Events I Like: It's Eighty Miles 'Til Tuesday Edition

It only happens every 11,111 miles.

*Un-Interesting fact: This actually happened on June 7, I've just been remiss in putting it up.

Things I Wish Weren't Familiar Enough to Like: Hospital Edition

1. Adjustable bed: It's kind of fun, before the novelty wears off. And it's certainly comfortable.
2. Heated blankets: Probably the only thing from the hospital that I wish existed in regular life. There's nothing better than a white cotton blanket that's been sitting in a heating container.
3. Unlimited Sprite: Once I'm allowed to drink things, I always go for the refreshing taste of Sprite. I must obey my thirst, after all. (I wish Coca-Cola was paying me money to say these things.)
4. Unlimited TV time: Can be a bad or a good thing. I watched a bunch of movies I would never have watched in real life (Outside Providence, The Other Sister, View From the Top, and the ABC Family Original movies The Circuit, The Cutting Edge 2: Going for the Gold, and The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream). I may or may not be a better person for it - I'll let you decide.
5. Balloons: There aren't enough times in life when balloon bouquets are appropriate; birthdays, some parties, and hospital stays are the only occasions I thought of that warrant a balloon bouquet. I guess a colorful, happy balloon bouquet is worth a little time in the hospital. Although I would rather it be my birthday.

Stuff I Like: Themeless Edition

1. Storage containers: Organization is a thumbs up for me. Magazine holders are freaking amazing. I spent an hour yesterday decorating a bunch I'd bought and now I keep looking in my closet to see how organized it looks.
2. The Gopher Pick-Up and Reach Tool: As a short, and therefore disabled person, I find it difficult to pick up things on higher shelves. For instance, I have to climb on to my counter in order to retrieve my dinosaur mug from the top shelf. If I had The Gopher Pick-Up and Reach Tool, I wouldn't have to do this. I wouldn't have to do a lot of things, actually, like move from where I'm sitting to grab the DVD remote or flip the light switch. I could pick up my clothes while laying on my bed. I could freaking turn on the ceiling fan from my bed! I think I need to invest the $9.99 and get one.
3. Seashell-covered bird statue: A decoration well-worth $2 at the TJMaxx clearance table. Although, technically it ended up being $6, because I didn't feel like we should separate the bird from its brother and sister, the seashell-covered rooster and seashell-covered swan. The rooster lives in the kitchen and the swan lives in Kristi's room.
4. Logics hair serum: It makes your hair look like a Pantene commercial or a Breck ad. Plus, it smells good.
5. Zzyzx Road: Exists. And I can't get over it, even though it's been nearly two weeks since I became aware of its existence. According to the Wikipedia, I'm not the only one who's been inspired by Zzyzx Road - several bands I've never heard of have songs or albums called Zzyzx Road, two movies have been made, several science fiction characters are based on it, and there is a Magic: The Gathering parody expansion card called Zzyzx Abyss.*

*As an addendum, I've always liked that Magic: The Gathering cards exist. True dweebs need an outlet for their dweebness and playing Magic: The Gathering in the library during lunch is an excellent way of channeling their dweebness; it seems far more original than being a D&D dork. I mean this in the nicest way possible - I have fond high school memories of listening to a bunch of dragon-shirt dweebs talk about Magic: The Gathering cards while I tried to do homework in the library. I love it when dweebs connect with other dweebs; it gives me faith in the universe or something.

Stuff I Like: That Happens at Disneyland Edition

1. Lion King characters dancing with you
2. Crazy hats are normal
3. Buying a Minnie Mouse fanny pack seems like a logical decision
4. Me peer-pressuring Kristi into asking a random fellow in a New Zealand sweatshirt if he likes to rock the party
5. Space Mountain

Stuff I Love: Pretty in Pink

This always makes me happy.

Stuff I Like: Font of Wisdom Edition

1. Bauhaus 93: This is my current favorite font because it looks like a 1970s roller-rink to me. Picture it with yellow and orange stripes behind it and you'll see what I mean.
2. Stencil: This professional yet fun font is what I use for my folders at work; it brings happiness to my day. You only thought The Office was a television program.
3. Verdana: You could probably write a paper using Verdana, depending on the professor. When I was writing a lot of papers, I used Verdana to break the monotony of 12-point Times New Roman.
4. Comic Sans MS: Truly, you know an event is worth attending when you see a flier using this font. Its sense of comical whimsy adds a light-hearted touch to any society meeting.
5. Wingdings: I include this font because I'm baffled by its existence, as well as its spin-off fonts, Wingdings 2 & 3 and Webdings. Clearly, Wingdings has been a successful font; I don't understand why, or what it's used for, but I respect success.

Events I Like: Festival of Colors Edition

Every year, the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork celebrates of Festival of Colors. The event is to welcome in springtime and "commemorate various events in Hindu mythology" (says Google). Doing so involves throwing neon color-powder on everyone around you.
Utah County's enthusiasm for commemorating various events in Hindu mythology was amazing - pretty much everyone between the ages of 18 and 30 was packed into the grounds of the temple, baggies of colored powder ready to throw.
We waited and waited until six o'clock and finally, we were given the signal to throw our colored powder. And then the cloud of sinus-destroying color burst. I couldn't see anything but pink for three solid minutes, and while this may be attributed to the fact that my glasses were coated in pink powder, I think everyone else experienced the same. When the cloud died down, I looked around and saw the Provo equivalent to the Berlin Love Parade: pink, purple, and orange people were dancing to the Hare Krishna chanting, people were trying to crowd-surf (this one dude got dropped, which was awesome), and everyone was laughing.

Everything went from normal to technicolor in three minutes and it was pretty fantastic.

Stuff I Like: Mug Shot Edition

Here are my favorites from Kristi and I's secondhand mug collection:
1. Dinosaur mug: It includes such hits as Apatosaurus, Dimetrodon, Triceratops, and the multi-platinum single, Tyrannosaurus. All of the Maryland Science Center's greatest hits, brought together in one epic mug!
2. Pig mug: Me and Hello Kitty love the pig mug. He looks like the kind of pig who is friends with a literate spider, in other words, the best kind of pig.
3. I Heart You mug: The sentiment is so sweet.
4. Friendship Warms the Heart mug: The cutesy heart handle and sweet sentiment make this mug irresistibly sappy. I love it.
5. Hearts & Flowers mug: This is my favorite mug. I love that it leaves no doubt as to the theme - hearts and flowers. The design has a cute vintage 70s charm and the cup has my favorite mug feature, the heart handle.

Stuff I Like: Today Edition

1. Marc Jacobs Daisy: I really love smelling like this perfume. Also, I think the bottle design is genius - so stinkin' adorable!

2. This American Life: Each week, they pick a theme and tell stories based on the theme. I made Kristi listen to my favorite episode, the Break-Up episode, in which a post-break-up girl decides she wants to write a love song and asks Phil Collins for advice in doing it.

3. Burt's Bees lip balm: Because it's basically the best lip balm ever.

4. Arrested Development: SO FUNNY! The "Afternoon Delight" episode made me laugh harder than I have in ages. Watch it. Love it.

5. Nutella: Mmmmmmmm. I love this stuff so much that I want to marry it (remember, remember? Pee Wee Herman loves fruit salad, so he marries fruit salad?).

Stuff I Like: Dying of Barfness Edition

1. Mary Higgins Clark novels: My favorite kind of trash - every heroine wears silk shirts and wool slacks, has some sort of reporting or interior decorating job, and has never lived anywhere but New York City. Inevitably, a relative or close friend is murdered and the heroine must solve the mystery of who did it. Along the way, she will meet an attractive young detective or reporter or rich blue-blood bachelor who falls in love with her. She solves the case, he runs to her side, and they all live richly ever after. It's fab.

2. Cambell's soup: The only time I like chicken noodle soup is when I'm sick. Otherwise, it's too salty and really disgusting.

3. HGTV: I will spend entire days watching HGTV. Divine Design, Designed to Sell, Designer's Challenge, reDesign, Design on a Dime, and my very favorite, House Hunters International. I'm so very set to buy and decorate a bungelow-style two-story in New Zealand.

4. 7-Up: my favorite uncola. It will have to become my favorite drink, since I've learned this week that Diet Coke is bad for my sickness. So, no more DC, but 7-Up is good.

5. Martha Stewart: I love her. Today, I learned how to make an easter basket out of an old doilie, using only a kitchen bowl and fabric stiffener. I also learned how to make chocolate cookies with a mint-chocolate ganache. And it was all so pleasant and easy and accessible. Martha Stewart is one of the greatest things in the world, heaven bless her.

Links I Like: Wasting My Time Edition, part deux

1. PleoWorld - I am obsessed with the adorable robotic baby dinosaur named Pleo. He's just so stinking cute! The website shows all of his movements - my favorite part is when two Pleos meet each other. It's ridiculously heartwarming, considering the fact that they're robots.
2. Top Golden Retriever Sites, Comical Photos section - I am a big, fat sap and I love pictures of golden retrievers wearing sunglasses. So comical!
3. Become an M & M - Don't judge! You get to pick which kind of M & M you are (regular), which color (blue), your facial features (girly, with purple eyeshadow), and hair (blonde librarian bun). You can also pick out accessories and hobbies, but let's not get carried away.
4. Found Magazine - A magazine/website dedicated to stuff people find, be it a note left in a library book, a photo left in a box donated to a thrift shop, or a love letter left on the wrong car. It's completely engrossing - I love making up stories about the people in the pictures and notes. Fantastic.
5. Missed Connections on Craig's List - A really strange branch of humanity post anonymous love letters to people they've met once. It's great when they wax poetic about the moment they shared with a checker at the grocery store. Here are a few examples from the Salt Lake City Missed Connections:
" You sat across me in the TRAX this evening. There were also police men checking tickets.
I, dressed in an orange winter jacket, was talking to my friend in some foreign language.
As I left, you waved at me shyly, but since I was about to leave, I had no time to return it.
So consider youself waved at ;)" -- I love picturing the other side of this story: "You, in your orange winter jacket, sounding so sophisticated talking to your friend in some foreign language. I'm totally shy, but I couldn't resist your sophistication and waved at you. You didn't wave back."
__________
A post titled 'Mark Twain quotes at Smiths': "Ok Miss K Smarty Pants, whats the quote? If I was smoother would have talked to you more, your beauty threw off my spidey senses. I was more taken aback at how you actually had things to say and were funny. I think we would make an awesome couple, or atleast great friends." -- Miss K Smarty Pants, you totally need to get with this guy. He has spidey senses! And it throws him off balance when women are funny and smart! He's totally a keeper.

Something I Like: A City Home Companion Edition

The months between posting are because I've lost the joys of Photoshop since moving to the salty city. I rather miss doing this blog, and feel the need to post something I fell in love with just today: IKEA!!!!!!!!!!!
Consider me one of the converted, because I think there is no better place in the world. I've never wanted to live in a cramped apartment more in my life. How great would it be to have a bed, couch, TV, kitchen, and bathroom, all fully equipped, in under 250 square feet? I'm completely fascinated by the concept and want to move into a wee flat to test the Ikea way of life.
Also, Ikea is great because it makes me seriously consider things I'd never thought of before. For instance, what if I decided to have a murder-mystery party one day? Surely, such a party requires ice cubes in the shape of puzzle pieces. Ikea, among many other awesome things, has my back on puzzle piece-shaped ice cube trays. Also, what if I needed to attend a mask ball? Where would I turn for such a gala event? Ikea, again, offers me all I need, providing me with all the goofy insect and animals masks required for a gala masked ball.
Ikea's final degree of awesomeness comes from the service it extends to the world's young, broke, and stylish: Ikea offers ownership in the adult world. No longer an owner of only clothing and the odd electronic device, I now own a lamp. A lamp of my very own, a lamp which symbolizes a passage into a new world full of nine-to-five jobs, tiny apartments begging to be filled with stylish, yet practical furnishing, and murder mystery parties which need planning.

Stuff I Like: Sunday Evening Edition

1. Peach cobbler: the penultimate Sunday night dessert.
2. Life With Derek: Another Canadian kids show I like - seriously, Canada, what's going on with you? First Metric and Broken Social Scene take over my music, now Degrassi and Life With Derek take over my TV. I'd be slightly weary if I didn't love it all so much.
3. Debussey: I'm trying to perfect Clair de Lune. It's so pretty, but I'm so rusty...
4. Phase 10: My family's current Sunday Night Game - it was Yahtzee, but I brought in Phase 10 a few months ago. I kind of rock at it.
5. Singin' In the Rain: My parents always put an older film in on Sundays - Singin' In the Rain is a perennial favorite. "People? I ain't people!" never gets old.

Stuff I Like: Pass the Clean and Clear Edition

1. The O.C. : There are so many things I love about this show: the soundtrack, Ryan punching people (in Season One, mostly), Taylor Townsend, Julie Cooper - Nichols - Roberts, and the zombie/ninja references that set The O.C. apart from other teen dramas.
2. Degrassi: The Next Generation : Oh, Canada, you did good by Degrassi. Not only does Degrassi feature the words "aboot" and "sore-y," but it features every single Issue Facing Today's Youth. Teen pregnancy is nothing compared to coke addiction, stripping to pay your mother's rent, school shootings, perscription drug dealing, female and male eating disorders, living in the boiler room because you're bipolar, gambling addiction, and becoming the school slut by wearing low-rise jeans and a thong. I love Degrassi.
3. The Best Years: A fab new Canadian teen melodrama about an orphaned girl who earns a full-ride scholarship to a fictional Ivy League university. It's great so far, very Degrassi-sort-of-grows-up.
4. Forever 21: Maybe one of the defining marks of our generation - a clothing store built around the same concept as faux-designer handbag kiosks. The prices are so cheap that it doesn't matter when the hem comes unstitched or the necklace tarnishes after a week. *Love*
5. High School Musical: OMG, I so loved HSM b4 every-1 else did!!!1!!1! Actually, I tried really hard to hate it and claimed I was watching it again because I loved MST3k-ing it. After my fourth viewing, I gave up that position and asked for the Remix Edition DVD for Christmas. BONUS: my Disney-Channel-extra neighbor got me a poster signed by all of the main cast members - Corbin Bleu even wrote "To Maren Love, Corbin Bleu." That's right - High School Musical loves me back.

Stuff I Like: I'm Hungry Edition

1. Gummi bears: That I love gummi bears is a point I can't emphasize enough.
2. Bruschetta with tomato and basil: It's so simple and tastes like summer.
3. Izze pear soda: A recent discovery - sparkling water and fruit juice combined into one seriously refreshing beverage. And apparently Izze is one of those do-good companies who support independent fruit growers and all of that warm-fuzzy stuff. So it's good all-round!
4. Happy Meal : double cheeseburger, no pickles, Diet Coke, and a girl toy. It's only pathetic because I worked there.
5. Top Chef: I love watching the chefs plate their food - it always looks amazing, even when it sounds disgusting (mustard-seared alligator tail and monkfish liver braised with apple hash).

Stuff I Dig: Insomniac's Theatre Edition

1. Ambien : Makes me sleeeeeeeeeeeepyyyyyy. .....
2. Hello Kitty pajamas: so comfy cute
3. Neko Case: perfect "past midnight and I'm still awake" music
4. Re-reading all those essays I wrote last semester: I was wondering if I really am smart.
5. Red toenail polish: Pedicures are a fantastic late-night activity.

Stuff I Like: When I'm Sad Edition

1. My dog: Even though she is the Replacement Dog and isn't as sensitive to tears as Toffee was, Darcy does a pretty good job of cheering me up.
2. My blanket: Linus and I share the same soul. Having a blankey is like having a ready-made hug whenever you need it.
3. Pretty in Pink: My number one, all-time favorite movie always renews my hope that a sensitive rich boy will love me if only I wear enough beautiful vintage clothing.
4. Elliott Smith: Yeah. He knew.
5. Gummi bears: Total comfort food - I'm thinking of editing a collection of triumph-over-upper-middle-class-boredom type essays and calling it Gummi Bears for the Suburbean Soul. Send me your experiences, kids!

Stuff I Like: Day Tripper Edition

1. Ciara and Maria (or Maria and Ciara) : I always have fun with them - watching Little Britain or The Life Aquatic, midnight Wal-Mart fashion shoots, crushing grapes at the Juicing Party, laughing at strange periodicals from the Writer's Market . . . always super-fun.
2. Books on Tape : Although I love music (love music!), I am beginning to prefer audio books for car trips of any considerable length. Last time I went to Salt Lake, I listened to a fabulous Julie Garwood romance novel, Prince Charming, in which a young girl must escape her opressive uncle by marrying a Western cowboy and sailing to America. It's all very wonderful. This time, I went the more intellectual route and listened to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, which I haven't yet finished, but has been wonderful thus far.
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix : Yay for the best Harry Potter movie yet! As a freakish fan, it was all I could ask for.
4. Rupert Grint : He drives an ice cream truck when he's not being Ron Weasley. Combined with his red hair and ratty-sweater boyishness, I believe this makes him the perfect man.
5. Super Hot Tamales : A very tricky trick to staying awake while driving past ten o'clock in the evening. They don't taste good at all, but they do their job well.

Music I Like: iTunes Play Count Edition

1. "To Go Home" - M. Ward : Matt Ward has a beautiful, not-too-polished voice - "Handle With Care" from Jenny Lewis' album shows how uniquely appealing M. Ward's voice is when stacked next to more commercial dudes like Ben Gibbard and Conor Oberst. "To Go Home" is one of my favorites from his Post-War album - I love this song so very much that I want to share it with everyone. Here's the link to download this lovely, lovely Daniel Johnston cover.

2. "Go It Alone" - Beck : BECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. "Damaged Goods" - Gang of Four : Great song, great band. That's all.

4. "Summer's Gone" - Aberfeldy : I'll begin with the obligatory "I want everyone to know that I liked this song two years ago, way before it was on a Coke commercial" statement. However, it's cutesy, catchy '60's organ sound lends itself well to commercials (you can't get it out of your head!), so I still like this song post-"selling out."

5. "My Doorbell" - The White Stripes : I'm not a huge White Stripes fan, but this fab song, with its drum-beats-and-Jack-White-singing makes me want to buy their entire catalogue.

Stuff Ciara Likes: HP Edition

Ciara's Five Favorite Things:

1. that she and Maren agree concerning snape. just finished my rereading and my biggest proof is at the end of six harry calls snape a coward and snape says "DON'T CALL ME COWARD" and as we know on page 405 hagrid says "i jus heard snape sayin' dumbledore took too much fer granted an maybe he snape didnt want ter do it anymore" i believe this to be that snape agreed with dumbledore that he would kill dumbledore and therefore he isn't a coward because he was able to do it.

2. Ron Weasley and he shouldn't die in 7 although bet are that he will. (my other guess is mr. or mrs. weasley bites the dust, we know that at least one of the nine family members has to go)

3. Maren's similar recent obsession with harry potter. my obsession and continuous blabbering about said subject is driving maria mad, so i like knowing that there is someone i can talk to.

4. the suspense for book number seven, because it will make it that much better and i'll have the adrenaline to stay up reading and finish in one day.

5. the speculation of why book seven ends with the word scar, "what could that possibly mean?"

Stuff I Like: I Really Like Ridiculously Long Album and Song Titles Edition

1. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys : It's funny and it's true. And I really love the Arctic Monkeys. Seriously. Listening to them right now, as you should.

2. I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass - Yo La Tengo: I know I lose all credibility in saying this, but I haven't actually listened to the album. I just think the title is super hilarious.

3. When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You'll Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You Know That You're Right. - Fiona Apple : Officially the longest album title EVER, according to the Guiness Book of World Records. It's also a really, really good album (as well as the soundtrack to my high school breakup).

4. "Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight," The Execution of All Things - Rilo Kiley : This song sounds like flecks of dust floating around in that lazy beam of sunlight streaming through the window. And that's a good thing.

5. Of Montreal - The grande champion of long, weird song titles, on any given album . . . Here are a few samples:
"The Couple In Bed Together Under a Warm Blanket Wrapped Up In Each Other's Arms"
"Sadness Creeping Up and Scaring Away the Couple's Happiness"
"It's Easy to Sleep When You're Dead"
"My What a Strange Day With a Swede"
"Dustin Hoffman Thinks About Eating the Soup" (heh. heh heh.)
"Heimsdalgate Like a Promethean Curse"

Stuff I Like: Day Off Edition

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix : I'm preparing for the Deathly Hallows - I am in the "Snape is Loyal" faction of Muggle readers.

2. Sleeping In : Waking up at eleven is one of my favorite things EVER. Best way to use half of a day off.

3. Nylon magazine : If you read the magazine, you can tell that I adore Nylon's art direction, fashion, and music taste. The "Private Icon" feature is the best: it leaves starlet fashion behind and analyzes style sensibilities anywhere from Taxi's Elaine Nardo to the boys in The Outsiders. The magazine loves street style and usually features groovy kids living in cities ranging from Omaha and Portland to Berlin and Stockholm.

4. Swimming : My work out of choice - it's physically demanding, but relaxing as well. Miles better than running, ellipticalling, or yogaing.

5. Au Revoir Simone : A fun little girl band consisting of three friends and their Casio keyboards. It only sounds gimmicky - their music is the kind of sweet, light pop that's perfect on a sunny summer afternoon.

Something I Love: Special Edition

Toffee was my childhood dog. Since I was nine, she's been all of the things a dog should be: energetic, entertaining, loyal, a constant companion, and of course, a best friend. She's been a good dog, sitting at my feet for thirteen years.
At our old house, Toffee would scratch at my basement room window, waking me up at 7 o'clock every morning. After I got out of bed, I opened the window; Toffee treated me like a puppy, cleaning the sleepy bugs out of my eyes.
She got stuck on our swing set when she was a puppy. My mom looked out the window and saw Toffee hanging over a swing, front legs preventing her from sliding off.
The day after we moved to Hyde Park, Toffee attacked our neighbors' rabbit cage. She stuck her nose between the chicken wire at the bottom of the cage and grabbed at the rabbit's legs. I never knew the rabbit's original name because it was called Tripod after that.
Toffee had quirks, most notably her legendary habit of rock-diving. In the canal next to our house, she dove underwater and retrieved rocks the neighborhood kids threw in for her.
There are plenty more doggie-anectdotes about Toffee, but my main point is that I really love my dog; she's been such a good friend.

I'm really going to miss her sleeping at my feet while I'm sitting at the computer.

Stuff I Like: T-Shirt Edition, part one

1. NKOTB Jordan tee : My best friend's older sister told us that Jordan was the hottest New Kid. She had this t-shirt.
2. "Keep the Dream Alive" tee : I tend to love PalmerCash t-shirts - this is one of my favorites. It's so very me.
3. "Paris Je t'aime" shirt : Super-girly, super-cute Top Shop shirt. And now they ship to the US . . . I have to keep reminding myself of the exchange rate because everything seems sooooo inexpensive in pounds.
4. NKOTB Joey tee : Secretly, I knew that Joey was the hottest New Kid. My mom wouldn't let me get a t-shirt, though, because she said I was too young to be interested in teen idols. Thanks to Urban Outfitters, that bastion of ironic screenprints, I can have a do-over on this memory.
5. Hello Kitty England tee : Two of my favorite obsessions, England and Hello Kitty, brought together in harmonious bliss on this t-shirt.

Stuff I Like: T-Shirt Edition, part two

1. The obligatory second-hand local-league baseball tee : All of mine came from my brother's Little League cast-offs.
2. Team Zissou Intern shirt : Best birthday present ever. . . "Don't shoot him - he's an unpaid intern!"
3. "Stay Golden" shirt : The Golden Girls + The Outsiders reference = IT'S FUNNY, okay? And thank you for being a friend.
4. Wink Wink Nudge Nudge Ironic Political t-shirt : I know it's lame to buy new shirts with purposely outdated messages on the front, but this one makes me laugh.
5. Faux vintage D.I. find : As a former McD's employee, this is currently my favorite t-shirt to wear.