8.30.2010

Frog legs and a hungry cat

During the last couple of months, I've been woken up off and on at 5 o'clock in the morn by strange animal cries. At first, I thought it was some inconsiderate butthead neighbor who was crating their crying newborn puppy on their balcony . . . probably because its cries were making them slowly losing their mind. But then I searched my neighbors' balconies for said pup and couldn't find anything. 


So I let it go and assumed that it was a baby squirrel or something. 


Until one morning I woke up (again around 5 a.m.) and swore the mysterious animal was on my balcony. I was half-expecting to find the animal standing at our sliding glass door demanding, UM. I'VE BEEN CRYING FOR DAYS OUT HERE. NOW GO GET ME SOME WATER AND FOOD.  


Of course, I didn't find any such thing and went back to bed. Now here's where it gets worse.


B and I started smelling something foul. I checked the garbage disposal. Clean. Took out the trash. Smell still there. Cleaned out Raisin's litter box. Yep. Smell intact. We finally considered that whatever had been crying for days possibly died and now was funking up our apartment. So B talked to the maintenance crew, who promptly went up to the attic space of our section of the building to hunt this thing out.


Minutes later, they were knocking on our door. "We couldn't find anything ma'am, but we went ahead and doused the entire area with bleach to get rid of any smells." Ummmmm, thanks? But, but, but what about any animals who might be nesting up there??? They're as good as dead now, I guess. Thanks guys!


Needless to say, the animal cries resumed a few days later. And then I figured it out. While out on my balcony one evening, drinking shiraz and talking to my friend, I noticed three little tree frogs that had become quite happy in my Elephant Ear and Christmas Cactus. How cute, I thought . . . until they started croaking. MYSTERY SOLVED. The monstrous noises were coming from these tiny frogs. Now, this obviously wasn't the first time I've heard a frog croak, being from the deep South and all, but I guess tree frogs sing to a different tune. It was bizarre. But I grew quite fond of the little dudes, after I had a little talk with them about keeping the noise down, of course.


And then Raisin had to go and attack one and sever its leg. She was proud; I felt bad. I tried to help by putting the frog back into the Christmas Cactus. I thought he was going to die for sure, but oh no. The fighter showed up a week later, one leg missing. Ouch.


Raisin's still ticked that I wouldn't let her finish him off. And she's been banned from the balcony, unless accompanied by a supervisor. She's gotta' learn: no more frog legs for dinner.

The Selby is in your place contest

CB2 emailed me and was like, "Yo. Please pass this on." So I'm passing it on. What a fun idea! 


Image via email

8.24.2010

Props

Since I just wrote about their scandalous promo pics, I thought it only fitting to blog about which lucky lady won the Miss Universe Pageant last night in Las Vegas. And no, I didn't watch it. I don't have cable yet, unfortunately.


Congrats, Miss Mexico! From the tiny bit of coverage I've seen so far, your reaction to winning the crown was spot on and not overly ridiculous. Kudos. 


Image via here

8.17.2010

Since I'm feeling rather blah today . . .

Kate Winslet's character, Iris, in The Holiday has this wonderful monologue about being hurt by the man she's loved for years and getting over the pain. I sent it to a friend earlier and wanted to post it here. I especially love this part: 


"And after all that, however long that may be, you'll go somewhere new. And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade."

8.16.2010

Current Celebrity Infatuation

Image via here


This CCI was out of the blue for me. I mean, I've never given Joseph Gordon-Levitt a second glance until Inception (supergreatfantastic movie, by the way). Sure, I remember him in his younger roles (Angles in the Outfield anyone?) and I thought he did a stand-up job in 500 Days of Summer, but it wasn't until Inception that I started crushin'. Hard. 


There were moments during the movie when I thought, Wow. He looks . . . well, he looks . . . HOT. Look at the way he's wearing that suit. And the way he's holding that gun! Those moments, in turn, left me wondering, Wait. Now what did I just miss? Because you've got to be ON IT to follow this movie. And another thing that puzzled me. Even the pure greatness and beauty that is Leonardo DiCaprio could not keep me from crushing on JGL during the entire movie. And that, my friends, is saying A LOT. What is it about him? If anyone knows, please tell me.


 Image via here

Image via here

8.14.2010

Va Va Voom

Don't you hate it when you type an entire post only to have it DISAPPEAR RIGHT BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES? Yeah, me too. I'm not going to try and retype it because I can't remember everything I said, and quite frankly, I'm too pissed that I lost my original post. 

The topic was about the recent promo pics of the Miss Universe contestants. It was top news this morning on abcnews.com. The world is wondering if they're too scandalous. The photos, not the contestants. Although . . . 

Anyway! Even ol' Mr. Trump thinks they're "pretty wild." To me, sure, the ladies look like they're posing for lingerie ads, but is that bad? I mean, haven't times changed enough that this is allowed? Or is it still a no-no in the pageant world? What do you think?

Renee Mokihana Nobriga, Miss Hawaii

Ashley Bickford, Miss Connecticut
 
Kristina Primavera, Miss Rhode Island

Chenoa Greene, Miss New Jersey
Images via here  

8.11.2010

Band Beat

Image via here

Guys, I love Love Actually about as much as I love edamame (and if you know me, you know that's an insane amount of love. I'd knock out a bag of Edamame Steamers every night of the week if I could). Anyway, back to the movie. It's one of those movies. You know, the kind that makes you laugh, cry, shout with rage and get goosebumps . . . all at the same time. The kind that, when you see it in the movies, you know you're going to purchase the DVD as soon as it comes out. It's. That. Good. 

Music in a movie is just as (if not more) important to me. A good movie has to have a good soundtrack. It's a rule. I know Love Actually isn't new, by any means, but I watched it today as I was job hunting and was reminded of how great the soundtrack is . . . kudos Richard Curtis. 

Check out the tunes (quite a list!) and in case you haven't seen it, here's the trailer. 

  • "Christmas Is All Around" by Reg Presley, performed by Bill Nighy
  • "All You Need Is Love" by John Lennon/Paul McCartney, performed by Lynden David Hall
  • "Take Me As I Am" by Wyclef Jean/Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis/Sharissa, performed by Wyclef Jean featuring Sharissa
  • "Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" by Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio, performed by Bay City Rollers
  • "Puppy Love" by Paul Anka, performed by S Club Juniors
  • "Sweetest Goodbye" by Adam Levine/Jesse Carmichael/Ryan Dusick/James Valentine/Mickey Madden, performed by Maroon 5
  • "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey/Walter Afanasieff, arranged by Flood, performed by Tessa Niles
  • "I'll See It Through", by John McElhone/Sharleen Spiteri/Guy Chambers, performed by Texas
  • "River" by Joni Mitchell, performed by Joni Mitchell
  • "Jump (For My Love)" by Gary Skardina/Stephen Mitchell/Marti Sharron, performed by The Pointer Sisters
  • "Here With Me" by Peter Gabriel/Paul Stathan/Dido, performed by Dido
  • "Rose" by James Horner, from the Original Motion Picture Score "Titanic (1997)"
  • "Too Lost In You" by Diane Warren, performed by Sugababes
  • "Like I Love You" by Pharrell Williams/Chad Hugo/Pusha T/Malice/Justin Timberlake, performed by Justin Timberlake
  • "Turn Me On" by Loudermilk, performed by Norah Jones
  • "Songbird" by Christine McVie, performed by Eva Cassidy
  • "All Alone On Christmas" by Steve Van Zandt, performed by Darlene Love
  • "Smooth" by Rob Thomas/Itaal Shur, performed by Santana featuring Rob Thomas
  • "Wherever You Will Go" by Aaron Kamin/Alex Band, performed by The Calling
  • "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell, performed by Joni Mitchell
  • "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin, performed by Otis Redding
  • "Silent Night" by Franz Gruber/Joseph Mohr, performed by Pre Teens
  • "Good King Wenceslas" modern lyrics by John M. Neale 
  • "Catch A Falling Star" by Lee Pockriss/Paul Vance, performed by Cast
  • "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey/Walter Afanasieff, performed by Olivia Olson
  • "God Only Knows" by Tony Asher/Brian Wilson, performed by The Beach Boys
  • "The Trouble With Love Is" by Evan Rogers/Carl Sturken/Kelly Clarkson, performed by Kelly Clarkson
  • "Jump (For My Love)" by Gary Skardina/Stephen Mitchell/Marti Sharron, performed by Girls Aloud
  • "Glasgow Love Theme" by Craig Armstrong, performed by Craig Armstrong


8.07.2010

Post Motherload.

I'm a posting fool today . . . can't help it. I'm seeing so many things that are fantastically pretty, like this photo via MadeByGirl's blog







MK on the cover of Marie Claire

You know how much I love her, and she's gracing the cover of Marie Claire's September issue. I'll be picking this up! 


MY CHANails

On a recent jobless afternoon, I went to CVS and bought Nylon's recipe for Chanel's Nouvelle Vague (I told you I was going to) and here's the result. What do you think? Probably should've spent a little time on my cuticles, but eh. I wanted to test the color pronto, o.k. cuticles? You'll get proper treatment next time. 




In other news, I think Bradford and I found "our spot." You know that place you like to go and have "you time" or just chill out with a friend or a boyfriend or girlfriend? It's usually a coffee shop or a bookstore. Ours (I say ours because friends of ours introduced us) is a coffee shop downtown called Kudu. It's perfect. Quaint, nice setup, tasty coffee (and beer!) 


Although, I have to vent. Bradford (who, if you don't know or haven't met him, is a charmer) offered up his iPod to one of the buristas. He put on The Temper Trap (a band I introduced him to) and totally didn't give me any cred . . . he just chatted up the burista about the band as if he discovered them himself and gave birth to them. Butthead! Yes, it was petty for me to get miffed about it, but he could've at least not done that in front of me. Right?! 

8.05.2010

Feeling the pain . . .

Yesterday was the first time I've exercised in about three weeks, so naturally, I can barely move today. I (against the doctor's orders) taught for a few hours at a dance camp, and although I'm feeling the pain today, it was so worth it. Immobility for three weeks for me is a big, big deal (it's the longest I've gone without exercising or dancing), and I'd forgotten how much I like teaching.


Beyonce's Sweet Dreams was my song choice for the group's hip-hop routine. Yes, I know the song is soooo 2008, but I had to pick something that wasn't jam-packed with sexual innuendos and cuss words. Now I know Beyonce is rockin' some innuendos in this song as well, but it's not as obvious, especially when you're just hearing the song. The video on the other hand . . . I mean, she's not called Sasha Fierce for nothing. Girl friend can pop and lock and gyrate (or as Urban Dictionary spells it: jirate) like no other.  

8.02.2010

Chanails

This here nail polish has been on my radar since it came out, but not on my radar like I could ever afford it (I think it retails for $65. Yes, you read that right.) I know I could go on ebay and try to buy it for cheaper, but I just don't feel like it. Ebay can make me go into Insta-Anxiety Mode in 2.5 seconds. It's too much pressure for me. 

Alas, Nylon magazine (I didn't renew my subscription because I'm trying to cut back, but I will check out an issue from time to time) came to every Poor Woman's rescue by creating their own Chanel Nouvelle Vague. 

Behold their recipe: Mix six parts of an opaque white polish with three parts of Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue and one part of forest green polish (CND's Green Scene works great).

I am so going to CVS today to pick up this recipe.