Stuff I Distrust.... (politics aside)

Menu of the Day:

In my glass: Little Penguin (Australian chardonnay, cheap, but good!)

Music: silence.

Getting ready to do: Watch my DVR of Lost and American Idol.

What I keep forgetting: To reserve my rental car for Sedona.

What i am procrastinating about: doing my taxes.

Last iTunes purchase: Hayes Carll's Long Way Home.

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I may come back here and add a photo later, but right now i'm typing on my netbook, and it's not easy to update a blog on this thing. Plus it's not the keyboard i would ever want to use if i was taking a typing test for a job!

On with the Stuff I Distrust:

1. Any anti-aging product. The more expensive, the less i trust the product.

2. People who feel the need to make the claim that they are not racist, sexist, etc.

3. Anyone who tells you that they have never broken the law.

4. Oh yeah, here's one: ANY person who ever says that they give 110% or 120% or any impossible math equation to exaggerate their work ethic. You know these folks have a very low bar set when it comes to employment.

5. Most hair products that tell you that they take care of frizziness. It might take care of the frizzy hair, but then you're left with hair that hangs like overcooked linguini.

6. Any company that claims you have won something only you cannot remember ever having entered a drawing.

7. Online reservations. Even though i just made them.

8. The Oscars.

9. The Grammys too. (these rarely go to the folks i believe deserve them!)

10. Most education reform.

11. "I only had two drinks!"

12. "I am not the father of that baby!" (sort of politics, i guess.)

13. "Someone else must have loaded that porn on my computer at work!"

14. "I'll call you tomorrow. " (obviously this speaks mostly to the dating crowd.)

15. That saying, "What goes around, comes around." (It doesn't. many bad people get away with it!)

16. People who seem to be ALWAYS in a good mood. (serial killers at heart, because they are the best actors!)

17. People who tell you they NEVER watch TV.

18. I added the photo of green jello. (I do not trust any food that wiggles!)


What do YOU distrust? I'll come back and add more and fix this with a photo later. Right now i gotta go watch Lost.

A Gnarly Head, a Crazy Heart, & Wiggly Fingers (& my lifelong dream of being Judge of the World)

MENU OF THE DAY:

Playing on iTunes: The Weary Kind from the movie Crazy Heart. It's by Ryan Bingham. (eque, you once sent me his song, Southside of Heaven) Both are beautiful songs.

The movie: i HIGHLY recommend this movie Crazy Heart, which stars Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhall and Colin Farrell. Bridges won a Golden Globe for this performance. Robert Duvall also stars . (And Colin and Jeff sing many of their own songs and they are good!)

What i'm reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Finally it's picking up, but it took 150 pages. Normally i would have tossed this book out the window for taking so long to get interested but ms. hippie's mom told me it was good.

In my glass: Gnarly Head pinot grigio.

The next song on iTunes: Patti Griffith's Wiggly Fingers.

What is disconcerting: In this movie Jeff Bridges reminded me a lot of how my ex-husband (the second one) looks, (only Jeff has better hair). But they have the same beard and heaviness in their walk and build, a similar sad charm, and the drinking.

What i keep forgetting: To take that second calcium chewable tablet.

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On with the random thoughts:

1. I wish i could sing like Patti Griffith.

2. The Supreme Court did something bad about overturning McCain/Feingold campaign laws and i am not well versed about it just yet, but i just know it's bad and when i pull my head out of the sand, i'll find out more. But get ready for ads we have hated in the past getting that much worse. It's sickening how much money is spent on this shit, especially during times like these. And i am sure unions will be right there with them. Fuck this Supreme Court for doing this.

3. I think that is the first time i have used the f-word on my blog. (It won't be the last, so cover your eyes if you are sensitive!)

4. But right now i want to leave politics alone. I almost don't want to read the paper anymore.

5. Apathy is better than Ambien.

6. So different subject: I'm thinking about starting a separate American Idol blog, i might call it Meaner than Simon.

7. But so far i haven't seen an audition yet that inspires me. (We'll see when it comes to Hollywood time. )

8. My brother's Crawfish Woman was a far better funny song than that stupid Idol's now famous Pants on the Ground. Yet 62 year old General Larry's Pants has millions of hits. And Scott only has 265 last i checked.

9. Which is most likely our family checking it out over and over. (Or maybe it's YOU, Amanda. LOL!)

10. In regards to 'working in groups' topic from the end of my last blog post and the discussion between louie, pearl and ms hippie: i have to admit i do not play well with others. I have a very hard time being inspired in a group. I work more creatively alone. My hobbies and even the sports I am active in are geared more for loners. (I think it comes from my military bratdom lifestyle.)

11. It could also be that i am not what you call ' a people person'.

12. Unless i get to choose the people.

13. That's why i want to be an American Idol judge.

14. Or just Judge of the World. Yeah, that's the career i want.

15. And the very first judging i want to do is this one: I get to choose the people who get to become parents. And i get to choose who CANNOT.

16. (And yes, i would put my very own self on the list of CANNOTs. )

17. Speaking of politics and babies: I was NOT surprised at all by John Edwards final admission of his baby. I have never ever liked John Edwards. Don Imus used to refer to him as an 'empty suit" and say what you will about Imus, but sometimes he got it right because he spoke uncarefully. (i love that in people. )

18. I am pretty sure that 'uncarefully' is not a word, but i like it, so i'm going to keep using it. (However ms. hippie, this does not mean you can use the word 'boughten'.)

19. Here is what i want in health care reform. and i don't care about anything else at this point if they can just do these few things:

a) no one with a pre-existing condition can be turned down for health care.
b) no one who gets sick can be dropped by any insurance company.
c) Children should be fully insured until the age of 26.
d) Offer reductions for plans where people take the incentive and do something about their health, i.e. quit smoking, manage their weight and exercise. etc. We have to do something about getting our country in better shape. We are such an unhealthy bunch of folks.
e) if you have always been employed but have a legitimate health condition that now precludes you from working, then Medicare should kick in early.

20. And regarding who gets to make the decision about who is healthy enough to have an insurance reduction, or who decides what IS a legitimate health condition, well then.....refer to #14.

21. The problem with Democrats is they try to do ALL things ALL at once. I like the Increment Plan best. As Judge of the World, that is what i would call all of my plans and it would be how i would get them passed in Congress.

22. Also Democrats (and union leaders) believe EVERYONE has to be heard. And i don't subscribe to that at all. (I think they should just listen to me!) As Judge of the World, i now get to decide who can speak and who needs to shut up. Or maybe as Judge of the World, I am the only one who gets to speak. (Yeah, i like that one a lot.)

23. As Judge of the World, though i need to make sure i get summers off. I hope that is possible.

24. And the Republicans make me crazy with their faux rage and their pretense of taking care of the people and the wackos like Beck and Coulter and Limbaugh who inflame for the sake of a paycheck ....but.....

25. ....i forgot. i wasn't talking about politics.

26. Here's another Internet photo. Colin Farrell has a small role in Crazy Heart but he has a fabulous pulled back ponytail that i always swoon for when i see a man sporting such hair. (Think Johnny Depp in Chocolat.) I could not find Colin's Crazy Heart photo, maybe because his role was uncredited in the movie. But this one will do. He is Crazy Cute!

OK, y'all know the rules, what are your random thoughts today????

Read this Book... And Other jojo Advice....

MENU OF THE DAY:
on iTunes: Long Grey Mare by Fleetwood Mac from way way back when.... (again courtesy of equeyaya)

The best thing about today: I found a cute lamp at Pier 1. And Yankee candles on sale at Bed Bath & Beyond.

In my glass: Toasted Head chardonnay. VERY good.

What i had for dinner: Brian's Boboli pizza with capers, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and pastrami.

What i keep forgetting: To call Mrs. Erickson and tell her i'm ready to tutor kids from her class. I think it's because i have to get in a better mood before i feel ready to work with kids. (But then again....maybe they will help me get in the better mood. )

Here we go with totally random thoughts. I have no idea what i am getting ready to say. Disclaimer: i am at the end of my full second glass of Toasted Head.

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OK, on with jojo's advice: (This is actually advice i give myself.)

1. Read this book: I picked up this book so many times in Barnes and Noble and put it back down until someone i respected told me to read it. The book is The Art of Racing in the Rain. I am not a dog person for so many reasons that i just now deleted because they took up too much room...But this book made me appreciate dogs in a way i never did before, at the same time it taught me something about tolerance and family and the art of working through a bad thing. (And as an aside, a fascination for race car drivers. NOT that you will ever see me at a Nascar event.) I am not saying i am going to go out and get a dog, but this book made me realize what I might be missing by not having one.

2. On weekends the first thing you should do when you wake up... is make your bed. (That way you won't crawl back into it. )

3. Wash your sheets on Thursday so that they feel great for the weekend.

4. Two cups of coffee is all any normal person needs.

5. Do not tweeze your eyebrows after three glasses of wine.

6. Don't pick up the phone if you don't know who is calling.

7. If you do, disguise your voice. (Especially if you find out it is your mother calling.)

8. Don't loan your good stuff to anyone who you believe might get arrested at any time.

9. If you are a reader and a bookstore lover, do not marry someone who never reads.

10. Don't wear skinny jeans if you have short legs. (or if your thighs are bigger than your inseam.)

11. Don't show your belly in clothes unless you are under the age of 6.

13. If possible, always bring your own pillow if you travel.

14. Send thank you cards, even for small things.

15. Write your legislator when you feel strongly about something. Don't assume some other group will get that message out for you. And if you DON'T , then don't complain when your legislator doesn't do what you feel is right.

16. After you turn 40, make sure your bathroom has good lighting so you don't feel terrible about looking in the mirror.

17. Listen to music every day.

18. Do NOT listen to Celine Dion.

19. Take calcium with Vitamin D every day.

20. Refrain from correcting people when they are wrong if you know in their heart they truly mean no harm.

21. When you feel the winter doldrums, buy yourself flowers. Even if it is just one daffodil.

22. Rearrange your living room furniture. You will be surprised what a lift it can give!

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Ok, y'all know the rules: please give us your best advice that you give to yourself that others might need.

Stuff & people i hope continue through the new decade. (What would you choose?)

No Menu Today. jojo's cucina is closed for the holiday. On with the list:


1. Ryan Adams. Van Morrison could do no wrong for me and was my favorite artist for the longest time. Until Ryan Adams came out with Gold. He has struggled with drug addiction and then became clean and sober and married, of all people, Mandy Moore (i would have expected him to hook up with someone more like Courtney Love!). Anyway i hope he keeps writing those amazing lyrics and music.

2. Same with Counting Crows. I love this band too. Interesting to note that both Ryan Adams and the Crows have a similar sound that matches Van Morrison.

3. Louise Penny books. I am currently reading her fifth (and latest, therefore last, for now) mystery. I love these books so much. (And for that matter, good books in general, STILL published on paper in the form of books as we know them today!) Also Jonathan Tropper and Richard Russo should really get their own numbers too, but i'll just lump the books in #3. I can't list all the artists, but right now these three come to mind.

4. Obama.

5. iPods and iTunes. Whatever in the hell did i ever do before these most wonderful inventions of the last decade? I know i used to run with one of those personal disc players and they are so big to carry while running! Plus it wasn't that long ago i was running with a Sony cassette player. Scary how technology moves.

6. Food and Wine magazine. I always steered away from cooking magazines that seemed too elitist, including this one. But then i took a look at it and realized that although I am no Julia Child, i can cook this stuff!

7. Netflix.

8. Anderson Cooper.

9. The Internet. of course. And email too. I don't want email to go away because everyone is texting! (I don't even have a cell phone that i can text from. Or maybe my throwaway phone does allow texting, but i don't know how to do it.)

10. Meeting people in person. Sometimes i am afraid that we might never get together as friends in person because of technology.

11. The Office. I don't care if American Idol goes by the wayside soon, as i believe it will in the next year or two, but i would love for The Office to stick around.

12. Me.

13. Everyone i care about.

OK, i will likely be back with more, but this is good for now. What are YOUR choices?

New Year's Resolutions I am NOT going to make....and more Chaotic Family Photos...

MENU OF THE DAY:

Happy New Year!

Playing on iTunes: needtobreathe's Washed by the Water (an equeyaya contribution. I LOVE this song so much.

Photos: New Year's Eve. That is my great-niece Mari in the New Year's tiara. She is so sweet! And that's her mom, (my sister's daughter, who i always call Jessie-belle) in the glasses in the photo of me with my nice nieces. And me posing in the Famous Coor Beer hat. and then my nephew in silhouette in the same hat. And Troy playing around with the instruments! LOL.

In the jam session photo that is again my nephew, our musical friend Shane, and my husband (Bongo Boo) entertaining us a good part of the night. But none of us knew the lyrics to anything, (except Mari knew the American Pie chorus. I might try and put it up from YouTube.) So no Crawfish Woman genius-ity or YaYa dancing.

In my Glass: J Lohr chardonnay. (first glass).

Announcement: I am going to toot my own New Year's horn and say today marks the 30th anniversary of the ONLY New Year's resolution i ever kept: I have been committed to running (though i should now call it 'jogging') since 1980!

What i hate about New Year's Eve the most: Hands down, that stupid Times Square countdown....or any countdown for that matter. I also HATEHATEHATE "The Wave" at sporting events too.

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New Year's Resolutions I will NOT be making:

1. reading the classics.

2.cutting back on my iTune purchases.

3. waking up at 6:00 am 5 times a week so i can run before work.

4. cutting back on carbohydrates.

5. eating only whole grains.

6. turning vegan.

7. trying to not say the f-word so often. (I love the f-word!)

8. trying a bunch of new things. (My husband when i turned 50 years old gave me a journal where i was supposed to write 50 new things i was going to do that year. I gave him one of those looks that i probably give to people who tell me they were once abducted by aliens. Since then, he and i laugh about it. )

9. making a bunch of new friends. I can barely keep up and be a good friend to the ones i have right now!

10. i am NOT joining the YMCA. In fact the best thing about not belonging anymore was how bad it got this time of year with all the new people who signed up to work out for their new year's resolution. (I used to call them 'resolooters' because of how they looted all the parking spots. ) Usually by Valentine's Day it was all back to normal and you could find a spot.

11. I always thought it was funny anyway that we would bitch about how we couldn't get a parking space close to the door we were entering to go work out.

I'll think of some more, but i am only on one glass of wine and not yet totally feeling the inspiration. But come add yours!

(By the way, the last time i looked Crawfish Woman had 136 hits on YouTube, though i think it's do mainly to my husband, Kylee and my Louisiana born cousin Todd who put it up on Facebook. )

Crawfish Woman & Some Chaotic Family Christmas Photos.

MENU OF THE DAY:

Video: thanks to my husband, we have the soon to be famous Crawfish Woman song on YouTube now. That is my brother Scott on vocals (who made up the words as he was singing) my nephew Brian, (who cracks me up because he is so serious throughout the song while we're all busting up) and my mom is dancing showing her signature sultry moves (with a full glass of wine that i can't believe she didn't spill) and Ashley stars in it too on the sidelines. I shot this video, believe it or not, with my Nikon D90 camera (on Christmas Eve).

In my glass: nothing, because there is no glass.

What I'm wearing: my new Nike sweatpants.

Reading: Dangerously Funny, the new book about the Smothers Brothers show. I LOVE this book. And i want to marry Tom Smothers he really stood up for what he believed. I had no idea how ahead of their time Tom Smothers was. We lived in Japan for most of their three seasons so I missed much of the show as a kid. I also finished the fourth Louise Penny mystery today.

Presents: I received great presents, one of them is a new Netbook computer from my husband, which i am going to love. I don't have to return anything!

iTunes: i just got another iTunes card in time since i only have five cents left which i was just reminded about when i tried to buy Donovan's Atlantis song. (Do any of y'all remember that song?) i got the idea of wanting it from the Smothers Brothers book i'm reading. My last iTunes purchase was Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, another great old song. (I guess i'm on a retro kick right now. )

Quote: "Reading good books ruin you for enjoying bad books". Isola to Juliet in The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society.






Photos: Until I can come up with another idea for a blog post here are a few photos from Christmas Eve. The real blurry one is my dad which i thought was kind of artsy. Also Ashley (Modern Hippie's sister) appears wearing her Dad's Ugly Christmas sweater that she and Kylee/Hippie made for him.





Also appearing, are my mom, and in these following shots, Scott and Troy (my brothers) and Troy's son, Brian. They are laughing because they were microwaving beer, insisting it tasted pretty good. Yep, some families serve eggnog or mulled wine, but not us.

This photo cracks me up because they stopped posing but i took one more shot as they both looked away from each other.

Christmas Eve Eve Eve musings. And Mandolin Cafe photos

MENU OF THE DAY:

on the iPod: John Butler Trio (but i can't think of the song title and i am too lazy to walk the 32 steps into the other room to look.)

Book: At Barnes and Noble today i picked up the paperback Up in the Air which is a recent movie starring George Clooney. The book is pretty good so far!

Photos: I took these at The Mandolin Cafe, which is a hip, urban bohemian coffee/wine bar. Ms. hippie/kylee, Brian and i went there Sunday night for open mic, which is so fun. Included is a photo of Kylee/ms hippie wearing my glasses (I love this photo of her).

Christmas Moment: See the photo of the dad in the Santa hat and the little girl playing violin? that's the Christmas moment. They played an instrumental Christmas song (Kylee, maybe you remember which one because i don't) and the father was so proud beaming at his daugher, who was only 9 years old. they got the most applause of the night and i went over to tell her what a good job she did.

Mandolin Cafe Music: the best band is actually professional and they do this for exposure. They are a funky band out of California called Champagne Sunday. They travel from gig to gig in an RV (and i think they live in it too). They are amazing! The lead blonde woman (see photo playing guitar) has the most amazing jazz voice. They play all kinds of music and have their own cds and this is really their job. Their version of Ray LaMontagne's Jolene nearly brought me to tears. their lead guitarist just played the piano and she sang. It was amazing. The guy in the yellow shirt is an exchange student from Ecuador named Juan. In Spanish he sang a beautiful song in a beautiful voice. when i showed him the photos (I had a couple) his host dad asked me to email them because he was upset that he hadn't thought to bring his own camera. So i did. He was so thankful. He is only 19. and was so nervous. He also got lots of applause.

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1. I wish i had musical talent. But i already know that i don't want to take the time to learn. (I would love to know how to play guitar.)

2. I can't help but feel some musical talent has to be in your DNA at birth. i already know that the Louvraks (my maiden name) don't have that DNA.

3. I don't mind trying to learn everything i can about flyfishing, because i think flyfishing CAN be learned, you don't have to be born to it. It's not like they give out Grammys for flyfishing.

4. Though i wouldn't have minded one bit if Norman Maclean was my father.

5. You know what i really hate about Christmas commercials right now? (I believe i might have ranted about this on Gumbo years ago.) I HATE HATE HATE those BMW and Lexus commercials as if most people can afford to buy one of those for someone for Christmas. I do not want to know people who buy these kinds of gifts for Christmas. Even if they want to buy ME one!

6. So Ms hippie's older sister, Ashley, is stressed out about buying her new boyfriend a Christmas present and i can understand that. They both agreed earlier to not do that since it's a new relationship. But now he is getting ready to break the rules because he has been checking in with Kylee for what to get Ashley and hippie/Kylee told her. So she asks me for an idea what to get him. I jokingly write back, make him a CD mix. And here is Ashley's reply which totally cracked me up (written in caps just as she did: )

AM NOT MAKING A CD MIX.........OR ANYTHING ELSE ALL MUSHY AND LOVEY OMG IM NOT TALKING ABOUT ALL THIS I WANT TO PUKE IM SOO STRESSED

7. LOL.... I think Christmas can be pretty stressful on new relationships!

8. I just thought of something. Since he broke the rules, it might be pretty funny to get him back my making a joke cd mix but not letting him know right away that she meant it as a joke. She could include the Wind Beneath my Wings (my new funeral song) . Maybe we could even get louielouie to record it for us!

9. The problem would be she would have to pay 99 cents for them (unless we can commission louielouie). Maybe she could just buy one crappy song and repeat it over and over.

10. If y'all have ideas about a joke cd mix for Ashley for her boyfriend, let us know! I'll pass them on to her.

11. It's really a pretty ironic to love your friends but to approach your mailbox with dread during the holiday season that you are going to actually receive a Christmas card from them. Because then it means you are going to feel guilty for not returning the gesture. I am terrible about cards. Because for one thing, they take me too long because i have to write in them. Every season i buy a box of 8 cards and i usually have about 2 left over. And i hope the following year a couple of those folks don't notice that they got the same card twice in a row! consider yourself super honored if you got one from me. (But if you didn't, don't think that means i don't care about you.)

Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks for making this blog fun. And to the rest of y'all who just read, please join in. (Make it your New Year's Resolution!)

• Come visit and let me know of your ideas for a cheesy song for Ashley's new boyfriend's cd mix.
• Tell us all what your latest Christmas Moment was.
• And also i would like to know what your favorite Christmas carol is. (I already mentioned mine is o come o come emmanuel.
• and anything else you want to talk about. Grammar? punctuation? show-offy new words that nobody else knows about?