And So in Keeping with Our Recent Financial Luck

Our tv has died.

Damn it.

Dump, Sweet Dump: The Bathroom

BEFORE: Ugly bathroom. The back white portion of the wall is primed only and not painted. The pink spot is where the primer is peeling. Nice, huh?

AFTER: Ugly bathroom with fresh paint! Complete with new teak bathroom shelving from West Elm. Nice, huh? Thanks for all the painting help, Mom!

Dirt and Worms

I am finally getting around to telling you about my brother's very special birthday dessert for his very special 25th birthday! As you can see, Eric requested Dirt and Worms! We bought our pot (an absurdly too big 5 quarts!) at a local garden center and we even found a plastic trowel that we used for serving this muddy treat!

It was fairly difficult to make dirt and worms fit into a 5 quart pot. The logistics of dealing with that much pudding was complicated, to say the least. Also, I, not surprisingly, continually had the urge to "fance it up (fancy it up)" with things like fresh whipped cream instead of cool whip and chocolate mousse instead of pudding. Since I wanted it to be as close to our childhood memories as possible, I resisted my fancy desires.

I'm happy to say, it was a real hit! Eric was really surprised (I think he may have made the request for this very special dessert and then forgotten about it) and it was fun and nostalgic.

I Hate This Thing

Its hard to clean and its stained but Jesse won't let me throw it away. Plus, he rarely, if ever, cleans this awful piece of shit himself. This makes me mad. Now you know.

Overheard in the J and L House

Lisa, envious: Andrew's composting?!?!?!?!

(loud sigh)

I don't have anything! I don't have a peahen* and I don't have a compost pile. Stupid compost pile.




*my parents have spotted a peahen that may have taken residence on their property. I am, of course, crossing my fingers and hoping for peachicks.

p.s. I know I'm being ridic; you don't need to tell me.

Canadian Rachel and I are the Same

1. Rachel@Canada has car troubles! I have car troubles!
2. Rachel@Canada just moved! I just moved
3. Rachel@Canada wants you to comment on her blog. I want you to comment on my blog.

Do what my friend and the kitten cat says only apply it to my blog.
Doooo it.

Comment on Rachel@Canada's blog, too, while you're at it.

kitten cat image via Rachel@Canada

Quality Time

After a nice dinner at a restaurant we hadn't tried before, Grande's Bella Cucina, I told J I wanted to go home and sit on the couch with him and watch a movie. I just wanted to relax.

So we get home and J puts on Weekend, an old French film that was all style and no plot. I lost interest, eventually went to bed.

Not quite what I had in mind.

I Love the Prez

And I love that when he wants Five Guys, he wants it now and he doesn't want to wait for the press. So he doesn't. I love it.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

via HuffPost

Dump, Sweet Dump

J and I are settling into our new apartment, the first floor of an old, minimally maintained house in downtown Binghamton. It is bigger and less expensive; the water pressure is better and we don't pay for heat or hot water. The water also tastes better in the big shitty than it does in Endicott. Although the kitchen is a little too cozy (I had to put the fridge in the hallway to make more room) and has too few drawers, I do now have room to use the pot rack that came from my parents-in-law a couple years ago. The new place has a second bedroom and a pantry.

We've already had to make adjustments. We're not used to traffic, sirens and city lights. Plus, although we do have a small yard, it is nothing like our lush, beautiful, well-kept lawn that we're accustomed to. I've already got my dad working on some grass seed to try to help our patchy, sickly-looking yard.

Nothing in this old, unkempt house is level. When you open the fridge, the door flies and slams against the trash can; beer bottles and other unattended items fall off the kitchen counters and crash to the floor. You have to keep an eye on things or you may have a mess on your hands.

We still have alot to do before we'll be showing pictures but I wanted to give you an idea of how things are going. Hopefully, we'll be willing to show you around soon but don't hold your breath. See Overheard in the J and House: A Moving Edition for some explanation.

Overheard in the J and L House: A Moving Edition

Or, why you shouldn't make Lisa do things.

Lisa to Jesse: Okay, I unpacked this one box. Can I be done now?

Funny, Fast Conan

Today, in Racist Cops

NYT:

The slain officer, who was assigned to patrol housing projects and was wearing plain clothes, was shot in the arm and chest after a team of three other plainclothes officers in a car saw him chasing a man on East 125th Street between First and Second Avenues with his gun drawn, Mr. Kelly said.

Sources identified the officer who fired the shot as Andrew Dunton, a four-year veteran of the force from Long Island...

The shooting has once again raised questions again about departmental procedures involving communications among plainclothes officers — particularly those in different units — as well as issues of race.

Officer Edwards was black, and Officer Dunton is white.

via Slog

Subie

My Subaru is broken. The problems include head gaskets, rear calipers, exhaust, alignment, cracked motor mount. Its going to cost thousands of dollars and I am scared. We've recently moved into a new apartment which is less money and more room. We're supposed to be getting ahead financially in preparation for our future (our own house, pets, offspring!) but this will be a huge blow.

I try to believe my friend Katie's wisdom: "everything that happens is perfect" and often it is a comfort. But how could a $4,000 car repair be perfect? This is really frightening.

I suppose this is as good a segue as any other: I am planning to quit my awful job and go back to school in the fall. I'll take some classes at the local community college at first then, if we're still in the area, try to get into Cornell's Department of Horticulture and finally finish my Bachelor's degree. This giant, forthcoming auto repair bill makes me very nervous to take such a huge risk.

The Spot

My brother, Eric, left this morning on a 22-day Wilderness Exploration Leadership class in Olympic National Park and on the Olympic Peninsula. This trip will be much different than last year's trip to Anchorage, Alaska: no hostels, no trips to town, no lunches at weird restaurants in buses. This is 22 days of wilderness. He is thrilled.

Find out where he is with the Spot tracking device the group is carrying. Since the Spot uses Google maps, you can also switch to terrain, satellite, or hybrid views. 8 minutes ago, he was west of the Sarasota Passageway.

HB to the Boy/Overheard in the J and L House

Yesterday was my brother's birthday. He is 25 which is crazy. He has requested a very special birthday dessert from our childhood and I am happy to oblige. I'm not going to say what it is right now; I'll have some pictures in a couple of days.

Anyways, Jesse has occasionally offered thoughts or advice on the creation of this very special birthday dessert from our childhood and I have vehemently refused and stomped my foot, insisting that this dessert be exactly as it was when we were small.

J put me to bed for a nap this afternoon and went to do some dessert prep while I tried to sleep. Upon his return a couple hours later, he told me about some of his progress saying, "if its not exactly how you want it, you can fix it." Nice, right?

My response: "No, it doesn't have to be perfect!"

Lisa:Crazy

Jesse: Nice and accommodating

One of My Special Skills

I have the ability to guess the total of our grocery shopping bill with great accuracy. Sometimes I am within a couple of dollars; often I am within cents. For instance, today, with nearly no thought at all, I guessed that our bill would be $134.00. It was $130 and change.

This skill apparently runs in the Mastroberti genes as my dad the ability to do this with restaurant checks. DNA does funny things.

Amazing

So, Justin Timberlake is so funny. Last night he was on SNL; SNL hasn't been so funny since Sarah Palin. He was great. The monologue, the plastic surgery guy and "Motherlover" with hilarious Adam Samberg. Enjoy.

More, please.


via NBC

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.

Today in Gross Things I Found at the Gas Station When I Was Craving Junk Food

GIANT CHEETOS

Please pay no attention to how hids (that's Dawn Miceli for hideous) I look in this picture. I've been up all night and am heading to bed. But first I had to show you this gross shit that Frito Lays calls food. Michael Pollan is appalled, I guarantee you.

p.s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know my other junk food selections were only marginally better than this orange monstrosity. You don't have to tell me....

Overheard in the J and L House

Lisa assesses Jesse's wet, dirty appearance as they return the tire-changing tools to the trunk.

Lisa to Jesse: This is a big week for you!

Jesse: Yeah?

Lisa: Yeah! You got your first big boy tape measure (30 feet!) and you changed your first flat tire, and in the rain, no less! A big week!