Rock Widows Wear Red

So there is a possibility that the Posies tour will be extended if certain things fall into place. That means Jon comes home for 11 day in between the first Europe tour and the US tour and then he only comes home 5 days for Christmas before he leaves back to Europe again.
He said he is trying to make sure they will be home by March.*
When he said that last night, I said, "OK. No problem."
But then today, I realized that March was only two months ago and that next March is a long flipping time from now!

I know in the grand scheme of things, everything will be dandy, and we are talking of just bringing Darian along for parts of the Euro winter tours because the airfare is SO cheap as compared to the summer, but there is the problem that she is in school and I get limited vacation time. We will figure it out, it is just sort of settling in, the whole reality of it.

I'm sure it will all be fine and dandy, and when he comes home from this tour we will be able to buy the house we have been wanting to buy, but the idea of the space between now and then when we can't be together is just a little sad. In reality it is a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of our lives together.


*And this is only the Posies, don't even get me started on Big Star and then his solo record tour!

Through this looking glass screen...

I have peered into a distorted world of imagination and perspective that was not available to my forefathers and mothers.

I have become so far removed from verbal communication that I feel like a night out takes a few hours just to warm up and most times too much energy to even bother with. When it comes to conversing with people for pleasure, outside of my little family, and when I am not wearing my worker bee hat, I am out of practice.

I have no cellular phone that tethers me to the world all hours of the day and night. I have an answering machine with a warped tape so I can hear people as they try to reach me through a garbled line, but I do not reach back. I send them text instead.

I had a cell phone but I killed it by letting the battery die and then "misplacing" the adapter that would resuscitate it, twice.
When I am gone, I am unavailable even if this seems irresponsible to some. In reality I am never any place where I could not be reached. I am a creature of comfort and habit that can be reached if just a little thought were put into it. My time is always accounted for and I am rarely alone (as in by myself) I am certain in any form of emergency, I could probably be located.

I do not message instantly because that is only another form of having a conversation, just as fast with mad typing skills and no room for sarcasm. When you have IM on, people have the ability to reach out and tap you on the cyber shoulder when you are anywhere near a keyboard. Then you are faced with either interacting with them or shutting down your IM before you respond which slams a tiny cyber door in their face.

I have friends who voices I have never heard but who lives I feel invested in since I read their journals every day. I get excited for them when they are happy and I get sad for them when they write that they are hurt. We send "vibes" for luck and cyber-hugs for comfort.

What a strange world this is.

~SWOON~

Jon is the sweetest bestest husband in the whole world! I just got my mail here at work and he sent me a smooshy card in the mail even though he is in town.

*Le Sigh*

Can You Hear It?

EVERY KIND OF LIGHT is in stores today! Woohoo! Many congrats my love!
Now everyone go out and get a copy carn it!

I even wore my "I Heart Jon Auer" shirt to work today in celebration!

I had a pretty busy weekend.

Friday
Jon and I went to see Margaret Cho. I had one ticket all day that I finally unloaded and at the last minute someone who was going to go backed out and I had two. Since my original date had already made poker plans I called Jon and shockingly he was interested in going. We made a whole date night ot of it. I got to wear my fabulous dress that I bought in Spain last summer which is actually almost too big at this point! (Yay!) but I just pinned it and paired it with a cute shrug to hide the pins, so nobody was the wiser. I must admit, Margaret Cho was actually funny. I had expected her to be not so funny only because I thought by the last go round her act was getting quite tired, but she had this whole new political act and it was very smart and quite hilarious. The crowd was on fire as well which made it extra fun. There is nothing like sitting in a crowd of booming laughter. It is just good for the soul and as contagious as anything.

Saturday,
we went to see Madagascar which was totally adorable. Jon laughed out loud several times. It has the world's thinnest plot line, but the animation and the characters were just too freaking cute for it to matter a whole bunch. The penguins stole the show for certain!
Then we dined at Denny's (Darian's choice) which actually brought back some fun youthful memories for Jon and I. I would not eat there every day or anything, but now and then it is fun to go back. Loads of adorable super wrinkly couples were there at the time as well. Too cute.

Went to half priced books and bought about 4 books that I have been wanting to read. I already read the first one, was not as good as I had hoped it would be. Oh well. I have higher hopes for the next one and I know enough people who have already read it that I don't think I will be dissapointed.

Sunday,
I did major grocery shopping and laundry. Then we vegged out and watched the boobtube. I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night due to reoccurring dreams, so my tossing and turning kept waking Jon up. Poor guy, he has to record early today, I hope he feels more rested than I do. I think I finally got to sleep around 4AM and then I was just bombarded with vivid images, so it was more exhausting than sleep.

Woke up this AM
late, went to catch the bus which passed me, and then started to walk to work, that is when it started to rain. This all made me laugh really hard and look to the sky and ask, "Really?!?"

'Tis OK though, I am feeling pretty good right now, just kind of tired.

Too spooky for me....

The last three nights I have had dreams about people that I know and love who are no longer alive. Usually I welcome these dreams because in my dreams I forget that they are dead and when I wake up I feel as though I have just had a visit with an old friend.
The unnerving thing about these dreams are not only the frequency but the fact that they are very clear about the fact that they are no longer alive when talking to me in the dreams. This messes with my head.

In other news, all of my animals are acting crazy.

If i believed in voodoo and things of that sort, I would think that something big was about to happen. (I am hoping it was just the gay pride parade making all sorts of unusual noise in the neighborhood yesterday that was tweaking them out.)

When The Lights Go Up

Written by Jon Auer

If you're still here
When the lights go up
I'll know you finally
You finally showed up

And if you think no one sincerely appreciates
Then let me tell you before it gets too late

I never needed you to tell me
All the words you knew to say
And I've been looking
I've been looking for a long time
Waiting for the day

So if you're still here
When the lights go up
I'd like to thank you for the moment you showed up
And if you're still here
When the curtain falls
I'd like to thank you more for being here at all

And as the audience is leaving
Blessed hope that you will stay
For you are more
You are more than I imagined
Waiting for the day


I never needed you to tell me
All the words you knew to say
For you are more
You are more than I imagined
Waiting for the day...

2 weeks and 3 days...

That is how much time before Jon and I celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. I looked it up and it seems this is paper. I should tell him that money will be dandy as a paper gift! :-)

We are going to throw a party to celebrate and the wheels are now in motion! I am so excited, I love throwing parties! We are going to do it at Licia's place because she has the perfect backyard for it.
I think I am going to order a couple of the Ladro pies since that is the same pie we had at our wedding, and maybe buy a case of the same type of champagne just for the sweet nostalgia of it all.

I wonder if I could get away with wearing my dress again?

KIDDING! (sort of)

Batman Begins

It was exactly what I expected it to be. Nothing revolutionary, but a decent little action movie. Far better than the 2nd X-men movie, but inferior to the 1st. It falls somewhere in between.
The coolest effect of the movie is how they used the camera to make the action sequences seem like the fluttering of bat wings, the downside to this is it physically makes you dizzy after a while. The people I went with all felt a little drunk leaving the theatre due to the swinging camera angles.

The downside; I wish they would have cut the big car chase in the middle down by about 5 minutes. The whole movie was about 10 minutes too long and during that car chase it really started to feel that way.

As expected the movie ends with either a set up for a sequel or a very loose link to the 1st Batman movie starring Jack Nicholson. I am not sure if they are in any way connected, but how they ended it, it left me wondering if they were meant to be.

The best part of the movie experience for me: I saw the preview to the new Fantastic 4 movie which I am looking forward to this summer!

I have a bone to pick!

OK, I have to get this off my chest. Here is a perfect example of what pisses me off about the news. Pretty blonde Coed vanishes in Aruba on a little vacation. I can't turn on the news without hearing about it. I now practically know her life story. She went there to party, got toasty and went home with the wrong men. chances are she is long gone from this world. Now I do not condone what happened to her, and it really is heartbreaking for her family, and I think the amount of coverage is a good thing, but here is where the "rub me the wrong way" part comes in.
My first boyfriend travels to Taiwan to teach English to people, his third day there he vanishes off the face of the earth. It takes me THREE years to hear about it because the only news coverage is in Taiwan, an a year or so later a blurb in the Anchorage Alaska paper! WTF!? Is his life not as important as the blond girl who went out partying? Does he not make a pretty enough poster child on the news? Who knows, if people had got as heavily as involved with this case all around the world as they did with Aruba, maybe at least they would have recovered his remains by now.
Oh and the runaway bride, like SHE needed so much news coverage! Like THAT is a story that I care about.
I read an interview with Angelina Jolie recently and she said something that stood out. She said she had been away in developing countries for three months and not one photographer took pictures there, a place the world is relatively uniformed about the horrors of. Then she goes to NY and tries to take her son on a carousel ride and they can barely wade through the sea of photographers. There is something really wrong with that!
The news is not our friend which I am certain is no surprise to anyone.

BOOM says the sky

I just spoke to my daughter, she is sounding a little blue. Today was her last day of school and it is also her last day at the school she has been attending for the last few years. She has been excited about the new school up until today. I think the reality of the finality of it all just hit her today.
Poor baby.

I had a pretty great work day so far. Still 2 hours to go...

The weather went from sunny to crazy downpour in the last few minutes and I didn't bother to wear a coat! I hope Jon will be able to pick me up! At least we have a Value Village downstairs. Worse case scenario I will just run down there and buy an umbrella or something rain proof.

Woah! We just had major thunder. The windows are actually shaking!

Today is anti-suck day.

It is a beautiful day outside, and I feel happy and sparkley so I have decided to declare this Anti-suck day! If you are having a bad day, you must stop right now! Life is too short and you don't know when it will all be over.
Sorry, but those are your orders. You may resume your bad day tomorrow or never, but until midnight tonight there is no sucking allowed.

teehee.. that was fun. Now on to other things that do sort of suck, but I am going to make an effort to be over them for today.

So my friend Chris had a link on his livejournal Friday that led me to some pretty horrific news. This was my first boyfriend from HS:
http://overseasamericans.tripod.com/overseasamericansintaiwan/id23.html

I eventually broke up with him to date the guy who became Darian's chrome donor, but he was a really sweet guy. Probably a little on the too sweet/naive side in some ways. As teens we planned a trip to Belize together, even bought the tickets, but I backed out at the last minute. He still went and had a grand old time!

I guess they never did find him or his remains. I did some investigating and the two main theories are
A: He was murdered for his passport (I guess in Taiwan they can get $25,000 for an American passport.)
B: He was swept away by the river after cooling off from the hot springs.
His body was never found but his luggage somehow made it's way back to his hostel 10 days after he vanished. His mom still wanders the streets passing out flyers.

So Fred, in your honor I will declare today an anti-suck day. I just hope whatever happened to you, it was quick and painless and you are happy now wherever you are.

Michelle’s 3 Bean Veggie Chili

My chili recipe always goes over so great I am going to post the recipe. It is so easy and everyone always loves it. It is perfect for a casual dinner with friends.

Michelle’s Veggie Chili

1 can of white beans (Drained and rinsed)
1 can of black beans (Drained and rinsed)
1 can of kidney beans (Drained and rinsed)
1 can of diced red tomatoes
1 can of diced yellow tomatoes (if you can't find yellow just use 2 cans of red)
1 green pepper chopped
1 small yellow onion diced
1 med zucchini diced
1 packet of chili seasoning (You can get them in the spice isle at the store, the brand doesn’t matter it is just the perfect blend of seasoning to start with.)
spice to taste
Mix it all together and bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer until veggies are soft (about 25 minutes) Leave on simmer until serve. Stir once in a while*

*You can also throw all of this in a crock pot on low in the morning and it will be perfect and ready to serve by the time you get home in the afternoon.

Use chili powder and Tabasco to taste. I tend to keep it mild and put Tabasco on the table.
Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Corn bread and tortilla chips are good side dishes.

It is the perfect comfort food on a cold day and it is always a hit!

It is final,

I am going to purchase a good quality digital camera! Every day I see a photo that will never be taken because I do not have a camera. This morning I saw the sweetest thing that I will probably never see again. There were two crows on a telephone wire canoodling like a couple of love birds. I have never seen crows in a cuddle before.
They were centered on the wire so the only backdrop was a perfect bright blue sky. It was a fantastic image! One crow had it's head bent down cuddled in the others chest while the other crow groomed the bent head. So adorable!
The camera I decided I must have is an EOS Digital Rebel XT camera.

On the subject of small animals; in theory my gerbil should have babies either today or tomorrow. I peeked at them this morning before I left and they were all cuddled in a little stack snoozing away. No labor happening there. Who knows, maybe the wee lad just wasn't mature enough to make gerbil babies on the first go round? She is looking a little fatter. I guess we will just wait and see.

Volunteering at the teen center went wonderfully last night! The kids liked my mashed potatoes. I think I might have made too many, but they turned out surprisingly yummy for the large quantity. (We packed up leftovers for them to serve at lunch today)
I boiled 20#s of spuds with garlic cloves so they had a very light garlic flavor to them. I used a whole bottle of cream and 4 sticks of butter in them so they were creamy goodness. Serious comfort food for sure!
Next month I want to make my 3 bean vegetarian chili. I could make cornbread to go along with it. Mmmmm. This is all making me hungry!
A funny thing that happened was when I showed up it turned out my old friend Dave and his wife were the ones who actually ran the thing. I had no idea! It was a happy surprise, but a surprise none the less.
It is such a great program!

Published by Leonard Cohen, performed by Jeff Buckley (1966-1997)

I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the lord
But you don't really care for music, do you
Well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ....


Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah .... .


Baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before i knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
But love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ....


Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you
But remember when i moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah


Well, maybe there's a god above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
It's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ....

Yum!

Lend your hands...

So I got word back from the volunteer coordinator for the youth kitchen on Wednesday night. The bummer is that Darian will not be able to volunteer because she is too young, but I am still going to do it. It seems like such a good cause, how could I not do it?
I'm making mashed potatoes to serve 25. I have never made that many potatoes before, but I am sure I can swing it. Anyone have a great gravy recipe that could be easily made in large quantities? I guess you make it at home and then bring it in to be warmed up. It is like a pot luck in ways.

I am working on the possibility of Darian and I volunteering with their other program that works with foster kids and kids with Cancer on art projects that will be displayed at a booth at Bumbershoot.

It's not too late to get on board! Let me know if you are interested!

Michael Jackson Trial

Supposedly they have reached a verdict and it will be announced within the next hour!
Place your bets people!

I predict a not guilty verdict (Even though I think he could not be more guilty)

----------------------

Sadly, I was correct. :-(
Not guilty on all accounts.

There were no pillow fights, but it was still glorious!

I had a glorious weekend! (Note to self: I like that word glorious and I do not use it enough.)
Friday: Jon took Darian and I out to a really yummy Italian dinner. We had perfect spaghetti and meatballs and tortellini. I was so sleepy afterwards, I pretty much passed out and had perfect sleep.

Saturday: I woke up and made a birthday cake for my friend Licia. I made a doll cake that was supposed to be Meg from the White Stripes. I even gave her little drum sticks. It was pretty cute. The frosting was a little soft so the design didn't turn out quite like I wanted but it was still cute.
We had her slumber party that eve. We watched Pretty in Pink and made mixed drinks that can only be described as Jamba Juice spiked with Raspberry Vodka. They were really good. Then we had Pina Coladas.
I got the girls to sing a Cure song as it was the only song I know how to play that they know the lyrics to, and then we did facials. Each facial mask was a different color so we were looking pretty freaky for a few hours there. Licia's was the best as it was a jet black peel off mask. It even came off in one piece!

I slept pretty solid, although I did have a big old doggie curling up to me all night. I was on an air mattress and every time I moved she moved which resulted in a lot of noise. I have never been a big dog person, but Licia's dogs are pretty awesome. They have excellent manners and they don't stink, so they are golden in my book!

I would totally have a slumber party again. I almost forgot how much fun they are! Girlfriends are the best when you have the right ones!

Sunday: I got inspired to rearrange our apartment. I did some moving and organizing of our bookshelves which resulted in a nice flow of energy through our little apartment. When I woke up this morning I was checking it out and decided that the new layout really opens it up. I am very happy with how it all turned out. The best part of organizing: you find little treasures that send you on trips down memory lane. I found loads of little love letters from Jon and I to one another. They made me feel all squishy. :-)
I also finally got all of my photo albums on a shelf and organized in chronological order and started to fill up Darian's hope chest with all of the fun wedding keepsakes from our wedding last year so she could maybe use it in her future.

At the end of the night, just as I was about to hit the hay, my friend Holly called to tell me that her boyfriend popped the question! How exciting! She emailed me a picture of the ring this morning! It is so pretty! I am very happy for her. I LOVE weddings! How exciting! Congrats to you my friend!

Moon Under Stars Over Me

Finished the Soprano's last night. Now, I know everyone knows that Adriana dies, because she said so in press junkets last year for that stupid new Joey show she is on. So near the end I was of course expecting this. But when it finally happened. Oy! It was horrible! I keep thinking they will somehow bring her back, but I know that they do not come back. Maybe she will be in some dream sequence next season?

I must admit I don't really like how this season ended. It felt anticlimactic. To me it felt like they ran out of time so they rushed to close things, or else they just got lazy. I have not decided yet. Let me marinate on it for a bit.

In random household happenings:
I heard my garden* is attracting a hummingbird this year! I didn't know they came into the city! My mission this weekend it to buy a hummingbird feeder.
It must be pretty enough for me to be OK with it hanging in my garden, but ugly/cheap enough for me to be OK with it when someone either vandalizes it or steals it. (You would be amazed at the random crap people steal out of my garden*)
I no longer grow sunflowers because whenever they get all cute and little someone always comes by and picks them.
I have a plastic birdbath that I buried the base and covered it in rocks. Even then people have tried to pull it up and take it. Truly ridiculous. I just don't get it.

*My "garden" is a small plot of dirt that is about 8x12 feet under our apartment window. Before I started planting in it a few years back, it was just an ugly patch of dirt where people would often times throw trash. I have put a lot of time and money into making it look pretty, that is why it blows my mind that people would try to ruin that. You don't get a lot of nature in the city, why mess with it when it is there?

If you're bored you're boring.

The new Sopranos came out on DVD this week, so of course my darling husband and I have been having a marathon viewing of them.
God I love that show! It seriously makes me want to pig out on really good Italian food after watching it though. My brother-in-law gave me a really cool Wiseguy cookbook for Christmas, so I may be forced to make up a big Italian spread from the book before we settle in for the season finale. We are on episode #10 right now. I had to work today so I could not stay up any longer to keep going.
I would love to be a mobster if it were not for all of the shooting and stuff.

It hit me last night just how much I am going to miss Jon when he leave to go on tour next month. We only have another month before he goes away for the summer. He says not to worry and the time will go quickly. I am being a tough cookie about it, but it will be hard.
I know, I know, I am being dramatic. I am sure I will enjoy having some time to myself, but I will miss cuddles and DVD watching marathons so much!

This weekend I have major slumber party plans. We are FINALLY going to celebrate our beloved Licia's birthday. It is a little belated because she was out of the country on the actual day, but now we will celebrate!
I am trying to decide if I will wear my beloved Powerpuff Girl PJ's or if I will go buy some new ones for the event. I am also seriously considering some fluffy slippers. Maybe in leopard print?
We are doing a full on slumber party; a bunch of girls, facials, 80's Brat Pack movies, PJ's, blended drinks, maybe even a pillow fight! Oh and most importantly, no boys! :-) I can hardly wait!

It is perfect and sunny out today, so I am finding myself very distracted.
I love this city so much! I walked to work just to take in it's beauty. The people here are wonderful, and the little community is amazing. It really is a big city with a small town feel. I have never met anyone who has been here who hates this city. I don't know that I would want to meet one of those people as I can't imagine they would be at all that interesting.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work.

E-Card!

Aww... my hubby stars in an E-card!
Check it out:
http://www.rykodisc-media.com/theposies/

Happy 11 month wedding anniversary to us!

Jon and I were talking and decided that we want to throw a 1 year anniversary party.
It is so crazy to think we have been married 11 months now! It seems like we just got married.

It is true what they say about the first year, I swear it took the first six months just to get settled in to this whole new life thing. Nothing too dramatic, just trying to figure out where everything goes and who cleans what.

Now I can only describe life as a second honeymoon. We are getting along famously and things are really going quite well. I can't imagine life without him. Married life is a lot better than just cohabitation or dating as far as I am concerned. I have lived with a few boyfriends in the past, and I never had the same sense of togetherness/love as I have now that I am the other half of a married couple. I am sure it has a lot to do with the fact it is with the right person as well. He is completely trustworthy and wonderful. I am often times overcome with a giddy joy knowing that we get to grow old together and experience so many of life's little adventures together.

Sigh..

Back to the party. Not sure if I will do a small dinner party at our place or try to rent out a place or maybe try to convince one of my friends with a bigger place to allow us to host it there. It is the perfect time as it is only days before Jon goes on tour, so it will be an anniversary party as well as a bit of a going away for a while party!

Been looking into restaurants around town as well trying to find a good place. If anyone has any ideas let me know!

I almost considered talking to The Sunset and getting them to let me book a night and doing it there (since that is where we had our reception), but I am thinking it might be fun to do something a little fancier. But who knows!

so many ideas, so little time...

Oh and speaking of anniversaries- 10/19/05 will be 10 years from the day we first met! crazy!

Due Date

So I have been reading more about gerbils and have decided that Kodo's Due date would be June 17th. I am typing it in here so I don't forget what my guess is. I already have potential homes for up to 6 of them, 4 for sure, so as long as she has an even number of babies we should be good! :-)

SECOND TIME AROUND - The Posies

You
You’re a beauty to behold
You’re the reason why I’m still alive
You dove on in and took right hold

I
Would’ve drown when I let go
I was looking for the answer to a question
Finally now I know

First star in the sky - don’t lose that feeling
I’m ready to stay the second time around

You
You’re the summer I lived through
You’re the days of April I was dead to life
Instead I am renewed

First star in the sky - don’t lose that feeling
I’m ready to stay the second time around

I’ll make it clear and keep you mine
It’s starting to shine this light of life so crystalline

See,
You’re the reason I believe
In the story yet to be and truth be told
Until the final scene

First star in the sky - don’t lose that feeling
I’m ready to stay the second time around
The second time around
The second time around

Colonel Mustard: How many husbands have you had?
Mrs. White: Mine, or other women’s?

blog-o-rama

I must admit that ever since I discovered www.technorati.com I have been doing really random searches and lurking in all kinds of Blogs.

I love to get a glimpse into other peoples thoughts. I love my livejournal.com journal because it is connected to all of my friends and I always know what to expect. But my Blog is more out there, disconnected and random so I never know who I will meet. Pretty cool I think.

Very excited that the new Posies record will be out in a few weeks! I could not be more proud of them. I am so happy that my husband is in a band with such a great group of guys. They just feel like family. I am so excited for all of them!
Now they have new management which I think will help take them to the next level. It is the folks who manage the band The Killers and I swear I hear those guys everywhere right now! If they could do even a smidgen of that for this record, it could mean really good things. I am sitting on my hands trying not to jinx it by getting too excited!

I stopped by the bakery this morning to get doughnuts to bring to the office on my way to work today and I must admit I left empty handed. I stood there for a full four minutes looking at them all glazed and shiny in their case. I knew they were fresh, and probably tasted heavenly, but something about them just struck me as disgusting. I could not bring myself to touch them or buy them. I walked out empty handed. I dig this new aversion to sugar, must have something to do with the drugs I am on messing with my insulin. But hey, in the past I would have found it hard to pass up a doughnut, now I can't even consider buying one!

Michelle- 1
Doughnuts- 0