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.

Take it from Me

Several hours after eating a large portion of raw beet salad (or any other sort of beet), it is important to remember that you consumed this large portion of beets before becoming alarmed by anything that observe during your subsequent bathroom times.

Mirriam-Webster, I Think You're OK!

marriage: noun

(1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage b: the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock c: the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage

redefinition news via Slog

R.I.P., Seattle Post-Intelligencer

From today's edition, the last-ever Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

image via Slog

Today in Traditional Marriage

The Smoking Gun:

A Florida man wearing an "I [heart] My Marriage" t-shirt was arrested last night for allegedly choking his wife during an argument in their Tampa-area home. Bradley Gellert, a 32-year-old financial consultant, was busted by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies and booked into jail on a felony domestic battery by strangulation charge.... The "I [heart] My Marriage" shirt was a promotional item tied to the 2008 movie "Fireproof," a Christian-themed film starring Kirk Cameron. The movie, a hit in evangelical circles, centers on a fireman's religious awakening and his simultaneous effort to save a failing marriage.

Says Dan Savage, "Bradley hearts his marriage - it's his wife he can't stand."

via Slog
image via The Smoking Gun

More Proof Depression Hurts Women's Hearts

From MSNBC:

WASHINGTON - Severe depression may silently break a seemingly healthy woman's heart.

Doctors have long known that depression is common after a heart attack or stroke, and worsens those people's outcomes. Monday, Columbia University researchers reported new evidence that depression can lead to heart disease in the first place.

The scary news gets worse:

The depressed women were more than twice as likely to experience sudden cardiac death — death typically caused by an irregular heartbeat, concluded the 12-year study, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. They also had a smaller increased risk of death from other forms of heart disease.

The big surprise: Sudden cardiac death seemed more closely linked with antidepressant use than with the depression symptoms the women reported.

This is disconcerting to say the least.

David Shrigley

Recently, I've been interested in the cartoons and photographs by Glasglow-based artist, David Shrigley. I particularly like this photograph because this coconut says what I spend so much time trying to do.

I really love many of his bizarre, caustic cartoons and animations, as well. The following cartoon is about a sculpture.

I love too many drawings to share them all. Check him out and tell me which ones you like. We can talk about them!

I Wish You the Happiest Day

"I suppose you are real," said the Midge. And then she wished she had not said it, for she thought Raquel might be sensitive.

But Raquel only smiled.
-adapted from The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams

Happy, happy day to my friend Rachel@Canada.

Overheard in the J and L House

Lisa to Jesse: I haven't tried to kick you at all tonight!

Dear Cilantro

You are the grossest of them all.


via I Hate Cilantro

I'm 28

Here I am with my birthday chicken from Philip and Emily. How do you like my new side part?

Here's my terrific birthday cake decorated by my sweet, generous, loving husband. I think it says, "Aarf...," or, um.... I don't know what it says. I just love it.

Here we are in the kitchen with my birthday flowers in the foreground. Jesse wanted to take a nice picture of the two of us. But I was exhausted, having been up since 4 a.m., and not interested in cooperating.

A Song about an Anglerfish

You guys! This video is via Rachel in Canada. I actually didn't watch the video right away because the anglerfish in the beginning of the video is so frightening-looking. I am really glad I got over my concerns because this video and song is way more funny and educational than I could have imagined. Plus, any guy who writes a song about anglerfish is ok with me.

Dear Andrew

Look what I found! Isn't this great? The Office: The Musical.



via The Huffington Post

Tina Fey Always Makes Me Laugh

I especially loved learning about little Alice's gig as a freelance script writer.

By the way, does anyone else think that Fallon seems wildly uncomfortable and awkward and not funny at all?

Thanks to Rachel@Philadelphia for the tip!


via Huffington Post

HB to My MOM!

Happy Day to my Mom!

I looooooove you!

We Ate Here, We Watched This, Bla Bla Bla

I am behind on my blogging. I know. I'm sorry. Lately, I haven't felt like talking/blogging and I've also had some figuring out that I wanted to complete before talking/blogging about it. But the good news is that I'm here to do some updates on what's been going down in the J and L house.

Here we go in no particular order:

• Jesse and I received generous monetary gifts from our parents for Valentines Day which meant we didn't have to go to Moe's or some other non-romantic location to celebrate. We spent the afternoon and evening on Seneca Lake doing some wine tasting at a couple wineries before having dinner at the Bistro at Red Newt Cellars. Red Newt Cellars is one of our favorite local wineries and we've been meaning to get to the Bistro for quite a while. We just haven't had the money. That's why the gifts from our families were so perfect. The Bistro is delightful and right up our alley since they use the finest and freshest local and regional ingredients in their menu. This quote comes from their website:

  The Red Newt Bistro represents the finest in fresh regional cuisine of the Finger Lakes. Every menu is build (sic) with the diner and the farmer in mind. Local ingredients are the main fare, and seasonality is the life blood of every menu.

  Jesse started with the house salad and I had the Tomato Vegetable Soup. For his entree, Jesse ate the Local Free-Range Pork Loin with sweet apple glaze, apple chutney, Parmesan risotto and seasonal vegetables. I had the Local Free-Range Chicken stuffed with prosciutto, provolone, spinach and roasted red pepper sauce with Parmesan risotto and seasonal vegetables. For dessert, Jesse had Chocolate Pate with Cranberry Port Sauce and I had the Maple Walnut Cheesecake. We shared a bottle of Hennepin from Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY and Jesse had a glass of Red Newt Riesling.
  
• Last weekend, we saw The Reader with Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes at the Art Mission & Theatre. It was amazing and I loved it as much as it absolutely broke my heart. Both the film and its five Oscar nominations were controversial because of the film's sensitive subject matter. More on the issue can be found at CNN and a great review of the film can be found at The Stranger. I truly loved it; I almost can't stop thinking about it.
• I have taken a job as a residence counselor at Franziska Racker Centers. It is a non-profit organization that works with developmentally disabled people. I'll be working an awake overnight shift at one of their 17 residential homes. More news as I get it.
  
• I've started parting my hair on the side. I think its cute. Jesse didn't really notice. I'll post a picture sometime soon.
  
• Thursday is my birthday. There will be no pomp like there has been in years past. There will be no sleeping in (I have to get up at 4 am and go to work!) and no birthday massage. Instead, I'm going to visit my besty, Tovah, at the end of this month! I'm really excited about the visit even though I'm sad to forgo my much-needed deep tissue birthday massage. Plus, I haven't worked on my birthday for years. ::huff:: Maybe once I start making the big bucks (compared to what I'm making currently) at my new job, J will let me splurge for a massage.

I think that's most of it. Consider yourself updated.

This Week in Dog Poo

Breitbart:

A German lawmaker proposed on Monday a novel and high-tech way of dealing with the menace of dog poo on the streets: DNA testing to identify the canine culprit and fine its owner.

Peter Stein, a conservative politician in eastern Germany, told AFP that under his proposal, officials would test the excrement and then match it up to the offending dog using a DNA database of all pooches.

German dog owners are fined 30-40 euros (40-50 dollars) if they fail to clean up after their pets, but very few are caught, with only four fines given out in Stein's hometown of Rostock -- human population 200,000 -- last year.

"Just saying 'it wasn't my dog' will not wash any more," Stein said.

via Slog

Is Regular Clean Clean Enough for Your Family?

from the Coen brothers



via Slog

I Think I'm a 10 Year-Old Boy

Its past my "bedtime," I'm playing Wii and eating the remaining piece of an ice cream cake that came from P and E.

I have a bad feeling about my life.

Unless I actually am a 10 year-old boy, in which case, I'm doing pret-ty, pret-ty well.

Re: Its True. My Horoscope is True and So is Erika's.

I'm fairly positive that what The Onion meant to say was:

A whirlwind romance will sweep Erika off her feet this week, before destroying her home, smashing her valuables (except the very valuable valuables like the calculator watch), and dropping her off four states away (provided that she is transported via Michigan).