Side Effects

Today has been loco - I have been running from one thing to the next. Everything going on has been very fun (bridal shower, seeing Beastly {which I give 3 stars out of 10}, going to a party or two) but still - nonstop. I decided  I would sit down for 2.2 minutes and relax while waiting for something to warm up in the oven for the next event. So I plopped onto the couch and turned on the tv.

Though I haven't been paying any attention to what is actually on tv, I have noticed the commercials, specifically those prescription commercials - the ones that say things like, "yes, this could improve your heart OR, it could make things a million times worse."

Like this one for Toehelpia:

Quickly relieves toe pain due to over use of flip flops.

Side effects may include: increased toe pain, hatred of flip flops, major personality change, head aches, desire to wear roller blades inside, toe fungus, heart problems, diabetes, long nose hairs, baldness, hip dysplasia, foreign accent, distrust of friends, increased belly button lint, loss of toes completely, and death.

I know that legally they have to list the side effects (actually, I don't know that, but I assume that - otherwise, why would they?) but honestly! The message of some of these commercials is: "what you have is bad, but if you're interested, we could make it worse!"

Hmmm... sounds like some dates I've been on.

Random thoughts, I know. Ok, on to the next thing!

Think of the happiest things

The weather this week has been glooooomy. Cold, melty, freezy, (I hope these technical terms don't confuse you), and gray. So gray. So I've been getting by by thinking about happy things. Here are some of the things that have gotten me happily through the last couple days.

1. The Cupcake Station. I know I made fun of cupcake places in a previous post, but I'll admit that I may have been wrong. The cupcake I had there was amazing. Plus, isn't this place cozy?

2. The cupcake. The PB&C (peanut butter and chocolate). Oh so good.

3. The snow is melting. Yes, it looks hideous at this stage but just think of it in human terms: it's pretty as a baby (freshly fallen snow), not so cute as an adolescent (melty, muddy snow) (not that adolescents are hideous, they're just...awkward...or at least, I was), then nice looking again as an adult (grass). Worst analogy ever? Possibly. You know what I'm trying to say though.

4. I almost got this book at Borders today: Marry Him, the case for settling for Mr. Good Enough. I didn't, because I was afraid of what I would do if I read it. 

5. I ordered a Whirley Pop popcorn popper. My friend Kate has one and it makes the best popcorn ever!

6. I also ordered this book, Swamplandia, which I've been wanting to check out and which I've heard good things about. I am so in the mood to sink my teeth into a good book (figuratively of course - cause otherwise that would be weird).

7. I ate at my favorite Japanese restaurant with my favorite Sofía (who also went with me to the Cupcake Station - what a friend)!

8. I lost my keys BUT, knew I had a spare set in my purse thanks to my little show and tell post the other day, AND my keys were rediscovered at Borders. So, it could have been a lot worse, right? All's well that ends well. 

What's making you happy today?

*Ten points to anyone who gets the title of this post. :)

Wednesday Thoughts

A name like Elizabeth lends itself to a lot of nicknames - some traditional, some unique. At this point I'm used to answering to all sorts of nicknames and mispronunciations.

Here are a few of my nicknames along with who calls/called me it:

Liz - mostly by guys who never ask if it's ok to call me that.
Lizzy - my uncle and a few other friends
Libby - Chris
Lizzy Lou - Vaughn
Rizza - Diane
Liz Beth - Jesse
Dawitabis - my nieces and nephews at some point
Salibis - my nieces and nephews at some point
Bibis - my brother and sisters when they were kids
Dit - a kid I baby-sat for in high school
B - my friend's niece when she was a toddler
Ah-beth - my niece, currently
Lizardbreath - my brother as a teenager
Liza-poop - my friend's younger brothers when we were kids...and currently.
Katherine - this is my sister's name but people call me it by mistake all. the. time.

As you can see, I'm accustomed to hearing lots of variations on my name.

But one thing I have never been called is "Uncle Elizabeth." My friend Abe, who lives in Seattle, sent me this picture yesterday:

Uncle Elizabeth's Internet Cafe

Hm. Uncle Elizabeth's. Not my favorite, but I've already to confessed to being called much worse.

What's the weirdest thing you've been called?

And for the record, I prefer to be called Elizabeth.

Happy Wednesday.

What's in your bag?

I recently read an article about how women's purses have grown exponentially in recent years. The article said that a lot of these purses weigh up to 20 lbs and contain everything from medicines, hand wipes, and band aids to spare underwear and even toothbrushes. The article called these purses "an emotional crutch," which seemed a little harsh to me, but which I'll admit could have some truth to it.

It made me think about all the things I have in my purse, so I decided to empty it, take a picture of everything that was in it, and document it for your judging pleasure. For the record, I almost always have gum in my purse, but was out (lest you think I'm unprepared):

Could be worse, don't you think? There may or may not have been a few wadded up receipts and gum wrappers at the bottom too, but I figured no one needs to see that.

Time to fess up: what's in your purse?

Sexy Feet!!!

I have to admit, most of the time when people post youtube videos on their blogs, I don't watch them. It seems like too much of a time commitment to watch a video for some reason. When I occasionally do watch them though, I'm always glad I did! If you watch this video, trust me, that will be the case with you. I've probably watched it five times and it cracks me up every time.

Short Term Goal Updates

A few posts ago I wrote out some short term goals. Here's where I hold myself accountable for how I've done:

•"Check in" on Facebook (if you're unfamiliar with "checking in," it's that thing where you let the government and all your friends know which restaurant you're at via Facebook.) I tried. This is what the screen said the entire time I was at the restaurant. Guess I shouldn't have added the "Block Big Brother app." 

•Either start Tweeting or get rid of Twitter. I've tweeted at least three times since I wrote this so I'd say that's a success. I took a shameful turn on Twitter though and started following Charlie Sheen. I can't help it though. He's "duh! Winning."

Which reminds me, if you haven't seen it, here's a clip of Jimmy Fallon impersonating Charlie Sheen. He nailed it.

  •Learn a new, healthy, recipe that doesn't make eating healthy feel depressing. Check, and check.

•Watch more Portlandia. I have failed at this but will get on it.

•Start a Snow Support Group for real. Well, for real-ish. In progress!

•Finish the book I'm reading, Dewey. I'm nervous because I heard it gets sad later... Dang cats. Almost there.

•Find a new celebrity crush. I'm getting tired of James Franco. Changed my mind. Why get a new crush when James Franco is such a worthy one?

•Watch James Franco on the Oscars Sunday night and drool over him. A lot. It would have been easier to drool over him if he didn't have that crazy look on his face the whole night:

•Tell the snow how I really feel about it, then kick it. Hard. I said some hurtful things to the snow. The kinds of things you can't take back. It helped a little bit. The problem with the snow is that while I hate it, in the sense that it is the Cobra Kai and makes driving impossible, it really is pretty. This was the scene I saw out the restaurant window tonight:

•Get rid of my winter personality (grouchy) and replace it with my summer personality (elated). I'm afraid I have not yet made this happen. I'm pretty sure it won't happen until winter ends.

•Watch Legally Blonde for something like the fourth time this winter. Love it just as much every time. If not more. I happened to catch it on tv the other night, so yes! Love it.


BONUS UPDATE: Since I've been talking a lot about the Justin Bieber movie, I thought I should tell you that I saw it today. Not only did I see it, but I saw it in 3D. Um, this next part isn't easy for me to say. I went to the movie thinking I was going to mock it the entire time. Turns out it was........

.........

good. It turns out the kid can dance. (Oh yeah, and sing.)  And the story of his rise to fame was actually kind of interesting. When we sat down, I said to my friend, "my biggest fear is that I am going to leave this theater with a crush on Justin Bieber." When the movie was over, I turned to him and said, "My fear came true." He said, "Even worse, I have a crush on him too." I've given you enough to judge me about in this post, so let me be clear that we were both joking. I did get a slight case of Bieber Fever, but the fever broke the moment I left the theater and no further treatment was required. Thank goodness.

How are your goals going?

Wednesday Thoughts

I have to admit that this week I have been in a bit of a weather-related funk. Every afternoon the temperatures have been getting just above freezing, which is just warm enough to melt some of the snow, which then forms impassable puddles on the sidewalks. Then in the late afternoon and overnight, when the temperatures go back down, these puddles freeze.
 


This used to be my playground
(Madonna style)

This morning as I was attempting to walk without falling, I decided in my anger that I am Daniel-san and winter is the Cobra Kai. All I'm trying to do is survive and not be afraid to go outside, but the Cobra Kai won't let me be. And when I decide to be brave and go on a walk, winter sweeps my leg. Every time.



If any of you have good ideas for how to keep my spirits up and beat winter, you can consider yourselves my Mr. Miyagi. I'm pretty sure "the Crane" isn't going to work in this case though, so don't even think about suggesting it or I'll know you were trained with Johnny at the Cobra Kai dojo.

That one time at the dojo

Ok, enough about Karate Kid and winter. (Although, PS, that movie's awesome.)

In other Wednesday Thoughts:

• I'm tired of hearing about Charlie Sheen.  
• It's March, which means it's almost St. Patrick's Day! I look pretty ok in green so March 17th is my day to shine. (That's one of the most ridiculous sentences I've ever written.)
• I bought season one of Modern Family on DVD and just finished it. Hilarious!
• Haven't seen the Justin Bieber movie yet, but will this weekend. It's gonna be hilarious too, but for different reasons.
• I'm trying to undo the damage I did this winter which means less chocolate, more carrots. That might be contributing to my current mood, where everything, and everyone is against me. That reminds me, Doritos, chocolate, and ice cream are also in the Cobra Kai.
• It's Wednesday, and that makes me happy. The weekend is almost here!

Happy Wednesday!