photo study: meanwhile in Washington

I don't know if y'all have heard, but down south of where I live in Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico, there was an oil spill.  Except that it wasn't an oil spill.  An oil spill is a tanker truck turning over on the interstate.  This is thousands of barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf everyday and it's been going on since April 20th with the blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig triggering a huge spill, soiling 100 miles of coastline, threatening some of the richest U.S. fisheries and endangering a fragile marine ecosystem.  So, what does that mean to average Mr. and Mrs. America who isn't hearing about this everyday?  The spill happened one week before the start of brown shrimp season in Louisiana, that means hundreds of shrimpers are out of work, not to mention all the other fishermen who are now unemployed.  The spill is real to those families.  This also means your summer vacation to Gulf Shores or Florida may have to be canceled as oil is being reported nearing the white sand beaches.   

So, I thought I'd share some pictures of the coast, accompanied by photos of the President and Vice President in Washington this week.  

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A Brown Pelican is seen on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast on Thursday, June 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Meanwhile, I assume this pic of Vice President and Mrs. Biden with  Cookie Monster and friends was taken at the Muppet Summit on Wetland Protection.  

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I think Biden got the answer on how to save these guys from Grover.  Don't worry, EVEN BROWNER pelicans, Biden's got this!  (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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My man Paul McCartney was honored Wednesday night at the White House with the Gershwin Prize (I know, I wasn't invited either) and he performed "Michelle," with Obama mouthing the words in the front row.  I'm sure that being a widely publicized environmentalist, McCartney gave the president advice on how to solve the crisis in the Gulf. 

Well, maybe during the commercial breaks.  Yeah, the evening was filmed as a concert for PBS to air in July.  

Glad the president had time for that.

photo study: my most personal yet – the purses

Those of you who have been reading the blog for a while know I'm  a bit of a purse person.  Okay, that's a lie.  I've been obsessed with purses since middle school and had a crocodile bag in 10th grade.  Does that tell you a little about me?  My first "name brand" bag was a Liz Claiborne I think my Aunt Vicki gave me (I was envious of her Gucci bag at the age of 12) and I began saving for bags and buying my own early on.  

So, it should come as no surprise that my purses are the first things I packed for the move.  

Just for fun, I took pictures of some of my favorites (you will see a pattern) and for even more fun, what was in the purses when I dumped them out onto my bed before packing.

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 The makeup.  I kind of like lipstick.  And oil blotting sheets.  I will gladly donate them to BP if it will help.

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 Snacks.  A plastic spoon.  A handful of pens.  If you want to make me happy, give me a nice pen.  

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Giftcards, hotel room keys, and a Vera Bradley notepad.  And Excedrin Migraine.  

Now the purses.   My bed wasn't made.  Don't judge.

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 A Dooney bucket bag, probably my most neutral bag.  I think you'll see what I mean in a second.

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 One of my favorites.  My Brighton embroidered slouch.  It screams fall with all my fave colors.

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 A reversible Brighton slouch.  This is me doing girly.

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 This flannel Vera Bradley is fantastic and hunter-chic.

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 My plaid Dooney.

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I kind of have a thing for plaid.  Just a little.  My first Brighton bag, a shopper tote in a bee pattern that I love love love.  

 

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 Plaid domed Coach.  

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My favorite color green.  This Dooney is a favorite.

 
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This Varsity Stripe Legacy Coach bag has been a go-to bag since the day I bought it.  I use the matching wallet every day.  It's the most well-designed bag I've ever owned and come on, it goes with everything.  Well, it does if you're like me and happen to wear brown, orange, and hot pink.  

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I didn't take pictures of every purse.  That would have been an all-day project.  Here are most of the Vera Bradleys.  I think there are 12.  There are more on top.  And that's not counting my totes.  

I know, I have an illness, but I don't care.  

update-o-rama

So, I haven't written a real post in a while.  Lots of videos and photos, but very little in the way of words, which is what I used to do best.  Or at least that's what I like to think anyway.  I've been a bit busy and here is the update.  

The hubs came home from working in Utah last month and was hired by an Alabama-based company.  This means we're moving.  This means we will have had our 9th move in almost 13 years, if I've counted correctly (and I'm horrible at math, so I'm probably missing one and I didn't even count my move to Macon, GA when I married the hubs – I threw that one in for free).  This means the kids will be changing schools.  This means I'll have to make the two-hour drive in for Scrap-Fest!  This means finding a new church.  This means finding a new sushi place.  This means I will probably have a nervous breakdown this summer.

Being that I've moved 42 times, I've learned a few things and I've developed a couple of philosophies on the subject.  When I move into a new neighborhood it's never my intention to be best buds with the neighbors.  I never have the notion that we will be there forever and I don't want to get attached.  Plus, I've had some weirdo nutjob neighbors.  No offense to weirdo nutjobs.  I'm very much a homebody.  I'm the woman in the neighborhood who drives into her garage and closes the garage.  I'm not out in the front yard planting whatever people plant.  I'm in the air conditioning enjoying the great indoors.  I'm not the friendly neighbor at the bus stop all cheery at at 6:45 am dressed for the day, coffee in hand.  I'm the grumpy neighbor in my robe and Bozo the Clown hair, standing in my driveway who desperately wants to be back under the covers because the sun is barely up.  This is who I am.  

For this move I've come upon a new philosophy: enough people have seen me naked, therefore I will come back to this town for exams until my gynecologist retires and I am forced to find another one.  At that point I will interview gynecologists in my new town.  Yes, I said interview.  I will have a list of questions.  Maybe an essay, I haven't decided yet.  Hopefully Dr. B won't retire for several years and I will have a while to think about it. The one thing I know for sure is that he doctor I choose will have pedicure chairs in the waiting room and the artwork will be fabulous.  

When one moves, the most frustrating thing is finding the new whatever it is to replace your old whatever it was in your old town.  I will have to find a new nail place.  This is frustrating because I've finally found a good one here.  My nail place and I have gone through a lot together.  I watched half of my first Lifetime movie there (I still don't know if the woman ever got her kid back or if her blanket-making business ever took off), I was asked to hook up their DSL, and I've explained different facets of the American political system now that the shop tv is tuned to FOX news or CNN Headline News instead of Lifetime.  Two weeks ago, I was having my nails done and watching the news while the nail techs spoke rather loudly in Vietnamese, which I ignore since I didn't take Vietnamese in school.  My ears perked up when my nail tech said "Bobby Jindal."  I only wish I knew the context.  And I only hope this kind of thing happens in Alabama.  

So, I will be chronicling the move.  If everything goes as planned, we should be moving the last week of June/first week of July.  Hopefully we will be in the new house by my birthday.  Hopefully I won't lose my mind by then.

fake ben folds

I dig the Ben Folds.  I'd been listening to his stuff all morning, then thought I'd seek out some of his fake songs for fun.  When Ben released his latest album, Way to Normal, he recorded a bunch of "fake" songs with the same or similar titles as the real tracks and leaked them online.  Ben likes to mess with people.  Some of the songs are good, some are obvious jokes; I'm just glad they're out there.  Enjoy.

I really like "Lovesick Diagnostician."  This should have been on the album.

"Free Coffee Town" isn't bad.

This "Frowne Song" is just silly.

I prefer this "Bitch Went Nutz" to the album version.  

I'll say it again: Ben is the man.

Sunday rewind: omd

It's about time I had a decent Sunday Rewind, don't you think?

True story: in 1987 I asked an aunt for OMD's greatest hits album for my birthday and she bought me an album by Ozark Mountain Daredevils.  

 OMD is Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the fantastic synthesizer-based '80s band from England made popular by their song "If You Leave" from the film Pretty in Pink.  Love that movie.  OMD made great catchy songs that stood apart from their contemporaries in that their music was different, poetic, and often very special.  What Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys did was give a heart to synthesizer New Wave.

Let's explore the best of OMD.

"Talking Loud and Clear" is an example of OMD doing something different. 

"So in Love" is so nice.

Love this song.

"I look at you and I make the same mistakes" is pretty poignant, I think.

I saved the best for last.  "If You Leave" is one of the '80s songs that is just perfection.  I'll play this 42 times today.  

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xz3ge

Does it get better than that?  No.