sxsw

I didn't "do" South By (local jargon that I feel slightly uncomfortable using) like all my friends did because I was swamped with school, but I did cherry pick one day-party to devote all of my love to. I knew it was sponsored by Rachael Ray, big plus, and that the Hold Steady was playing at some point, bigger plus, but I really didn't know what to expect at all. I'd heard about all the free shows and parties, but I figured that it was basically too good to be true. Au contraire!

Just please keep in mind, as soon as you start to get bored, that all this was free. 

Our day started with me, Brian, and Peters holding down the fort in line at Maggie Mae's, a sixth street UT bar of sorts that I'd never been to. We waited for an hour and a half with screwdrivers and Taco C in tow, which really wasn't bad at all because of the great people watching, including but not limited to roadies-roadies-everywhere, mustaches and velvet jackets, tatts and drunks. And this girl's hair.

It's a shame she's pseudo picking her nose here because her 'do was rad. It didn't hurt that her tote bag said "I can't pay the rent, but I'm fucking gorgeous."

Once the doors opened, bands started immediately on the upstairs and downstairs stages and played for the next five hours, which was awesome because we got to switch from low-key crooners like Bob Schneider to the flaming Semi Precious Weapons (Brian claimed he knew the lead singer but didn't know why...until we realized he was a coach on Made. Too much TV, what?). Two separate food stations and 4 open bars made me a very happy girl, especially when I realized they were serving divine Rachael Ray recipes, like chipotle and black bean chilaquiles and seven layer chili-beef sliders. I mean seriously, what's the best food you can hope for at these kinds of things? Pizza? 

Delicious food you say? Here we come.

Oh and the best part was multiple Rachael Ray pass-bys. I get so ridiculously starstruck by even non-celebrities that for some reason I couldn't get over the fact that THAT WAS RACHAEL RAY RIGHT THERE NO SERIOUSLY LOOK SEE RIGHT THERE. Picture to prove it? Oh okay fine.

Hold Steady and Rach.

No one else seemed to care all that much. But I'm cool with that. Let's be honest, someone should've given me an award for refraining from grabbing her arm to profess that we just cooked jalapeño poppers from her cookbook like TWO DAYS AGO and now she's here in Austin and it's just so crazy I can't get over it! 

So ultimately, we got to see the Hold Steady again, and hear a bunch of other cool bands, eat famous food, and drink for free, all day. Oh wait, did I make it clear that this was all free? For the whole day? Just checking. I think I would've had a great day despite the free-ness of it, but for my first SXSW experience to actually match with its great reputation really caught me off guard. I'm sure the newness of the freeness will wear off next year, but I guess then I can look back at this little bloggity blog and remember how to be appreciative! 

P is for Power

My favorite line of the P90X videos so far is "Mini break, okay break's over keep going."

 

Brian got turned on by the P90X commercials a while back, which surprised me because usually I'm the one spearheading athletic activity around the house, but he really liked the intensity and structure of the videos. The program relies on "muscle confusion," so essentially you're always working a different part of your body and thus never reach a plateau. (Can you tell I'm drinking the kool-aid?). You oscillate between 12 videos that each have a different focus, like Yoga or Legs+Arms or Core Synergistics (also known as, You Might Die). The majority of the exercises just utilize your own body, so there's no real special equipment needed—just some weights, pull-up bar, yoga mat, etc. 

So anyway, the videos cost $150. No way were we paying that. So we kept doing the poor man's exercise instead (hackeysack...seriously), until Lundy scored the videos from someone and then burned purchased them from a legal site them for him for his birthday! $60 worth of weights and resistance bands later, we accidentally jumped on the P90 train. I say accidentally because we didn't so much discuss the inconvenience or commitment that it would take to workout every day for an hour for 90 days, which is roughly one more hour of exercise a day than we do now. 

But now we've done it. We're one week in and I'm pretty sure there's no turning back. Neither of us really want to put forth all the effort that would be necessary to look as ripped as some of the testimonials we've seen, which I'm guessing requires careful attention to diet, no drinking, et cetera. "Less" is not really on our diet. But surely working out by itself will do some good, no? We totally took before pictures so that we'll be able to laugh at our flabbier selves when we're sipping brandy with our feet up on chinchilla ottomans while being fanned by our posse. Wait...being fit won't make you richer and more popular? Damn.

I'll keep you posted on our weight loss (if any). Oh, and I definitely expect some virtual high-fives, if we actually make it through the entire 90 days!

a green toy, for you

I give Brian full credit for finding this gem and also blame him for the 45 minutes we then spent playing with sentence construction. If you like Kanye, or Daft Punk, or mashing, or your keyboard, then you'll enjoy this. Click on it. Then work it. 

a sixth sense

I just watched this video with my mouth open the whole time. How amazing is our world?!

how to get unfriended...

...by me on Facebook.

Keep posting things like this. 

in preparation

Since Brad is super-crazy allergic to cats, Powder and I have been getting ready for his arrival today.

This might gross you out, but please try to focus on the magic and wonder that is The Furminator. This hair pile is only a fraction of what we might normally get, I just happened to piss Powder off during the making of this picture *shocker* and had to call the operation off. My hope was that if I got all the extra hair off her, at least she wouldn't be able wind through his legs leaving white strings of cyanide on his ankles. I've been obsessed with this little brush ever since I paid a pretty penny for it a few years ago, and I'm telling you, the fervor with which I Furminate her (that just sounds wrong) is right up there with the crazy-lizard-tongue I grow when someone hands me a bowl of residual brownie mix and tells me they're going to put it in the dishwasher in 30 seconds. Yeah. 

Welcome, Brad! Here's to hoping your face doesn't explode when you step foot into my house!

the day I broke up with the bachelor

I tried to like the newest Bachelor Jason Meznick even though he seemed like such a cheesedick from Day 1, but he had that freaking adorable kid so you know, I cut him some slack. Then he pulled off an unconvincing proposal to Melissa in the end, fine whatever. But then the guy cried like 17 times, and it would've saved me more time if he'd just lopped off his testicles in one fell swoop. And then he had the audacity to break up with the poor girl on national television, because apparently he didn't have had the decency to do it in private because then he just wouldn't have been true to his wallet heart, right? The only silver lining in the episode was his pathetic attempt to use the whole I don't want to live with regrets scapegoat and she muttered "You're such a bastard." Oh ABC, you and your so-called good television hath made a big mistake. I am all about reality TV but I'm not interested in a "huge twist" where some mangina stomps all over a sweet girl in front of millions of people. I think The Bachelor and I are finally  donezo.