I'm sorry, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
Ew.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Crimes of fashion.
Five reasons I dislike high fashion, courtesy of Alexander McQueen via Jezebel:
I'm sorry, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
Ew.
I'm sorry, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
Ew.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Would you like fries with that shake?
Why yes, I would.
I love McDonald's. Admitting this publicly is kind of embarrassing. I may as well just say "yes, I eat like crap and need to lose weight." Which is true. Though I don't always eat like crap, I have a tendency to find myself in the McDonald's drive thru about once a week. I will not apologize for my devotion to the sausage egg mcmuffin. Or french fries.
While my love for those two items is strong, the deep-rooted longing I feel for McDonald's every March can only be attributed to one thing: the Shamrock Shake.
Available for a limited time only (kind of like the McRib used to be...and maybe still is. I don't really know, anything called McRib seems gross to me so therefore I am not up on its comings and goings), the Shamrock Shake is synonymous with spring. And my birthday. Many a March day has been celebrated with a cup of this creamy, minty deliciousness. I am not typically a shake person, but this one is special.
I probably wouldn't want one so badly if it was available year-round. Or if it was available everywhere...which it is not. You have to search for the Shamrock Shake. I didn't know this, because the McDonald's in Joliet always had them and I assumed that was the case everywhere (because, really, why wouldn't it be?). But they are not as readily available in Minnesota. In fact, I haven't had one since I moved here in 1999. Every year I would check the menu at my local McDonald's, but I never saw it. Disappointing, to say the least. I even spent some time trying to decipher www.shamrockshake.com — a website where people can submit the locations where they found the Shamrock Shake — but it's the worst website in the world and I couldn't figure out how to use it. (The Shake's loyal following is impressive though; good to know I'm not alone in my search.)
But then! I was lamenting the Shamrock Shake's non-existence to my friend Barbara a few weeks ago, and she told me a friend of ours usually finds one every March. (How did I not know this?) I immediately emailed Jennifer, and the three of us set up a search party/lunch date.
And we found it. About two blocks away from our office. That's right, after all this time, the Shamrock Shake was right down the street from me.
It was well worth the drive.
I love McDonald's. Admitting this publicly is kind of embarrassing. I may as well just say "yes, I eat like crap and need to lose weight." Which is true. Though I don't always eat like crap, I have a tendency to find myself in the McDonald's drive thru about once a week. I will not apologize for my devotion to the sausage egg mcmuffin. Or french fries.
While my love for those two items is strong, the deep-rooted longing I feel for McDonald's every March can only be attributed to one thing: the Shamrock Shake.
Available for a limited time only (kind of like the McRib used to be...and maybe still is. I don't really know, anything called McRib seems gross to me so therefore I am not up on its comings and goings), the Shamrock Shake is synonymous with spring. And my birthday. Many a March day has been celebrated with a cup of this creamy, minty deliciousness. I am not typically a shake person, but this one is special.
I probably wouldn't want one so badly if it was available year-round. Or if it was available everywhere...which it is not. You have to search for the Shamrock Shake. I didn't know this, because the McDonald's in Joliet always had them and I assumed that was the case everywhere (because, really, why wouldn't it be?). But they are not as readily available in Minnesota. In fact, I haven't had one since I moved here in 1999. Every year I would check the menu at my local McDonald's, but I never saw it. Disappointing, to say the least. I even spent some time trying to decipher www.shamrockshake.com — a website where people can submit the locations where they found the Shamrock Shake — but it's the worst website in the world and I couldn't figure out how to use it. (The Shake's loyal following is impressive though; good to know I'm not alone in my search.)
But then! I was lamenting the Shamrock Shake's non-existence to my friend Barbara a few weeks ago, and she told me a friend of ours usually finds one every March. (How did I not know this?) I immediately emailed Jennifer, and the three of us set up a search party/lunch date.
And we found it. About two blocks away from our office. That's right, after all this time, the Shamrock Shake was right down the street from me.
It was well worth the drive.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Not so Super.
I hate Super Target. And quite possibly Pledge, though that might be misplaced hatred. For all I know, that's Super Target's fault, too.
It wasn't hard for me to fall in love with Target. Growing up I had much more experience with Walmart — Target didn't arrive in Joliet until I was in high school, and even then it was kind of a hike from where we lived. (Now you can turn either way out of my parents' subdivision and hit one within 5 minutes.) Also, we spent a LOT of time at Walmart in college. It was the closest superstore to Taylor (that crappy Kmart in Gas City doesn't count), and provided countless hours of entertainment (I have taken many pictures in Walmart...including one of my friend Bri in a canoe, one of my friend Ali smelling a wall of fake flowers, and one of me sitting on a race car made out of Bud Light boxes. Classy). But when I moved to Minnesota there wasn't a Walmart within the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. So, off to Target I went.
And oh, I loved it.
It didn't take long for me to become a full-fledged member of the Target fan club. Why would it? Target is amazing. It's clean and pretty and trendy and has cheap clothes. One of my favorite things to do after work (before I had to get home every night to my dog) was wander aimlessly around Target, buying a random assortment of things I didn't need. Cute shirts, cute shoes, cute home stuff...cute, cute, cute.
And then Super Target came to town. Both of the primary Targets in my life — one across the street from my office, one by my home — went from being boring old regular Targets to shiny new SUPER Targets. I was ecstatic. Cute shirts, shoes and home stuff PLUS a full range of groceries? No way!
No way was right.
Believe me, I feel I am being kind when I say this: Super Target SUCKS. I can't stand it. It's ridiculously crowded. People let their kids run wild. I can't find anything. They have a crappy produce selection. And they are always out of products I need, or they don't carry them at all. Every single time I have attempted to grocery shop at Super Target, I've had to stop at Rainbow on my way home to pick up something they didn't have. And it's usually for something stupid. For example, once I went there to pick up saltine crackers. They didn't have ANY. The entire shelf of saltines was empty. No brand name, no store brand. Nothing. Can it get more basic than saltines? I've found that to be the case with things like cheddar cheese and yogurt, too. And forget about it if you're looking for any type of specialty ingredients for a recipe. (And by "specialty" I mean things like capers. Not exactly fancy fare.)
I believe the goal in creating Super Target was ultimate convenience for the customer. But there is nothing convenient about having to stop at another grocery store for saltines.
This leads me to my complaint about Pledge. Which is somewhat related, seeing as I still shop at Target for household products (and cute shirts, shoes and home stuff), if not groceries.
Pledge keeps introducing products, and then pulling them off the shelf before I am able to use the entire product and replace it. It's driving me crazy. Last fall I bought a package of Pledge Stainless Steel wipes for my kitchen appliances. I have tried a number of stainless cleaning products, and those were by far my favorite. Quick, easy, cleaned up perfectly. Love them (love the whole wipes movement in general...so much better than hauling around a bottle of 409 and a roll of paper towels). Went back to Target to buy them again when I ran out...and they didn't have them. Assuming this was just another crappy Target is out of something situation, I tried another Target. No luck. Pledge doesn't make them anymore. (So no, this cannot be blamed on Target.) So I ended up buying some other stainless wipes that I hate, but whatever.
And then last weekend I used up my last Pledge "Clean and Dust" wipe, which I also found to be kind of fabulous. Went to Target to get more...and they didn't have any. This time I didn't even attempt to find them at another Target, I just assumed Pledge had discontinued them. So instead I purchased the new Pledge "Multi-Surface" wipes. This time I bought two packs, just in case they decided to discontinued those as well.
However, upon visiting the Pledge website, I discovered that the Clean and Dust wipes are still available. So this can be entirely blamed on Super Target being out of yet another product I need. (I knew there would be a connection!)
And now that I've gotten all this written down, I'm not sure I have a point. So I'll wrap things up with a quick summary:
Super Target sucks, Pledge kind of sucks, I really miss those stainless wipes, and I am ranting about cleaning products so I maybe need to find a hobby.
It wasn't hard for me to fall in love with Target. Growing up I had much more experience with Walmart — Target didn't arrive in Joliet until I was in high school, and even then it was kind of a hike from where we lived. (Now you can turn either way out of my parents' subdivision and hit one within 5 minutes.) Also, we spent a LOT of time at Walmart in college. It was the closest superstore to Taylor (that crappy Kmart in Gas City doesn't count), and provided countless hours of entertainment (I have taken many pictures in Walmart...including one of my friend Bri in a canoe, one of my friend Ali smelling a wall of fake flowers, and one of me sitting on a race car made out of Bud Light boxes. Classy). But when I moved to Minnesota there wasn't a Walmart within the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. So, off to Target I went.
And oh, I loved it.
It didn't take long for me to become a full-fledged member of the Target fan club. Why would it? Target is amazing. It's clean and pretty and trendy and has cheap clothes. One of my favorite things to do after work (before I had to get home every night to my dog) was wander aimlessly around Target, buying a random assortment of things I didn't need. Cute shirts, cute shoes, cute home stuff...cute, cute, cute.
And then Super Target came to town. Both of the primary Targets in my life — one across the street from my office, one by my home — went from being boring old regular Targets to shiny new SUPER Targets. I was ecstatic. Cute shirts, shoes and home stuff PLUS a full range of groceries? No way!
No way was right.
Believe me, I feel I am being kind when I say this: Super Target SUCKS. I can't stand it. It's ridiculously crowded. People let their kids run wild. I can't find anything. They have a crappy produce selection. And they are always out of products I need, or they don't carry them at all. Every single time I have attempted to grocery shop at Super Target, I've had to stop at Rainbow on my way home to pick up something they didn't have. And it's usually for something stupid. For example, once I went there to pick up saltine crackers. They didn't have ANY. The entire shelf of saltines was empty. No brand name, no store brand. Nothing. Can it get more basic than saltines? I've found that to be the case with things like cheddar cheese and yogurt, too. And forget about it if you're looking for any type of specialty ingredients for a recipe. (And by "specialty" I mean things like capers. Not exactly fancy fare.)
I believe the goal in creating Super Target was ultimate convenience for the customer. But there is nothing convenient about having to stop at another grocery store for saltines.
This leads me to my complaint about Pledge. Which is somewhat related, seeing as I still shop at Target for household products (and cute shirts, shoes and home stuff), if not groceries.
Pledge keeps introducing products, and then pulling them off the shelf before I am able to use the entire product and replace it. It's driving me crazy. Last fall I bought a package of Pledge Stainless Steel wipes for my kitchen appliances. I have tried a number of stainless cleaning products, and those were by far my favorite. Quick, easy, cleaned up perfectly. Love them (love the whole wipes movement in general...so much better than hauling around a bottle of 409 and a roll of paper towels). Went back to Target to buy them again when I ran out...and they didn't have them. Assuming this was just another crappy Target is out of something situation, I tried another Target. No luck. Pledge doesn't make them anymore. (So no, this cannot be blamed on Target.) So I ended up buying some other stainless wipes that I hate, but whatever.
And then last weekend I used up my last Pledge "Clean and Dust" wipe, which I also found to be kind of fabulous. Went to Target to get more...and they didn't have any. This time I didn't even attempt to find them at another Target, I just assumed Pledge had discontinued them. So instead I purchased the new Pledge "Multi-Surface" wipes. This time I bought two packs, just in case they decided to discontinued those as well.
However, upon visiting the Pledge website, I discovered that the Clean and Dust wipes are still available. So this can be entirely blamed on Super Target being out of yet another product I need. (I knew there would be a connection!)
And now that I've gotten all this written down, I'm not sure I have a point. So I'll wrap things up with a quick summary:
Super Target sucks, Pledge kind of sucks, I really miss those stainless wipes, and I am ranting about cleaning products so I maybe need to find a hobby.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Boobs and diapers.
Did you know having one of these blog things is kind of a commitment? Kind of a big one, in fact.
I should have realized that before I started one, given my impatience when other people don't update their blogs. But it takes time. And a good idea. Or an interesting experience to talk about. Of the three, I have none. Except maybe time. But time without anything exciting to talk about leads to lame posts like this one. So that's not good enough.
I've actually started...let me count...four blog entries that I haven't finished. Two of them are worth finishing, but one requires scanning embarrassing photos of myself, and the other one requires admitting to my obsession with Twilight. Not sure I'm ready for either of those to go public. So for the time being I will humor you with my pathetic and slightly crazed attempts at preparing for baby Breyer's arrival.
I feel...unorganized. Unprepared. Clueless. Kind of manic. And like I will never be able to get my house clean enough for a baby.
I believe I may have entered the nesting phase of pregnancy.
Two weeks ago Nate and I cleaned out the office — the tiny room our son will soon call home. We packed up all the books, files, paperwork and ridiculous amounts of crafting stuff, and hauled it downstairs. We spent a few hours organizing the basement (I am quite proud of my new laundry system, complete with six matching laundry baskets and signs instructing Nate on what goes where and how to wash it. Why we didn't think of this sooner, I do not know...), but we still have quite a bit of work to do down there. My goal is to turn our unfinished but clean basement into a livable office/crafting/laundry space. This will require help from professionals, including someone who can help redirect our heating ducts so it's not freezing down there, and the Comcast guy, who will have to set up our computer (Nate seems to think he can handle this task himself by snaking the internet cable from the second floor to the basement through our heating vents. Um, no.).
Although the office still houses our desk and computer, it looks like we've made some progress. Nate and I picked out some paint swatches (we're going with light blue) and piled all the baby stuff we've collected in the corner. We also picked up the chair we ordered for the nursery — it's super cute, incredibly comfortable, and completely dwarfs the room. Perfect! Here's hoping the crib and dresser fit...
This past weekend we spent all day Saturday cleaning. And we had a lot to clean, given that I hadn't even put my Christmas decorations away yet (don't worry, they weren't UP...they were piled on my dining room table. Which is much more acceptable at the end of February). Nate was such a trooper — together we got every room straightened up, dusted, and vacuumed. Normally, this would please me greatly. But right now it doesn't seem like enough to dust and vacuum the entire house. I want everything to be SUPER clean. And SUPER organized. I can't bring a baby home to a house with an unorganized junk drawer, or dust on top of the shelves in my closet. My nesting instincts became apparent on Saturday when Nate walked in on me windexing the perfume and cologne bottles in our medicine cabinet. Because that's the first thing the baby will judge me for, I'm sure. Wouldn't want him pointing out water spots on my perfume bottles.
So...I'm clearly turning crazy. Things are coming along, but I don't feel like they are. I feel panicked and unsure about how we'll ever find time to paint, organize, decorate, clean, shop, wash, etc. everything for this child. Nate works every other weekend, which means we have...uh, six weekends to work on this stuff before the baby comes. And that's assuming the baby comes on time, and not a month early or something. (Please God, no.)
My friend Jenny said all you really need to have a baby is boobs and diapers. Well, I've definitely got the boobs covered, and we have one pack of 40 newborn diapers. So as long as the baby is okay sleeping in the new chair and only poops 40 times, we should be good.
At least that's what I'll keep telling myself.
I should have realized that before I started one, given my impatience when other people don't update their blogs. But it takes time. And a good idea. Or an interesting experience to talk about. Of the three, I have none. Except maybe time. But time without anything exciting to talk about leads to lame posts like this one. So that's not good enough.
I've actually started...let me count...four blog entries that I haven't finished. Two of them are worth finishing, but one requires scanning embarrassing photos of myself, and the other one requires admitting to my obsession with Twilight. Not sure I'm ready for either of those to go public. So for the time being I will humor you with my pathetic and slightly crazed attempts at preparing for baby Breyer's arrival.
I feel...unorganized. Unprepared. Clueless. Kind of manic. And like I will never be able to get my house clean enough for a baby.
I believe I may have entered the nesting phase of pregnancy.
Two weeks ago Nate and I cleaned out the office — the tiny room our son will soon call home. We packed up all the books, files, paperwork and ridiculous amounts of crafting stuff, and hauled it downstairs. We spent a few hours organizing the basement (I am quite proud of my new laundry system, complete with six matching laundry baskets and signs instructing Nate on what goes where and how to wash it. Why we didn't think of this sooner, I do not know...), but we still have quite a bit of work to do down there. My goal is to turn our unfinished but clean basement into a livable office/crafting/laundry space. This will require help from professionals, including someone who can help redirect our heating ducts so it's not freezing down there, and the Comcast guy, who will have to set up our computer (Nate seems to think he can handle this task himself by snaking the internet cable from the second floor to the basement through our heating vents. Um, no.).
Although the office still houses our desk and computer, it looks like we've made some progress. Nate and I picked out some paint swatches (we're going with light blue) and piled all the baby stuff we've collected in the corner. We also picked up the chair we ordered for the nursery — it's super cute, incredibly comfortable, and completely dwarfs the room. Perfect! Here's hoping the crib and dresser fit...
This past weekend we spent all day Saturday cleaning. And we had a lot to clean, given that I hadn't even put my Christmas decorations away yet (don't worry, they weren't UP...they were piled on my dining room table. Which is much more acceptable at the end of February). Nate was such a trooper — together we got every room straightened up, dusted, and vacuumed. Normally, this would please me greatly. But right now it doesn't seem like enough to dust and vacuum the entire house. I want everything to be SUPER clean. And SUPER organized. I can't bring a baby home to a house with an unorganized junk drawer, or dust on top of the shelves in my closet. My nesting instincts became apparent on Saturday when Nate walked in on me windexing the perfume and cologne bottles in our medicine cabinet. Because that's the first thing the baby will judge me for, I'm sure. Wouldn't want him pointing out water spots on my perfume bottles.
So...I'm clearly turning crazy. Things are coming along, but I don't feel like they are. I feel panicked and unsure about how we'll ever find time to paint, organize, decorate, clean, shop, wash, etc. everything for this child. Nate works every other weekend, which means we have...uh, six weekends to work on this stuff before the baby comes. And that's assuming the baby comes on time, and not a month early or something. (Please God, no.)
My friend Jenny said all you really need to have a baby is boobs and diapers. Well, I've definitely got the boobs covered, and we have one pack of 40 newborn diapers. So as long as the baby is okay sleeping in the new chair and only poops 40 times, we should be good.
At least that's what I'll keep telling myself.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
One more.
Just because I finally have a camera again, and Mattie is so darned cute.
Granted, this is probably right before she chewed on the couch cushion, or threw up on the rug.
Granted, this is probably right before she chewed on the couch cushion, or threw up on the rug.
If a picture is worth a thousand words...
...this will be a novel.
Mexico was sunny, and warm, and lots of fun. There were a million people down there this year, including all of Nate's immediate family (Mom, Dad, Nate, Abby, Mike, Jon, Mary, Kris, Callie and Grandma), our friends the Halls (Eric, Lisa, Laura, Jeff, Julie and Josh), our friends the Dysarts/Weilers (Mary, Nick and Amanda), and our friends the McKeags (Gary and Sarah). And then a few days later, Callie's entire family came down, along with a bunch of Kris and Callie's friends. It was an insane amount of people, but we had such a good time. Fun to see so many people we love for a week!
We ate a lot, and everyone but me drank a lot (luckily I discovered that a pina colada sin alcohol was almost as good as one con alcohol), and we all soaked up plenty of sun. But even after five full days of laying out, I was still declared the winner of the Casper contest (thanks, Kris). In my defense, I was not blessed with Mary Breyer's skin tone AND I had to abstain from tanning prior to vacation. So while everyone else had a nice base tan before they even got there (ask Jon about the diva tower), I showed up on the beach looking like exactly what I am: an Irish girl who lives in Minnesota.
Boo.
Get ready for a crazy amount of pictures from our trip. Now that I'm looking at them, I'm kind of mad that I'm here instead of there. And now you will be, too. :)
Mexico was sunny, and warm, and lots of fun. There were a million people down there this year, including all of Nate's immediate family (Mom, Dad, Nate, Abby, Mike, Jon, Mary, Kris, Callie and Grandma), our friends the Halls (Eric, Lisa, Laura, Jeff, Julie and Josh), our friends the Dysarts/Weilers (Mary, Nick and Amanda), and our friends the McKeags (Gary and Sarah). And then a few days later, Callie's entire family came down, along with a bunch of Kris and Callie's friends. It was an insane amount of people, but we had such a good time. Fun to see so many people we love for a week!
We ate a lot, and everyone but me drank a lot (luckily I discovered that a pina colada sin alcohol was almost as good as one con alcohol), and we all soaked up plenty of sun. But even after five full days of laying out, I was still declared the winner of the Casper contest (thanks, Kris). In my defense, I was not blessed with Mary Breyer's skin tone AND I had to abstain from tanning prior to vacation. So while everyone else had a nice base tan before they even got there (ask Jon about the diva tower), I showed up on the beach looking like exactly what I am: an Irish girl who lives in Minnesota.
Boo.
Get ready for a crazy amount of pictures from our trip. Now that I'm looking at them, I'm kind of mad that I'm here instead of there. And now you will be, too. :)
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