Why I Love My Husby (The First in a Series)

Reason #348

J tucks me in at night and I love it.

Reason #14

J is considering the possibility of a pet hedgehog. Yes, really!!

Reason #92

J helps me make decisions.

Things That Go On

• I GOT INTO BIGHAMTON UNIVERSITY which is not what happened last year! I've been accepted to the College of Community and Public Affairs and will be studying Human Development. Don't ask me quite yet what my ultimate goal because I don't know. Just be happy for me for getting this far, ok? I don't know many details yet, and I also don't know if I'll be doing a B.S. or a B.A. but as things become clear for me, I'll pass them on.
• Some nerd hit my poor, poor Subie. It's not bad, just a bumper, but it is annoying and it adds another thing to my list of things to keep track of/take care of. Boo. Stupid kid. Plus it happened right when I was in my appt. with BU, so things were really crazy for a few minutes there.
• I got a new, super sweet, normal-person sized laptop (my other laptop, though super cute and tiny, is one of the original net books and has trouble doing some things. Like flash. Which is important).
• We have the WOOOOOOOOOOOORST neighbors and I HAAAAATE them. They are total dirt bags. They don't share the driveway very well, they stored 4 months of trash in our shared garage and only got rid of it after we asked once and then had to complain about them. Also, they hang out their window to smoke and then toss their cigarette butts out the window. Plus, and this is the worst part, I think, they put a broken glass jar into my compost bin. WTF?? I could have cut myself plus you can't dispose of broken glass in the same way you dispose of a cheeseburger plus that compost bin is mine! Who puts unprotected broken glass into someone else's receptacle for some sort of trash (mine, of course, was compost). I hate, hate, hate them and they make me yell. Please help me by crossing your fingers and hoping they get evicted.
• Plus, our landlord is the worst. But if I tell you why, it's gonna totally piss me off again so.... We are definitely moving again next May.
• J and I bought Halloween candy but no trick-or-treaters came. Our street is too scary. I wouldn't let my kids trick-or-treat at our foreboding-looking house. Ack. What a dump.
• We're kinda poor cause I work at bagel town and am going to school, so our Christmas prezzies to everyone will be less fancy than I'd like them to be. I heart Christmas shopping soo, sooo much, so it's completely sad for me and an exercise in self-contol (wow, this is difficult for me). Someday, things will be fancy again. Until then, meeep.

Overheard in the J and L House

scene: 4:38 a.m. Lisa wakes up with a start.

Lisa: Jesse, do you hear that noise?

Jesse: No, what does it sound like?

Lisa, making a farting noise with her lips: Like that, only mechanical. Like someone is trying to saw into the house.

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen

Cut Hairs

I Can't Believe Charlie Brown!

Ha ha ha! This is so funny. Especially since one no-sense-of-humor-reader got upset about the paper printing the letter. Nerd! Ha ha ha!

via today's local paper:

I can't believe Charlie Brown, again this year, played Lucy in his outfield. Lucy is the worst player in the history of baseball.

John Andrews

Vestal


image via Peanuts Wiki

Rainn Wilson Makes a Giant Halloween Mess!

I looove Rainn Wilson!



via HuffPo

Is It Crazy...

Is it crazy that I want to put on my wedding dress again, make Jesse rent another tux, have my hair and makeup done, and have new (read: better) wedding pictures taken? I'm kind of serious about this....

I hate our wedding pictures.

What He Said

I love you, B. I really do. But Michael Moore has got a point (or several):

Dear President Obama,

How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace. Your swift, early pronouncements -- you will close Guantanamo, you will bring the troops home from Iraq, you want a nuclear weapon-free world, you admitted to the Iranians that we overthrew their democratically-elected president in 1953, you made that great speech to the Islamic world in Cairo, you've eliminated that useless term "The War on Terror," you've put an end to torture -- these have all made us and the rest of the world feel a bit more safe considering the disaster of the past eight years. In eight months you have done an about face and taken this country in a much more sane direction.

But...

The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the 2nd day of the ninth year of what is quickly becoming your War in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's what a true man of peace would do.

There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do -- capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000 people on 9/11. BUT YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH TANKS AND TROOPS. You are pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to get rid of a mouse.

The Taliban is another matter. That is a problem for the people of Afghanistan to resolve -- just as we did in 1776, the French did in 1789, the Cubans did in 1959, the Nicaraguans did in 1979 and the people of East Berlin did in 1989. One thing is certain through all revolutions by people who wish to be free -- they ultimately have to bring about that freedom themselves. Others can be supportive, but freedom can not be delivered from the front seat of someone else's Humvee.

You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing such good will to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S. -- and you -- to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.

Overheard in the J and L House

Lisa: God damn it, Jesse!

Jesse, alarmed: What?

Lisa: You're in big trouble.

Jesse, laughing nervously: What's wrong?

Lisa: Another one of my high school friends is pregnant!

Overheard in the J and L House

Scene: Lisa is standing over the stove, poking at what's in the skillet.

Lisa to Jesse: Goat meat is much fattier than I expected.

Barack: "I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election."

Oh, how I heart the Prez.


Also, check out Letterman's Top Ten Reasons the President Agreed to Appear on the Late Show.

Kirk Shreve

My friend and mentor, Kirk Shreve, died unexpectedly three years and two weeks ago. Kirk was a really stellar guy; I learned so much from him. He buried my Grandma Mastroberti six months before he died.

He keeps an eye on me. I know he's around.

I hope he knows how much he means to me.

RIP, Kirk. I wish we had more time together.


Read more about Kirk.

• Obituary
• May, 2006 article on the funeral home
• September, 2006 reaction to his death
• September, 2006 editorial
• An article on the first anniversary of his death

image via The Lansing Star

Craftsman and Artist, My Friend Tighe

What a coincidence! One of my most treasured wedding gifts was created, handmade, by one of my most treasured friends, Tighe James. Tighe and I go pretty far back, nearly ten years I'd say. We've been close and far in friendship and we've been close and far in proximity but he's always been exceedingly dear to me.

I have been remiss by neglecting to tell you all about him before now! Tighe is an amazing and talented artist and designer whose medium is a wide variety of wood species: American White Oak, New Zealand Lemonwood, South American Purpleheart, and more. He's got an array of items (furniture, chopping blocks, mirrors, frames (like the one J and I received for our wedding!) available at Tapwater Designs. Don't see what you like (you must be crazy!)? Send Tighe an email and see what great possibilities exist to make you completely happy!

Think of the possibilities: medicine cabinets, book shelves for your study, lamp tables for your bedroom, toy boxes for the nursery, key ledges to keep you organized. What about a bench where your guests can sit and take off their shoes when they arrive? I bet Tighe can do that. You'd like some sort of place to toss the mail into when you come in the front door? I'm pretty sure Tighe can do that. Maybe you need a kitchen table "crafted to resemble a Roche-Bobois Spinnaker table, with a Scandinavian influence." You'd like it made of Pennsylvania Walnut and Northern White Ash? Tighe did do that.

Tapwater Designs currently offers a collection of handcrafted original wooden goods, designed to simplify your life and continue to the next. Organic hand- rubbed finishes are used whenever possible, and the traditional joinery methods employed from my hardwood chopping blocks to the Lambda barchair are time-tested and reinforced for extreme wear and seasonal shifts. I am confident in this enough to back all my items with a wear guarantee. I personally handcraft each piece to the highest standards in a small shop in southern Maine. They are then signed and dated and ready for your good pleasure. All of Tapwater Designs products are customizable in species, sizes, and ideas.

Tighe is doing superior work. Every single thing I see is better than the last and the last was outstanding. I dream about the day when I'll have another piece of Tighe's work in my house and I couldn't go another day without telling you just what you're missing!

Oh, and Christmas is right around the corner!

Don't wait another minute!

Tapwater Designs

tighe@tapwaterdesigns.com

Re: Overheard in the J and L House: Thousand Islands Edition

This is the walking stick I spent a good portion of Saturday talking about consuming.

I Love My Husby

September 30 will mark our third year of marriage. I think this last year was my favorite so far; hopefully, I'll say that every year around this time. My life is so much better with J in it; for all the time we spend together, it is almost never enough, if you ask me.

Overheard in the J and L House: Thousand Islands Edition

Scene: J and I are with my parents and Lauren at a cottage in Clayton, NY in the Thousand Islands for the weekend.

Lisa, referring to the walking stick hanging tightly to the screen door: Dad, what would you do if I ate this walking stick?

Dad: Well, given the minimal amount of protein and how bad it will probably taste, I wouldn't recommend it.

image via US Forest Service

Here's For All of The Beer Geeks I Love

I learned this while reading some of my history homework: The Sumerians had a special goddess designated to supervise the production of beer. Her name was Ninkasi, or "the lady who fills the mouth." Neat, huh? She's pretty, too.

Read more about Sumerian Beer at Beeradvocate.


image via Beeradvocate

Overheard at the Drive-Thru: A Back-to-School Edition

Scene: I am working the drive-thru at the illustrious bagel shop. A strung-out mom with a car full of kids (three, at least) pulls up at the window and waits for her food.

Lisa, seeing all sorts of kids: Would you like these (holding up several Dum-Dums) for the kids?

Strung-out Mom, snapping at me: No! No one in this car deserves any candy!

Sounds like its time for everyone to go back to school, huh?


p.s. This is exactly why I ask instead of give automatically.

BLERG!

I got a stupid parking ticket at my stupid school and not even this cute and ridiculous puppus made me feel better. BLERG!!


Maybe it helped a little.


via HuffPo