Top 5: Oscar Night

Last year I had an Oscar Party. This year, I took the easy route. I went to an Oscar "bash" at the Alamo Drafthouse. For those in Portland, it's like a McMenamin's theater, for those in SLC, it's like Brewvies. If you live anywhere else, I'm sorry, I don't know your local stuff.

A college roommate, Heidi, was in town for work, she brought a friend, and Kaylyn, who I travel with, came too.

Here are my favorite parts. OK, my true favorite part is reading about the fashion and mishaps on Go Fug Yourself the next day. But here are my highlights from last night. Hey, I could make this a Top 5:

1) Keri Russell's Necklace

2) Frances McDormand being so excited for her husband, Joel Coen. I'm sure she was happy for Ethan too.

3) Ethan Coen just getting in, "Thank you" after the Coen Brothers first win and when given more time on the second win, saying, "I don't have a lot to add to what I said earlier. Thank you!"

4) Helen Mirren saying "cojones" with quite the accent.

5) Favorite moment of the night:

Top 5: McSweeney's Essays

I love McSweeney's and have Lizzy to thank for that obsession. We even saw Dave Eggers at Wordstock in 2006.

So here are my top five essays. And I should really preface that with - in recent history - it's so hard to remember all the brilliance and pick only 5, I just couldn't put them in specific order. And apparently I couldn't only pick 5 so consider the other 2 bonuses, one for each day of the week.

1) YAHOO'S MAILER-DAEMON AUTOMATED REPLY FOR FAILED E-MAIL DELIVERY IS GETTING A LITTLE TOO INTIMATE.

2) RILKE'S LETTERS TO A YOUNG PLUMBER

3) THE GIRLS OF THE HILLS VISIT IRAQ

4) UNDERSTANDING FOOD LABELS YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER AT WHOLE FOODS.

5) FAVORITE GERUND MOVIE TITLES, UN-GERUNDED

6) "OH MY SWEET CAROLINA" BY RYAN ADAMS. Essay by Nick Hornby

7) THIRTY-NINE QUESTIONS FOR CHARLIE DANIELS UPON HEARING "THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA" FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 25 YEARS.

My Half-Birthday

So today is my half-birthday (I'm an only child, can you tell?). This means in 6 months I'll be 35! Such a scary age, not sure why that seems like such a big number, such a milestone, but it does. I usually set new goals on my birthday and while I'm sure I won't be perfect by then, I'm setting some now so when August comes around, I'll be ahead of the game. Here's a big one, I made a payment on my student loans yesterday that means I have paid-down more than half the loan (in a mere 13 months)!!!

And, in my honor, The Cloonster's movie Michael Clayton comes out on DVD today. I finally saw it a few weeks ago and it was great! My boyfriend is so smart, good-looking, and thoughtful to think of me today!

Everything's Bigger In Texas

And not just bigger but also...

80's kitsch-ier (at an antique shop in Smithville, TX, the town where Hope Floats was filmed)

Prettier and glass-ier (more antique shops in Smithville and Austin)


Glassier and Strangely Religious-ier (yep, that's the Last Supper on a butter dish)

Bargain-ier (I think this was a fireworks stand but I'm buying pretty much whatever they're selling if it's 9 for the price of 1)

Get-it-all-in-one-stop-ier (How many RVs do you think are outfitted with high-end antiques and art?)

NPR-ier (Story Corps was in San Antonio this weekend and so was I)

Lucky Timing-ier (The annual Alamo reenactment we stumbled upon)

Creepier (At least 3 antiques shops in Smithville and Austin had random body parts in piles, buckets, and jars Why?)

So I'm In Austin

Did you know all these people/things call (or have called) Austin home?

Wes Anderson
Lance Armstrong
Sandra Bullock
Shawn Colvin
Walter Cronkite
Nanci Griffith
Ethan Hawke
Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson
Dazed and Confused
Janis Joplin
Mike Judge
Willie Nelson
O Henry
Parker Posey
Whole Foods
Dennis Quaid
Dan Rather
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Andy Roddick
Renee Zellweger
Owen and Luke Wilson
Office Space

I'm It, You'd Better Run!

I've been tagged by Lena and Chelsea. So here it goes...

1) I might have the most expensive thumbs of anyone you know. I had to have surgery to repair the ligament on my left thumb and I broke my right one, also requiring surgery. I've also had surgery on both my pinky toes (but I guess they're the opposite of thumbs. Is the big toe the foot equivalent of a thumb?)

2) I sometimes think of quitting my job and working for the peace corps or other type of long-term volunteer group. But worry that 34 is too old to drop out of regular society.

3) I love Reese's peanut butter cups and have a whole rating system for which are best. My favorites are the big holiday ones like Christmas trees and Halloween pumpkins, they have the best peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio. And it grates when people say Resee's with the long EEEEEE.

4) Someday, I hope to make it onto Jeopardy, or at least Cash Cab.

5) Now that I'm living in TX, I've lived in all 4 continental US time zones.

6) In 2004, a few days after I got my first cute short haircut, I was in the library at Portland Community College doing pre-reqs for nursing school, and was asked to be in a photo shoot for campus. That's me in the black shirt in the banner at the top.

7) And here's the secret I'm not sure I've even fully admitted to myself - I think I might be done with travel nursing. This doesn't mean I've figured out where I want to live or seen all the places I want. Just that I'm tired of being lowest on the totem pole, working nights, and constantly moving, learning new hospital systems, and having to complete many hours of boring orientation coursework every 3 months.

Super Poll Sunday

Last Sunday was super because of football, last Tuesday it was politics. Well, here's another competition, only 2 candidates this time. I"m trying to pick new bedding. Actually, I already own the striped one but want something new. I usually like bedding that's more white than as bold as the stripes. I really like the orange and pink so I think I like the second choice, a white background with orange blossoms and a few small bright pink ones. But I don't have shams for that one yet. What do you think?

I <3 You

This is how not cool I am, I actually had to google how to make the "heart" symbol. Despite my lack of emoticon knowledge (and honestly, is that really such a bad thing? they can get pretty complicated), I do have a few cute ideas for Valentine's gifts.

Remember the sliding lid tins of lip balm that came in fun flavors like Dr Pepper and Strawberry? Well, other nostalgic people who are more entrepreneurial than I, now sell similar ones. Now I just hope I need lip balm this year.

Chocolate and cola flavors at Sephora

These look more vintage but are also $14.

And this place has at least 30 flavors even if the images on the tins are a bit cheesy, they are only $3.95

You could also get creative and make your own, recipe here, and tins here. And, no, that's not me on the lip balm page, her name's Ansley too; that's how I found the site in the first place. I don't yet own a Princess Leia hat.

I love, love, love, these cards. They're made of 100% post-consumer materials and have wildflower seeds in the paper. Once you are done with it, you can plant it and have flowers that last longer than cut ones. They make other stationary too, so even if you don't have a valentine, you can share the love and flowers.

Stop Worrying, I'm Alive!

OK I'm in Austin but before I write about it, I thought I should clear out the 6-7 post drafts that have been sitting around since Christmas.

I finished up in Virginia in mid-December, packed my car, and drove to my dad's in SC. A few days later, I flew to SLC to see my mom. Mostly we just did stuff in SLC but one day we went snowshoeing in Park City. It's always nice to drive up the canyon, get out of the inversion smog and see the clear blue skies and white snow. Along the trail, we found a tire swing. It's much harder to get on one with snowshoes on, or maybe it's just part of getting older.
We had Christmas dinner at my dad's house. My Aunt Pat gave my Aunt Mary Ann lingerie and they both laughed a lot. I love the fun of Christmas gatherings and wish I got to see my East Coast family more often.
A few days later, my dad and I went to Charleston to see my grandmother. She is amazingly spry considering she is 90. She walks up stairs, hops in and out of the car, and swings her legs over the arm of a chair with the greatest of ease. She's a super hero. Dad and I also walked around Charleston. I haven't lived there since I was 18, I don't want to do the math to figure out how long that's been. I like to go visit so I can remember more of my hometown. It's a very historic place with winding cobblestone streets and horse-drawn carriage tours. As much fun as it was to wander and be a tourist, my favorite part is always watching true tourists either loving it and/or getting completely lost. Overheard on this trip: "Maybe we should just take a damn carriage ride to try to find our car."

A few days later I repacked my car and drove to Austin. More on that later. Or sooner I promise!