All I Want Is More [Reel Big Fish}

Recently, the sushi place we go to closed down. i know, you're thinking PREGNANT WOMEN CANT HAVE SUSHI!!!!!! well, they can, but only certain things. that's not the point. we've been going to this place since we moved out here, and we love it, and we love the little owner lady, and we love the rest of the staff, and we're sad.

It's not their fault - the guy who owned the property they were in decided that defaulting on his loan was awesome, and so the bank foreclosed. they were "working" with the tenants to try to find them new storefronts, secure loans, etc. but those quotation marks were included for sarcasm, because they were doing sh*t all to help the business that were there. Then CVS, in it's infinite wisdom, decided that the grocery store on the opposite corner and the Walgreen's 1 block away didn't have enough competition, so they bought the property on the cheap and decided that any and all deals the businesses had made with the bank were null and void (which is their right) and they gave the tenants 2 weeks to move out.

So, our sushi place has been on the lookout for new digs, but they haven't had any luck. they took the names and email addresses of any customers who wanted to stay in the loop, and they've also started a facebook page. i hope they find something, cause they were awesome. I offered my design services once they find a place, to try and get some deals on materials, etc. and certainly to help lay the new space out. not sure if they'll take me up on it - they've done fine for 25 years (not always sushi, but still the same family) so i think they'll be okay, but i hope they ask me to help, cause that would be awesome, and something sweet for my portfolio. and, they're really nice people. since there is a near moratorium on going out to sushi right now, it was really the best time, but they better get something figured out, because KTO has requested sushi as her first meal post-baby.



ps - this marks my 100th post. who knew.

I Found a Whistle [MGMT]

Music!

It's not all new, but i've been out of the loop. I don't have my "Finger on the Pulse" as we say around our house.

Lately i've have The Civil Wars on repeat at work - not sure why, it's enough of a mix of music and lyrics to keep my occupied without being too distracting, i think. I've posted enough about them in the past, though, so i won't add another one.

The first musical entry for today will be Goyte. I don't know what that is, or how to say it, but this song keeps finding me on the radio, and i like it. video is a bit strange, though.



Our second musical feature for today will be Andrew Bird, in honor of the concert tonight, that we're going to attend with our friends M&M, and of course baby O. Baby O's first concert, and i couldn't think of anything better for him or her than the magic that is Andrew Bird. It's hard to explain A.Bird to people - he's more of a hear for yourself kind of musician. I'm sure i've posted a few of his before, but what's one (or two or three) more, right? These are from 3 different albums, all with their own merits. If you're only going to pick one, i'd suggest the first one, because that actually shows you some of the craziness. he plays all the parts himself, then layers them over each other to make a song. It's like 20 times more awesome in concert. That being said, the last one, tables and chairs, is one of my favorite songs of his.







there you go - some music. maybe not "new" but it could be new to you. hope you enjoy.






and, what the heck - have a link to one by The Civil Wars. I've Got This Friend

Sail [AwolNation]

This:



is a version of this:



macy gray should maybe not do covers, i think.

also, mr.awolnation sounds a lot like marilyn manson when he's not crazy angry/dark/evil.

Tell Me Baby [Red Hot Chili Peppers]

After the layoff in 09, and all the various fun that followed, we started calling 2010 the "Year of Change" then the job offer to go to dallas came, and we had to extend the year of change into 2011 - because dallas was not the change we wanted. Finally, when i was able to leave the "great" state of Texas behind - no some offense, texans - the first bit of being back in the same place was spent just enjoying living in the same house again. We spent evenings and weekends hanging out with each other, or with friends, just getting back to being us. We spent plenty of time ignoring the long list of things-to-do that lived on the fridge. At some point the holidays happened - halloween (which we love but weren't prepared for) thanksgiving where we had to avoid going to see my family, and then then christmas sneaked up on us, and we were hosting her family! So between July and January, all those possible projects got put on hold. When things did happen, it was always immediate attention needed type stuff, like fixing a garage door, or new appliance installation.

So we decided that we at least 2, if not 3 years of spring cleaning to catch up on. 2012 was going to be "The Year of Improvement" We started with a few small things - hang some pictures we've had sitting in the closet, clean the garage, sell some things, throw out boxes we don't need, etc. Just recently, the toilet in the master bath started to have issues, and since we've wanted to replace it and update with a fresh coat of paint, it was opportune. Also a good way to strike a slightly bigger item off the list. Since we were being optimistic, we also decided to get a new vanity, to increase storage. The problem is, the toilet plumbing has bigger issues, and now we're operating of the hall bath for ?? time, until we can solve all the problems. Thank goodnes for multiple bathrooms, right?

The larger issue is that this bathroom thing is in the way of doing things like nursery painting, which we need to have done before the baby arrives. Oh, by the way, we're having a baby. Looks like 2012 will be the "Year of Baby O." as well!

Sitting Waiting Wishing [Jack Johnson]

As a kid, I never understood my dad's reluctance to come home and play computer games with me. When i hit college and he finally embraced email, I couldn't get why he wouldn't come home and respond to things i sent him. His stock response was:

"i sit at a computer all day, why do I want to do it at home?"

This just baffled me - how could you not want to? The internet is awesome, and even if you're not internetting it up, there's always something to sort/organize/delete on the computer. He's a lot like me in that way. So the fact the he didn't want to be at the computer was entirely foreign and nonsensical.

However, the older I get, the more I finally see where he was coming from. I've even used his classic line a few times. It's not that I don't want to post blog entries, catch up with people via email, look at all the cute cat pictures with funny captions, or even sort/organize/delete various things on my hard drive. I just find that I have other things I need/want to do - tv, video games, reading, sleep. Also laundry, dishes, yardwork, home repairs. Oh, and this time of year, taxes. Maybe if I could spend time doing fun computer things I'd be more inclined to forgo those other items, but lately it's been researching vacuums, how to repair plumbing (that's a fun story), etc.

The problem is, I spend my "free" time on these things, and by the time I'm ready for fun, I'm fed up with sitting in the office with a meowing cat at my feet. And then things like blogs posts, emails and cat pictures get lost. I really do want to get back at this blog - i can't promise anything, but I'm thinking 1 or 2 posts a week for now, and well see how it goes. I mean, after all, i do have to spend some computer time sorting/organizing/deleting stuff.

I Feel The Earth Move [Carole King]

I've told some of you that new, improved content will be coming, and I mean it. But tonight, have this.

The Earth is Amazing. NASA proves it with their Astronomy Picture Of the Day website. Today's picture is actually a video. Watch it.