Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Art of the Mix Tape

What I'm Listening to now: Drop the Pressure by Mylo

Remember back in the day when you listened to (gasp!) tapes? I looooooved tapes. I used to record a lot of music off the radio, because back then in the 80s we didn't have the internet. Well, we had records, (I even had a 45 of the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed", I remember) and you could buy tapes, but I just liked recording songs off the radio too. It was just you and your own little portable tape recorder. Michael Jackson singing "Beat It" on WKTI? Got it! Duran Duran singing "Rio"? It's on tape, buddy. Joy.

But what I loved to do most was to make mix tapes. I would AGONIZE over what songs went together! I made a ton of mix tapes with all sorts of themes -- the mix to drive to, the ska mix, the "my boyfriend dumped me" mix, the "first kiss" mix, the "oh my god I'm so depressed" mix. I still have a few of them -- but no tape player to relive the awesome memories. Sigh.

Now with computers and writable CD's, it is SOOOO much easier to make mixes. So of course I have a ton of "playlists", as Windows Media Player calls a compilation of songs that you've personally brought together in love and harmony.

I especially like to make mix CD's for special occasions, to remember a personal experience and then try to recreate it through a list of certain songs so perfect for the situation that when you play the CD, it's almost like you went back to that experience and are able to relive all your feelings and thoughts associated with the event.

In fact, for our wedding, I created 5 mix CD's instead of hiring a DJ. And I must admit, it was my crowing glory! I am really proud of that 5 hours of music because listening to these CD's really take the listener back to their experiences from our wedding, from "hey, are those mozzarella sticks at the buffet?" to "gee, I don't remember drinking five martinis" to "I feel like doing a cartwheel right here in the hallway of this hotel!". I still listen to those CD's, much to Jim's utter boredom. "Oh, is this 'Wedding CD #3' AGAIN?" So they are kinda off-limits at our house...nuts!

One site I visited about mix tapes really encapsulated how you can tell you are truly a "mixologist":

From this site: There is great joy in making a mix. If you have ever killed a Saturday afternoon obessessing over what song should go next, you get it.

Hey, ever made a mix tape? What's your favorite mix list?

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Finally! A new kitchen!!

What I'm Listening To: The silence of my lonely room...sigh. No, really!

After 5 years of living in our little palace in Stallis, Jim and I have finally gotten around to renovating the kitchen. If you want to see the before and after shots, check us out here.

I was kinda worried that the wood color we picked for the cabinets wouldn't match the original wood flooring, but it looks great. The dark copper fixtures we selected look great! We're thinking we'll paint it the walls light blue, with white baseboards and white trim for the windows and doorways. I'm now looking for a cool braided rag rug, and some retro print fabric to make my own curtains for both windows and for the back door. We are getting a new white electric stove with a glass top, and we're thinking to keep the refrigerator, but that's debatable at this point. It looks kinda dingy, anyway...

Tell us what you think so far!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Huzzah, bitches!

What I'm Listening To: Big in Japan by Alphaville

I have a confession. Up until yesterday, I'd never been to the Ren Faire. Yes, we've driven by it like a million times, and I'm guilty of making a ton of jokes about twelve-sided dice people, as I call the individuals who reaaaaaally get into it, so to speak, but I'd never ventured inside.

So yesterday I did it. I broke my Ren Faire cherry. And it was AWESOME!!!! I can't believe I'm saying this, because honestly I thought it would be like that place "Apple Holler" on the freeway, but probably with a lot more costumes, but seriously it was super fantastic fun. Okay, being kinda wasted the whole day helped A LOT, and eating every greasy deep-fried food in sight also was a bonus, but that's not what made it a fun day. I'll back up here, and start from the beginning.

We were somewhat concerned about the weather on Saturday, because it was about 30% chance of thunderstorms, but no matter if it rained or not it was super humid. So we chanced it and decided to go.

We drive up there, pay the almost $20 apiece for the tickets (I guess you can buy them cheaper online, but of course we didn't get around to doing that before we left) and walk in. I have to admit, I was really kinda nervous. Everyone was either a biker, somebody in a costume, or a kid. Of course, we headed right for the beer stalls, duh. I needed something to help me "get in the spirit of things" so to speak. We watched this "mud" show, which involved a lot of cheering, kinda like a football game, and you know how I feel about sports...boring. This is after one hard cider. I'm looking around the grounds, and it seems kinda small, so I'm like, this is it? Where's the jousting? I think the pseudo-queen walked by, but I was so self-conscious that I just gulped my drink and kept my head down. Kinda thinking to myself....NEXT!

Next we see this other area, and so we walked over this big pond on this very narrow and very long bridge to the rest of the grounds. I didn't even KNOW there was a rest of the grounds. I think it's like 20 acres or so, give or take a bit. It's all these winding dirt paths and "Ye Olde This" and "Privies" and all the staff have outfits on and lots of this huzzah-ing -- it kinda gives you a headache after a little bit. Must admit, the drinks help with the huzzahs -- and then the people with the elf ears or the tied-on pair of satyr horns start looking somewhat normal.

At this point we're hungry, and there are food stands galore. None of them serving anything remotely healthy, duh. Jim gets a turkey leg. We were with another couple -- Dan and Anne --and Dan got a turkey leg too. Must be a dude thing. Anne and I split a calzone.

Here's how the rest of the day goes: Walk, drink, pee, eat, walk, walk, watch the jousting and cheer like a drunken maniac and Anne gets to put ribbons on one of the jouster's lances - yeah, just like that, ya perv!, pee, drink, look at freaky sterling silver jewelry, eat, walk, look at candles and blown glass fairies, pee, walk, make jokes about eating "dragon dicks" while we eat a bagel dog, walk, drink, walk, Anne gets hit on by like every other Ren Faire worker, walk, smell some sexy colognes, drink, pee, buy huge stack of "butterfly potatoes" with cheese, get cheese on my favorite top and also on my pants, giggle hysterically and keep saying "chip it up, bitch!", drink, walk, get my palm read, pee, walk, walk, leave.

I had the best time ever. I seriously mean it. You know, it's pretty rare that I have an unabashedly good time. Usually, I'm like, "eh, that was pretty fun, except for the fact that my feet hurt" or "that was okay, for a wedding". But I have to tell you, I would highly recommend going to Ren Faire. And if you can, ask Anne and Dan to go with you -- they are awesome!! :)

Have you been to Ren Faire? Whadja think?

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Guest Stars on "The Abby Version"

Yeah, I know I'm super book and all, but there are others out there who are just as book as me. And so, even though I'm loath to share the spotlight, I am giving up one post every so often (the lawyers are still figuring out how often LOL) to a guest star on my blog.

My first guest star will be a co-worker of mine. We'll have to wait and see what she'd like to call her Q&A guest appearance, but I'll tell you one thing that isn't two things, it should be pretty entertaining. Stay tuned....

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Wheels on the bus

What I'm listening to: Savoir Faire by Suede

We ride the bus to work every day. I really don't like driving, to tell you the truth, and I especially don't like having to pay $80-$100 a month for parking in downtown Milwaukee. So, the bus is a relief. And there are no good morning radio stations in Milwaukee, but that's a whole other blog post.

Jim and I ride the freeway flyer from the State Fair Park n' Ride lot. It is about a mile from our house in Stallis. Work pays like 50% of our monthly bus pass costs. The bus is usually on time. It takes less than 30 minutes for us to get to work, and the bus stops right in front of our campus. I mean, can you beat that with a stick? No, you can't. Duh.

People don't want to ride the bus because they say that public transit riders are freaks. Yeah, I've heard the stories -- the one about the guy who talks to himself, or the one where the bum stinks of alcohol, or worse. And you haters probably have a point, but I've never seen these folk.

Saving money is great, and the fact I don't have to drive is even better, but the best part of the bus are our bus friends. Jim and I have been riding this freeway flyer for over 4 years now, and we have met some really cool people that I would have never talked to if we didn't ride the bus together. We have some fun times on our rides, telling stories about our jobs, our lives, our families. If I ever need a referral for any type of work -- be it a podiatrist to a fence contractor -- the bus friends have a suggestion ready. We even have inside jokes, if you can believe it! And if we miss a day on the bus, we get scolded the next day for skipping out.

All of us were even included in a Southeast Wisconsin Transit System commercial together about one of my bus friends, Mike -- "Mike's Ride". That was a lot of fun - check it out!

I heart the bus and I am so glad that we got the chance to meet the wonderful, warm and funny people that are our bus friends. I highly recommend public transit to anyone who commutes -- I know, sometimes people can't take the bus bc they have kids or whatever, but if you can, seriously consider it! Who knows, you might even meet some book people!

Hey, do you currently ride the bus? What's your favorite thing about riding the bus? And no, MCTS is not putting me up to this! LOL

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Book Review: Schooled by Anisha Lakhani



What I'm Listening To: Any Way You Choose To Give It by The Black Ghosts

I love to read. I visit my neighborhood public library every week. (They should know my name by now, but they never greet me personally. Damn it! You'd think by now they would!!!)

If I see a book somewhere that I want to read, I don't even have to buy it. I usually go online and reserve it through the public library internet site where you can request that books be held and sent to your own neighborhood library...for free! How sweet is that?

So, I have just finished this pretty interesting novel, and I thought I'd share it with you, bc hey, it's super book. Ha!

You know, with all the "Gosh, aren't those wacky upper east side New Yorkers' a trip?" books that have flooded the literary market in the past couple years, you'd think that the genre would just peter out somehow by now, huh? Not a chance. I've read "The Nanny Diaries", and "The Devil Wears Prada" (and seen the movies, duh!), and practically every other book with a primary plot line that consists of "look at these big city weirdos but you're jealous, right?". And I am rarely bored with the freaky "wow, we've got a ton of cash and more panache and style in our earwax than you have in your whole body" women that seem to inhabit these books. From the high-end clothing/accessory references to the hot celeb gossip and whatever other junk they pack into these books, I'm hooked. It's pretty pathetic, but I'm a sucker for a dropped name.

Okay, I'm getting to the point here, prom! Recently found another fun New Yorkers and their freaky lives book, albeit with lots of designer labels thrown in and little tidbits of gossip about what these richrichrich people like to do with their kids. It's called "Schooled", by Anisha Lakhani. It was pretty good, and I came to that conclusion because I read it in like, two days. And I wasn't rolling my eyes every other chapter, or tossing it down on the floor after 3 pages. That's about 90% of my personal reading experiences with new books I pick up off the shelf at the library. Sad.

In fact, I actually liked the main character, Anna Taggert, and her descent into her educational and emotional hell. See, she's a newbie teacher at a swanky private school, and it turns out that the teaching habits at these said private schools are a little more "progressive" than she's used to. Little Robin and Ryan Rich New Yorker have tutors who do their homework for them, can you believe it? So Anna has to go to hell and back to get her own integrity back regarding the situation. This book did pull out some of the worst novelistic cliches, and I'll be honest I wasn't sure if Anna was going to end up showing us her gleaming heart of gold or just descend further into her own dark hell of broken rules and guilty birdseed, but in the end Anna comes to a happy conclusion everybody is happyhappyhappy! Bc that's how Hollywood likes it!!!

See you at the movies, Anisha! (or should I say, Anna?) :)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Whatchamacallit?

What I'm Listening To: Everybody Rules - Morningwood

I have my own language. It's called "Abby-isms", and basically it's pretty easy to learn. Prepare yourself.

Compy: Computer. "I'm gonna go play compies" means I probably won't see my husband for a couple hours because he's hiding in his man cave playing that stupid internet game Savage.

Wa: Water. "Can you get me a wa?" We drink A LOT of La Croix at our house. PLAIN only, please. Flavored La Croix is disgusting. I think we go through five 12-packs a week, last time I checked. The aluminum cruisers around our house on recycle days lurve us!! And don't even get me started about how much I hate soda. Please, you don't want to go there.

Peedle-lee-dee: Urinate. "Do you have to peedle-lee-dee?" The other side of that is "Poop-a-loop", and I'm sure you can guess that one.

Boobie, Meow, Sir Pacquie, Mule: All nicknames for my lovely and talented husband. Of course, I'm the only one that can use them. I'm serious!

Teev: Television. "Let's watch teev!" is a common refrain in our house. Hey, you try ignoring the mighty Tivo!

I'll tell you one thing that isn't two things: I like to preface heavy statements with this one, like "I'll tell you one thing that isn't two things, I'm not buying rollerblades".

I'll be honest with you: Another heavy statement prefix, usually followed by some ecstatic revelation on my part. Usually true.

Hotter than a dog's butthole: This just means said object is just hot. Really, really hot. Not kidding. Temperature hot, not spicy tasting or sexy hawt.

It's like the size of Kentucky: This means said object is large. That could be the size of a zit to the size of a bruise on my leg. It's pretty flexible.

Christ on a cracker with cheese: As I'm sure you can imagine from either knowing me or reading these awesome blog posts, I have a low threshold for birdseed. And I'm really really impatient, and I can't stand to relax. Really! So I have to find some pretty creative ways to express my annoyance. What WOULD Christ taste like if he was on a cracker with cheese? And what kind of cheese would he like? Hmmmm....

Chua: I know everyone says this, but I like it. A lot. That's two words, Hesper! :)

Sooooooopercuuuuuuuute: Did you see that South Park episode? OMG, loved it. So we say it all the time.

Super book, Dual: Book means cool in T9. And dual means...well, just figure it out. I think I read about this in"You should use T9 on your mobile phone, dummy!" magazine.

"And now back to another episode of "(fill in the appropriate title for the situation in question)": I say this all the time. And I am funnee. Trust me.

Shiite Muslim: When I can't say sh*t, this is what I say at work. Gets a laugh, of course.

TM: As in, "Honey, is this outfit TM?" That means "too much". Used when anything seems...um...over the top.

R-O-N-G Wrong!: As in "that is just R-O-N-G wrong!" Usually when you're talking about a situation that is a crying shame.

My husband and I have like a zillion inside jokes, as do me and my sister. I would love to list them all here, and explain them all, but that's getting away from today's topic.

What are your "favorite sayings"? And have people started adopting them for their own, like people do with mine? I am so super book, you know it.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Sittin' in a tree

You know that Chuck and Nate kissed right after this scene, right? *that is, if you believe what the tabloids say, and frankly, I always do!

What I'm Listening To: The Words, by Psapp

Did I tell you that I have a crush? Okay, I have like a handful of them. Maybe two handfuls. And my husband Jim and I have a running joke that if one of these crushes has a flat tire outside our house, that I have a "free pass", whatever that means. I think it only lasts an hour though. Whatever. There's a lot you can do in an hour. Chua.

Anyway, I'm sure you're all dying to know who I'm crushing on -- yes, they are all famous people, of course.

1) Vincent D'Onofrio (Det. Robert Goren/Law and Order - CI) -- I think that I have forced Jim to watch every re-run of Law and Order - Criminal Intent so I may adore the visage of my darling Vincent, from sexy svelte "I would eat an entire box of mallomars just to see you smile" Vince to the"oh-my-god what's that grizzly bear doing with a police badge!" physique. Yes, I like a plump man, but not THAT big. I think he was sick that season, though, so he has an excuse. Shine on, you crazy hottie!

2) Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass/Gossip Girl) -- I have read every one of the Gossip Girl books (if you're hatin', I'm not listening), and in all the books Chuck Bass is either right on the verge of gay or is outrightly gay. In the TV version of these books, Chuck is just unbelievably hot, and such a bad boy stereotype that it's not even funny. But I don't care. I have taken digital photos of Chuck on the television during the show, people. Let's just say I have a problem, and leave it at that.

3) Jason Dohring (Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars) -- Another bad boy. What's wrong with me?? But, in my defense, have you seen this man? HAWT. I don't care, call me a cougar. Better yet, watch the show, and then try to call me something.

4) Alfred Molina (Whatever, he's been in a lot of movies) -- Alfred Molina is my personal definition of dark and broody. And kinda stout and shluppy, if I may say so. But hey, more to go around! :) I still heart him and his cute british accent. Sigh!

Well, there's a bunch more, including Christian Bale (not so much now, but Velvet Goldmine was good), Steve Buscemi (okay, I take that back, because I saw his movie Interview recently and kinda got sick of his birdseed), Damian Lewis (two words: Forsythe Saga. 'nuff said. Oh, and two more words...RED HAIR. Yikes!) and sometimes when I'm bored MacCauley Culkin. Maybe next time!

Who's your famous crush? And if you haven't already, what would you do if you ever met them?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Race for Facebook friends


What I'm Listening To: "Neverending Story" - Limahl
(Shut up, you know you loved that movie. I heart Atreu!)

My husband and I are competing against each other as to who can add the most friends to their Facebook page. Right now I have 9 friends, and I think he has 4. So yay, I'm winning!!

What does it mean to be someone's "Friend" on Facebook? I mean, shouldn't they have an "Acquaintance" label? What about "Co-Worker"? Or "I just added you since you wouldn't leave me alone" label?

But outside of Facebook, what does friendship really mean when you're 37 years old? When I was 13 I had "best friends", but now I just seem to have people that I eat lunch with at work, or people who I read their travel blog, or people that throw happy hours and invite me. Then there's the whole "we're only friends at work" thing, or the "we went to high school together but really have nothing left to talk about" situations, or "please stop calling me bc you're so high maintenance it's giving me a headache" concepts. There's so many things I could talk about here.
For me, friendship as I get older just seems to get more difficult. When I was 13, it was simple. We talked on the phone for 80 million hours about boys and music and school and clothes. Now, I have such a low tolerance for people's birdseed that I find myself wanting to spend more and more time alone. And then I complain I don't have any friends. It's a wicked cycle.

When you're friends with someone, you really have to decide how much you adore all the cool stuff about them that would make you overlook their subjective flaws. Of course, these flaws are YOUR opinion of what is not okay behavior, and this could be as simple as them slurping their soup. For me, I have very high expectations of myself, and therefore, of my friends.

But one of the most wonderful things about friendship is that the other person is NOT YOU. They have another opinion. They have done things you have not done, and probably will tell you all about them. They will show you sides of yourself that you cannot see. And you will do the same for them. So maybe friendship's not all bad.

Hey, did I tell you that I am winning on Facebook? I am tres populaire, as I would have said in 8th grade.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Don't overthink it.

Aug 13, 2008 - Transiting Mercury Square Natal Jupiter -- The challenge now is not to let one conversation, fact or detail get blownout of proportion. You may overstate your case or run into others who lack mastery of their subject. Big talk and big words get attention, but can create expectations that are difficult to fulfill. Use this time to study,to fill in the gaps in your knowledge and discover whether your theories are fact-based or faith-based.