going to the beach

i don't usually get excited about going to the beach. it means putting on a swimsuit. for a woman, the first swimsuit outing of the season can be a chore. there's much prep involved. i usually prefer the mountains. now that i'm married to a man who would prefer the ocean anyday, i'm learning how to appreciate the beauty of the coast. i actually cried when we sat together for the first time on the pacific coast a few years ago. i'm becoming a changed woman.

soon, we'll get to sit together for the first time at the atlantic coast. much different scenery, but i'm sure it'll be beautiful. we also get to spend some quality time with his best friend from high school, his wife, and two young sons. and there's a hottub. and fresh seafood. and a bagel shop. i could probably go on and on.

outer banks...here we come. i hope nobody lays out on horse poop.

the bishop hides the eggs

my friend, kit's, sister posted this photo on her blog. this is her son hunting eggs at church on easter sunday. if you couldn't tell...they're catholic. i love this photo b/c of the mystery of ward's unseen expression. i mean, he's just hunting easter eggs and bam! here's this guy with a funny hat and robe on. definitely not the easter bunny. what a great photo.

what kids think about boogers

today in the car spencer asked me if i've ever had a dog. i said yes. i asked the same and he said, "yes, a hot dog". not funny by my standards, but hilarious by his. he then proceeded to ask if i'd ever tasted boogers. i said, "not that i can recall". he said, "they're not that bad. they just remind me that i need more moisture".

pearl jam on SNL

pearl jam was my favorite band when i was in eighth grade. i can't believe they're still around, but i'm definitely going to watch them tonight on SNL. or at least i'll try to stay up and watch them. lindsay lohan is hosting the show. she can be pretty funny i guess. snl lohan skit
question of the day...which pearl jam song rocks the hardest?

flighty humans

on my bike ride home today i was realizing that there are only a few people that i trust to do things well and on time. my time, that is. i don't know many people who want to stay in one place and put roots down. i'm sure it's obvious that we are a people of change. we have a hard time being happy where we are. it often seems better elsewhere. could it be better somewhere else? would i be happier living in oregon near the rogue river? what would i do there? how would i make money? who would my friends be? do ryan and i want to have kids so far away from our parents? would one river actually make me happier?

then there's the question of happiness. we can't always be happy.

i'm not sure what to do yet about becoming a person who lives in the day and works with the circumstances. maybe i'll try to be a woman of my word. maybe i'll try to be upfront with people. maybe i'll make friends, cultivate friendships, and say goodbye graciously when my friends leave and i get to stay.

i guess i'm just trying to prepare myself to say goodbye to friends that may be leaving. it's takes me awhile so i'm going to start now. right now i don't know anyone who's actually leaving. there's only talk. and i'm going to work on being okay with staying. with making a life here in kentucky. maybe i'll appreciate oregon more as a vacation spot.

the scarlet letter

funny SNL scarlet letter skit. link

if you enjoy quality literature you'll enjoy this.

patty griffin

i was introduced to patty griffin's music during my sophomore year in college. by two sorority girls nonetheless. (not all sorority girls listen to britney spears and not all sorority girls are shallow). i have so many great memories of this music. she's a brilliant songwriter and a beautiful singer. she's only about 42, but looks older than my 56-year old mother. by the sound of her lyrics, patty's probably had a hard life. last night i was able to see her live for the first time. a spiritual experience. my friend, laura, got us 4th row seats. we could see how tight patty's pants were, her disheveled hair, and that she wore pantyhose with her open-toed shoes. laura said she could get away with it, but we never could. true. we could also see her passion as she sang, her energy as she played the guitar, and her humanness. this show is right up there with the gillian welch show that i saw with ryan a few years ago at the kentucky theatre. anyways, if you've never listened to patty, let me know and i'll burn you some songs.

patty griffin npr interview

a higher love?

ok, i like to listen to classic rock. on my way home today they played "higher love" by steve winwood on the radio. this is the question of the day...should that song be considered classic rock?

british people are funny

i was introduced to the show "little britain" by my friends the maddocks. here's a religious clip from the show. little britain religious clip. if you don't enjoy weird british humor then you need to learn how to.

stop-right now

this is yet another reason not to have cable tv. "donna" has her own reality show starting this sunday on vh1. 90210 where are they now? who cares?

scary business

ryan and i watched most of "the future of food" last night. it's a documentary on genetically modified foods and how the monsanto co. is trying to control the whole world's food supply (my take). monsanto is the company that sells ROUNDUP weed killer. they are supposedly making a "terminator" seed that makes it impossible for farmers to take seed from this year's crops and use them again next year. the "terminator" seed is only good for one growing season. one word-MONEY! what scares me the most is that they are engineering these creepy "genetically-modified" seeds/food and these GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredients are in pretty much everything we eat. here's a list of some foods that do and don't contain GMO ingredients-link

want to know what the hell GMO is and why it might be bad? link

you may not give a rat's about this, but the documentary is quite interesting and worth a watch. be prepared-it's definitely not a mindless movie.

becoming famous

well, i thought that by having my top 5 fave songs played on npr i would become famous. that might've happened if the host didn't address me as "julie". on the other hand he did pronounce "koch" correctly. you know what-maybe i don't want to be famous. they might put me in a pizza hut commercial with a short skirt on throwing cheese-filled pizza crust into some minor's mouth.

dorksville

i had the privilege of talking for 2 minutes with david dye yesterday. he's the host of "world cafe" on npr. out of sheer dorkiness, i emailed him my top 5 songs list b/c every week he plays a listener's list. so, he calls me up and we chat. i sound a bit like phyllis diller b/c my allergies are going nuts. the recording was for his friday show (tonight), but i think that show actually airs on sunday from 8-9pm on 91.3 in lexington. my list goes a little something like this:

1. mockingbird by ryan adams
2. i might be wrong by radiohead
3. black star (a radiohead song) performed by gillian welch and david rawlings
4. last goodbye by jeff buckley
5. peg by steely dan (good memories)

ryan wants to put groove is in the heart by dee-lite on his list. don't tell him, but it probably won't be chosen.

this just in

spring is here! this is the season of festivals and i have found the festival for you! (the you is generic b/c i really don't know who i'm talking to). DUKESFEST 2006! that's right you dukes of hazzard fans. at the beginning of june, nashville music city will host this glorious event. the general lee might even show up. i guess the whole thing would suck if the car didn't even come. let me know if you want any more info. maybe we can get a group and caravan. i'm getting my daisy dukes out right now! woohoo!

message in a bottle

for those of you who don't already know about mcsweeney's, it's a website of lists. some funny, some just flat out random. i found one about sting's possible "other" names. that sting, he's so hot right now.

link: sting's names

urkel and jesus

this is one heck of a sermon.

link: reverend urkel

mean dinner

what is the worst thing that you could serve someone for dinner? i'm asking because i'm tempted to serve butter bean pie for family dinner this week. it's savory and delicious, but is it mean? do people this far north still eat butter beans?

so weird

what the...? i just found out that ben harper and laura dern are married and have a small child. i would've never put those two together, but now that i think about it-it's kind of cool. i guess.

wrestlemania 2006

the hollaback girl vs. deborah harry. very scary. who's your pick?

we love tv preachers

this made me laugh out loud.

link: farting preacher