Not Very Good Blogger

I'm so far behind with the news that I don't even know where to start and I kind of am too tired to even try. Keep yourself sated with some trip pics.

p.s. I love Tovah. Why can't we be together always?

An Open Letter

An open letter to all parties who will see me on my trip to IL, WI, and MI.

Dear everyone:

This time next week, I'll be on my way to Chicago to see Tovah and Andrew (wheeeeeeeeee!) before getting to WI and MI to see J's family. I'm leaving my little bun, Olive, in the capable hands of my mum and dad. That said, I'm totally going to be SNR about this. I'm told that she'll be fine; the House Rabbit Society says leaving little Olive with my fam is the best option for her health and safety and happiness. But I'm still going to be fraught with concern.

What if she doesn't remember that she likes her nose scratched? What if she's mad at me? What if she gets sick while we're gone? What if my dad is the Bunny Whisperer and she wants to stay there? I'm a momma who's never left her babe before, and you're probably going to hear about it.

Please be nice to me. I'm just worried.

Tovah

Today, my beautiful and amazing besty, Tovah, graduated from The Family Institute at Northwestern University with a Masters of Science in Marital and Family Therapy. I am so proud of her and of all of the remarkable work she has done over the past two years.

I truly wish I could have been with her for this most spectacular occasion. I'll start saving now so I can absolutely be in attendance when she receives her PhD.

Congratulations, Toves.


This stunning photograph of Tovah is via means.andrew

Say, "Hi," to Krista

Krista is my friend from the Shittaco area. We were first blog-buddies via Tovah and Andrew, then our friendship blossomed to Facebook. When I visited Tovah for my birthday, we met for reals and it was very fun. Krista is very sweet, really funny, has a great idea for the end of Lost and particularly enjoys my "Overheard" posts. I'm happy we finally got to meet, even though our visit was brief.

Anyway, I've been concerned that her terrific blog, johnsonville, was succumbing to some serious blog-fade since she's gone two whole months without a post. Thankfully, she's back at it with a post marking both her return to the inkerwebs and Cinco de Mayo. Keep it up, Krista and I'll try to do the same.


Also, check out her response to Westboro and her experience with a good Samaritan cop.

You Guys, I am So Tired

You must think I am so lame; that this poor, neglected blog is days away from complete blog fade. Its not, really. I'm just so, so tired. This blog is not the only thing that isn't getting the attention it needs. J is feeling bored and somewhat neglected. My friends (Erika, are you out there?) must think I've been kidnapped or something. I am weeks behind on Slog. Plus, we're trying to find a new apartment which requires the little bit of energy I can scrape together.

This job is kind of kicking my ass. It would perhaps be worth it if I was really digging the job but, well.... There are parts that I enjoy. I'd best leave it at that.

I hope that things will even out a bit as I adjust more. I really hope they even out. For now, please forgive me and accept the few meager posts as they come.




P.S. My trip to see Tovah was terrific; so much fun. It was almost just like old times but in Chicago and on the El this time. We ate so much delicious food (Karyn's Cooked, Chicago Diner, Molly's Cupcakes, Piece, Piccolo Sogno to name a few) and shopped in neat shops and boutiques and snuggled on the couch. This post absolutely does not justify how special my trip was but I feel I've neglected it too long. Tovah and Andrew, please forgive your sleepy friend. Find some pictures from the trip here and at Andrew's blog.

Overheard in the Tandrew House

Lisa to Tovah: Tovah, come here and smell my arm pit.

Tovah: No. That's ok.

Lisa: But it doesn't smell like anything.

Tovah: (silence) Still, no.

I Didn't Even Want to Know One Random Thing About You

I know. I did it, too. I resisted for a bit but then gave in. I listed a bunch of random things about myself. Even as I was doing it, I felt silly. What a weird way for me to update my "friends" from elementary, middle school, wherever. If they wanted to know about my currently unused professional license and my adoration of Dan Savage and Tovah, shouldn't they ask? Well, regardless, I did it.

DespairWair has a great tee for this new random things phenomenon.
The Washington Post and TIME both published articles regarding this trend. Here are a compilation of TIME's 25 Things I Didn't Want to Know about You and 25 More Things I Didn't Want to Know about You. Two of these are specifically for you, Rachel@Canada.

• I have been pooped on by a monkey
• I eat gummy bears by tearing them limb from limb and eating their heads last.
• Two of my best friends are under five feet tall and I have an intense fear of midgets.
• I think yoga is incredibly spiritual. I know the Lord is with me in my downward dog.
• I like to tape my thumbs to my hands to see what it would be like to be a dinosaur.
• Sometimes I think pee smells like Cheerios.
• My friends say that when they shave my back, I purr like a walrus.
• When I die, I want a steaming hot Reuben sandwich shoved in my mouth during the open-casket part of the funeral.
• My friend Brian and I once brought home a dead opossum because we wanted to "stuff" it. We tried to cut off its head with hedge clippers, but it was late fall and the creature was far too frozen.
• I think it's frustrating that ChapStick tastes good when you put it on your lips and lick them, but if you just bite the ChapStick, it tastes like poison.
• On two separate occasions, I have returned to my dorm room drunk, with some form of cheese in my purse.
• When I was little, I pretended my bike was a horse named Satan.
• I find puppets to be one of the most satisfying ways of expressing myself.

And now, folks, a portion of my list with some additions.

• I'll drink nearly anything as long as its purported to be "good for me." For instance: raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar; raw, fermented kombucha.
• I just vacuumed my neighbor's Dyson with my Dyson. I wanted to return a clean vacuum.
• I have been a NYS licensed funeral director for three years. It has been nearly a year since I have used the license.
• I like being a funeral director partly because I like to have weird and/or gross funeral director stories. Additionally, of all the macabre and horrifying things I have seen (and smelled), I have never been made physically ill while on the job.
• I was terrified of fire for 20+ years. I had to face my fear when I became a certified cremation operator and began performing human cremations. I am subsequently no longer afraid of fire.
• I love the First Family so much that sometimes it makes me giddy.
• I constantly play Scramble with my Mikus-in-law even though he is considerably better than me and beats me every time.
• It sometimes annoys me that Mikus is signed in to gmail or facebook or whatever but is hidden. I know you're there. Sometimes I have a question or something and emailing and waiting around for a response is wildly inefficient. ::huff::
  
• I have always wanted offspring although there's a good chance I won't have any. I'm convinced I shouldn't since I don't want said offspring to inherit my broken brain.
• I often wish I was married to Tovah.
• I am happily married to my husby, Jesse.
• I still use snr and have spread the snr to Chicago and Philadelphia and maybe further.
• I don't know what I am doing with my life.
• I love every spoken and written word that comes from Dan Savage.
• I love to cook and relish all compliments but I often do not like my own food.
• Spotting the new issue of GOOD magazine makes me jump and click my heels together.
• Tovah used to jump and click her heels together and this impressed me. I practiced and practiced and now I, too, can jump and click my heels together. Thanks, Tovah! And can you/do you still do this?
  
• I have four tattoos. If I had some money, I would have more. I'd like a full sleeve one day. My next tattoos will be in memory of Niki and my paternal grandmother.
• Little Niki has been gone nearly 7 years. Its hard to believe it has been so long. And that I am so old.
• I have a new friend! Her name is Erika and she is so much fun. She has funny stories and she wishes she had a robot to do errands for her while she is at work. Hilarious!
• Although I commuted from Ithaca to Syracuse for school, frequently drove from Ithaca to Endicott to see Jesse when we were still dating, and often took long, solitary road trips that I loved, lately I am annoyed to drive more than 20 minutes from home.
• I wish I could blog professionally.
• I am proud that I learned to ride a bike six months ago. Riding is so much fun that I'm sad I spent so many years resisting.
• I've recently been working on a list of goals I would like to attain while in therapy. The list is long and keeps lengthening. Uh-oh.
  
• When I'm stressed, listening to This American Life calms me almost immediately. Something about Ira's voice just soothes me. And when I'm sad, Reel Big Fish makes me feel better almost instantly. I don't care if its dorky.
  
• I miss Rachel@Canada. And I miss Rachel@Philadelphia. They're both wonderful and special in completely different ways and I need them both for completely different reasons.
• I hate cilantro. It tastes like soap. Why do so many people (you know who you are) want perfectly tasty food to have soapy-ness in it? Yick. I try not to cook with it if I can help it.
• I am totally anti-circumcision. I put this issue into two categories: 1. Just Leave Well Enough Alone and 2. Don't Cut Things off of Your Baby.
  
• This is probably far too many.