Seven.Caged.Tigers

All I want is for this day to be over with. I get plenty of relaxation is weekend (THREE day weekend) and hope to get some covert shopping in while JT is in Canada and sans phone to check up on me…mwahahaha. Actually, I need/want very little. Just to finish off the guest bedroom upstairs. That means getting a cheap lamp among other things. We’ll see if I actually get off my lazy bum and head to Target. Then again, there’s always time for Target.

In any case, I don’t intend on doing anything much. Maybe some laundry-related chores, but honestly as little I do the better.

Yeah. I’m lazy. Deal.

This entry will likely be a bit disjointed, but stay with me. First off, congrats to Fantastic Burrito (as the radio station calls Fantasia Barrino) for winning American Idol. She deserved it. Clearly.

Other than that, I saw this incredible documentary called ‘A Certain Kind of Death’ on Sundance. It is about what happens to a person with no friends or families dies. It follows the process in Los Angeles–mostly around a few men who are found to be loners. The strange thing is that they begin the stories with the found body–regardless of it’s condition. I was a bit concerned about how I would react but it is all handled in such an efficient, precise manner that I as a viewer wasn’t given the option to be sickened or upset. It was death in the realest sense.

The film then went on follow the process through securing the body to the verification of assets and even the creamation of remains and auctioning of all their worldly possessions. That latter part really got to me–one man’s entire estate brought in less than $200 at auction. In any case, I was so impressed with the entire documentary. It was delicate and intelligent and really shed some light on the way in which society on the whole deals with death. If you happen to stumble upon this gem, I HIGHLY recommend it. HIGHLY.

And don’t take my word for it…take the fact that it won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance not to mention various other awards as further support for A Certain Kind of Death.

Changing gears while I work my design mojo back up…

Last night was the performance finale of American Idol. I’ve supported Fantasia since I saw her at her auditions and she proved beyond a shadow of a doubt last night that she is a true star. Diana is a teeny-bopper yet to really grow into her own skin let alone her own voice. But Fantasia? Well, she’s a princess.

After her first song I though “that was, well, different.” I agree that it was badly arranged. Her second song, Summertime, was perfect. I don’t mean just perfectly executed but also emotional, real, and not at all cardboard (unlike the smiley Miss DeGarmo). And then her performance of Tamyra’s I Believe was incredible. I know it’s a new song, but it fits her like a glove.

Now I don’t know who is going to win. Both already have their followings. But based on quality I think Fantasia should. Based on what would be better for her career, I’m not sure if I want her to–she’ll be successful regardless of a win.

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

I’m obviously doing a major overhaul to Sevencagedtigers.com. It’s almost there, but don’t click around too much–you’re liable to stumble upon something that shouldn’t be there. But please feel free to check out the archives and the recent posts. Oh! And leave comments!

In any case, stick around. It’ll be fixed within a few days.

I find myself increasingly impressed by the changes Google is making to Blogger. A while ago, I fully intended on jumping ship to Movable Type. Much angst and little happiness later, I was still “stuck” at Blogger.

Guess what? I’m immensely happy that I didn’t leave. In addition to comment, they’ve also enabled a kind of public profile that people can look at to find me (or anybody else) based on interests. It’s like LiveJournal in that you list your interests and Blogger turns ‘em into clickable links that relate to other writers…

It really is pretty awesome, and for that THANK YOU BLOGGER!

Enough sucking up. It’s been raining something fierce here in Michigan. My county is under flood warning, but we’re not in nearly as deep of water as some other Metro Detroit areas. It’s rained nearly 9 inches in May already. They are expecting this month to break the record set well over fifty years ago. During a lull in the nasty weather, I took my bike out. JT and I rode around the area some. I’m beginning to realize how much my riding the stationary bike has helped my endurance (which is pretty bad anyway).

Fun, fun, fun. I know.

Welcome to the world, Preston Jeffrey! My cousin and his husband had their first son last night at 8:24pm. They are both small people, so the fact he was 8lbs 8oz and 21.5 inches long came as a bit of a shock.

JT and I visited them this afternoon in the hospital. He’s adorable and mild and not at all fussy. And did I mention adorable? Anyway, our visit ended up lasting much longer than expected since there was a tornado warning and we ended up having to be evacuated to the hallway. But that just gave this doting cousin more time to hold her new family member!

I wept like a child. Seriously. I’m so happy for them, but at the same time I can feel my biological clock tick-ticking away…

Obviously I’m happy that Friday is here. It’s probably going to be a draining day, but when it’s all over my husband is going to feel bad for me and we’ll get to go to Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3)–my favorite restaurant in the world! I’ve fallen in love with the Captain Morgans sauce. It’s wonderful. But also, I can’t get enough of trivia and have won two out of the last three times I’ve played. I’m getting better–either that or the Long Island Ice Teas aren’t clouding my mind quite as much.

Anyway, so here I sit wearing a suit, skirt, and lovely navy blue slingback pumps. I don’t think my mind will be able to function well at all today (again, vague, I know).

What else? Ummmm…we got a bunch of rain last night. I didn’t wake up, but JT told me this morning that there was a downpour and it looked as though our whole road was a river. By the time I was out of the house this morning most everything was dry. I’m sure my plants are loving the psycho weather though.

Also, I’ve possibly found a hobby. Of course, there’s only so much soap I can make. But with that said, I am having a great time. I got some supplies at Michael’s and found it’s easy (the cut and pour soap, not mixing lye and stuff together). I’m going to do more investigation online to find more scents and more bases and more colors. I think everybody’s getting soap this Christmas, like it or not!

Please ignore the painfully generic design. It will change in a few days (or is it weeks?). Basically, I discovered that Blogger now has comment functionality. When I tried to implement this with my own design, I failed miserably. So, now I have an excuse to do a proper overhaul.

So for now, this lovely Blogger provided template will just have to do. It’s not perfect, but it’s cheap (aka Free).

Anyway…comment away!

In other “news” I got to talk to my best friend Amy last night. She called out of the blue and we conversed for a good hour or so as she rocked her little guy to sleep. I haven’t seen her since she returned from Japan, but I can’t wait. Especially to meet Braden (her son).

Aside from that, I ordered and got the new Jim White album. So far, so good! Though as far as I’m concerned he walks on water.

answers would suffice. No details, but much angst in this gal’s heart.

In any case, I found this site to be funny…love the URL love the content…just love it!

http://www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/

A weekend gone. Woo-hoo. I expect that this week will fly by, and that’s a good thing. Summer is well on it’s way to sticking. Temps are rising and my garden is looking great (after some major clean-up)–my Iris are blooming and my hostas, lilies, etc… are coming in well.

This weekend, JT and I headed up north to buy our table. We’ve lived for a long time sans kitchen table and chairs because we were saving for a handmade set. So, on Saturday we went to an Amish oak place in Clare with the intention to buy. Even better? There was a 10% off sale. We took advantage and picked out our set–and with the discount included it came in at less than we’d expected. It will be another 2-4 months before we get it…but I am already planning a dinner party using my china, crystal, and sterling. Just because I can. Finally. We also got six mission-style chairs, two end chairs and two side chairs. It’s gorgeous.

Aside from that, we had a productive weekend in the aformentioned garden. We picked up something like fifteen perennials from my mom–lilies, iris, daisies, coneflowers, hosta, asters, etc… I can’t wait to see everything bloom. I’m sure it will be gorgeous. We dug them up on Saturday night and planted immediately when we got home Sunday afternoon. I’m really beginning to think I love gardening. Next year we should be adding a patio and installing a new doorwall, plus JT keeps on talking about a pond. We’ll see about that though…

My table:

My chairs:

By the way, they are all in a “medium oak” stain.

I’m likely writing the same thing in my Blog as the rest of the world. American Idol sucked last night. Not that LaToya London was my favorite, but she should have been in the top two (or even three). Instead, Jasmine and Diana get the go ahead and Fantasia (my favorite) and LaToya are in the bottom two.

I disagree that LaToya has shown growth or personality. She reminds me a bit of a cardboard cutout. She smiles when necessary and sings on cue but when it comes to personality she fails miserably. But with that said, she can sing incredibly well even if I don’t “feel” her. Fantasia on the other hand, well, I do “feel” her and now I hope she’s got a clear path to winning. Jasmine cannot win (and if she does, America is more insane than I thought) and Diana shouldn’t win with her annoying attitude and fakeness.

In other reality TV news, tonight is the REAL Survivor finale. Amber already won her cool million and somebody else is about to win another million bucks. Who? Well, I’ve got money on Rupert. I’ve loved that guy from day 1 in the Pearl Islands/Panama. But there are others I wouldn’t count out–Big Tom, Kathy, Shii Ann, and Jenna L. to be precise. But still, I think Rupert’s got a lock on it…or at least I hope he does!

Rain! Finally! I was beginning to wonder if the rain was ever going to reach us. Fortunately it has, and we’ve had thunderstorms and downpours. Now, it can go away for a bit and give me (or is it JT?) a bit of time to mowm the now overgrown yard.

Eh. Oh well.

In other “news” I have to say that I can’t help but think my sister in law is a tad nutto for eating this:

Wondering what “it” actually is? Well, she and her husband went to Peru and that is (gasp!) a guinea pig. Snout and all.

Jeesh. How many of ya’ll are really mad at that STOOOPID Survivor finale. I guess it’s not the last show of the season, but it’s close enough. There’s a sole survivor now in Amber. I knew that when Jenna voted Rupert out that her goose was cooked. I wanted nothing more than Amber and Rob to not win the $1 million grand prize. Alas, not all things are perfect.

Even worse? That whole mess about Rob proposing to Amber on national TV. They’re in love. If it works out for them, they are bucking the trend of reality TV contenstants so I wish ‘em luck. But as far as Survivor finales go, it was anti-climatic as hell.

In other news, my area of Michigan is finally getting much needed rain. They’ve been predicting it for a while but Saturday/Sunday we finally got a whole bunch. My yard is beginning to look great if you discount the stripes. That’s right, our back yard is striped. JT laid down fertilizer with a drop spreader. He thought he got the whole thing and tried to overlap his passes, but it didn’t work out. Now I’ve got stripes. I’m not mad in the least, but instead think it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in quite some time. And at least it’s in my back yard…

Take the quiz: “The Wildest, Craziest, Most Massive Quiz Ever!”

A Buggy Lugged by a Lady Bug
Omigawd! I survived the biggest, wildest quiz on the internet!
I thought it would never end! Now I am posting this Tongue-Twisting result to dare you to take it.
Can you survive it?

I’m gonna give a few spoilers (maybe) away about tonight’s Friends. The following are unconfirmed rumors about what will happen on tonight’s series finale:

* The girl who is giving her baby to Chandler and Monica gives birth to twins.
* Ross and Rachel have sex: Ross thinks they’re back together but Rachel says it’s a great way for them to finish as he heads off to Paris
* Phoebe drives Ross to the airport in her cab to win Rachel back but it’s too late.
* Ross returns home and hears Rachel on his answering machine saying “I love you too, Ross.” He hears her yell at the air hostess “I want off this plane” and the stewardess saying “It’s too late we’re taking off.”
* But then Rachel walks in - Ross proposes. She accepts.
* Joey gets to keep the chicken and the duck.

MONEY.

Jeremy and I are fully aware of the fact that we aren’t necessarily the most frugal of folks. We’re not rich, but not poor by a long shot and we like gadgets and things. But we don’t just spend-spend-spend unless of course you count food. Anyway, with our busy July and vacation(s) we’ve come to the realization that we need to save our pennies for Vegas. JT has been in a pretty rotten mood about the whole thing, but I keep on reminding him that it doesn’t matter how pissy he is we’re still going and we’re still having fun. So there.

So our plan of attack? I know he’s already set up some big financial spreadsheet thing-a-ma-bob to track our in and out-going money. We’ll see if we actually use it. But what we can do is not spend as much on work drinks and food. I’ve already started my reformation. No more morning large vanilla cappucinos for me. No more lovely sushi or salad. It’s free office coffee and Lean Cuisine for me! JT will bring his lunch in the form of a bagged lunch–sandwich, cookie(s), chips, etc… Plus, I’ve dedicated the money I make at Epinions to Vegas. I should have a good deal by then–maybe enough for our plane tickets and the cost of our hotel for a few nights.

In any case it’s all for my sister…and she’s reading this so she will definitely know the trouble we’re going through to afford this trip. It doesn’t help that JT is in school for his master’s. That amounts to $1000 per class per semester–this sememster over $2k and next something like $1k. It sucks, but it IS an investment in the future. Grrrr…why does education have to cost so much damn money?