spinach and blue cheese butter. Holy palate extravaganza, Batman. It was unbelievably delicious.

After dinner we indulged in some heavenly homemade ice cream desserts at the Fountain on Locust, and capped the evening at iTap, Soulard's newest, hippest brewpub, with 50 beers on tap and 450 in bottles. I had Bells Oberon Summer Ale, it was lovely.

There's not a whole lot of things better than good food and good beer at a cool place with good people. It's been a wonderful week/end. :)