Spooooky

Happy Halloween! [INSERT GHOST NOISES]

It's going to be a really creepy Halloween... more on that Monday when I share photos of me and Andrew in our costumes.

For now, behold our pumpkin.



Sorry there aren't more photos, but I was busy sorting the seeds from the guts while Andrew emptied that sucker out. You can't really tell from the photo but this was quite a warty and ugly pumpkin. Perfect for a witchkin. (Just made that up. Did you like it?)

Of course we roasted the seeds. We also roasted the seeds from a butternut squash we had for dinner the other night. Inspired by Andrew's sister's boyfriend (follow me?), who is a chef, we went gourmet. We divided the seeds into four batches and ended up with the following delicious combinations (combinations IS a word, stupid spellcheck! Gosh!):

*Traditional salt and butter (made with sea salt for kicks)
*Curry and Chile Powder (these were gone in about ten minutes)
*Honey and Paprika (sounds kinda gross, but was delicious. trust me.)
*Olive oil, garlic, basil, rosemary, chopped parsley, sea salt, cracked pepper, a blend of parmesan, romano and asiago cheese and bits of pepperoni

That last recipe was Andrew's creation. What a show-off.

Trick or Treat, ya'll.

How is this possible? OR The Hanson brothers must wear boxers

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you some startling news. Forgive me if I am the last person to come upon these mind-blowing truths. Without further ado...

The Hanson brothers have SEVEN KIDS between the three of them. WHAT? Ok... ok... technically they only have six, as the seventh one isn't due until December. But what in the name of MMMBop is going on here? The oldest brother is 27 (Andrew's age) and the youngest is almost two years younger than me. Oh, and Taylor? (Still incredibly good looking, by the way.) He and his missus must be quite fertile because as of December, they will be responsible for FOUR little munchkins.

This makes my head spin.



Taylor with the fruit of his loins

Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy? Discuss.

P.S. Another Hanson fun fact: Taylor and Isaac both married pretty young thangs they met at their concerts. Just goes to show how close I truly came to marrying Justin Timberlake.

Lookin' good up in here

Hey! Welcome to the new and improved version of Cusp of Normal. What do you guys think of the new banner? Laura from Quirkology made that little dude for me. Isn't she super talented?

Thank you so much Laura! I knew this blog needed a little more flopper in its life. I'm very pleased.

Watch out for a post later today that will BLOW YOUR MINDS.

Seriously.

Here they are! Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidate Coasters

We've had these frame coasters sitting around empty since last Christmas. We have photos of us everywhere, so I really didn't feel too much pressure to rush off and have prints made for the new coasters.

Just as I was about to muster up the energy to do said photo chore, Andrew stopped me. "We have enough photos of us. Let's do something else with these..."

And so these coasters were born. Andrew and I looked through old News Weeks for the photos. I think they turned out spectacular. Also, they have already proved themselves to be awesome conversation pieces.





Sorry for the crappy photos. For anyone who isn't sure: Yes. That is Palin shooting some kind of massive weapon.

Kthxbai.

Finally!

My doctor ordered me a sleep study! Woot! I am so excited to figure out what the heck is going on in that huge brain of mine while I'm asleep.



Ever since I can remember, I've struggled with chronic fatigue. I've never had much trouble falling asleep (except for the first day of school... squee!) But I just never feel rested when I wake up in the morning. I dream constantly throughout the night, and because fibromyalgia runs in my family, I suspect I'm not getting into the proper stages of the sleep cycle that lets our bodies repair themselves.

As a child I slept until noon on the weekends, missing Saturday morning cartoons that my peers looked forward to all week. In high school, I never stuck with any after school activities because I needed my afternoon nap.

To this day, my endless fatigue impacts my every day activities. I sometimes have to take a half sick day just to muster the energy to get out of bed.

I'd love to be one of those morning people who wake up early, sip coffee while reading the paper, but I wake up twenty minutes before I should be in the office, rush around, and get to work 45 minutes late. Every day. I've worked out an understanding with my boss--who allows me to work late to make up the time. For this I am very grateful.

Well, I'm off to schedule my sleep study. The possibility of a diagnosis and treatment that will allow me to feel rested and energized for the first time in my life is absolutely thrilling. =)

Sign my yearbook?

Look at these hot mamas. I might ask them to wear my pin.





Oh and check out this doofus. He had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to go to the soda fountain with him. What a creep!

My super spooky story

Originally posted to my blog May 16, Daddy Dan featured my super spooky story on today's "Ask the Bloggers: Ghost Stories Edition."

Check it out... if you dare!

::Cue ghost noises:: Oooooohhhhoooooooohh! Oohhhoooooohhhoooooo!

Proof that your jealousy is warranted

Yeah, I've mentioned it before. He cooks. He irons. He has like seven chest hairs (What? I haven't mentioned that yet? Well, maybe that's because he JUST grew them. He's very proud of all seven of those babies.)

Here's proof that he knows his way around the kitchen. I was craving mussels this weekend, so we planned on going to one of our favorite restaurants, The Gandy Dancer, to indulge after running some errands Saturday. The problem was, we were done with our errands at 4:15 p.m. and were not quite hungry yet, as our tummies (or at least mine) were still stuffed with delicious mac and cheese from a late lunch. Also, we are not exactly an "early bird dinner" kind of couple yet. With any luck, we will never be that unhip.



Anyhow! We decided to stop at the grocery store on our way home and try to make mussels ourselves. (Ourselves obviously equals Andrew's self.) Well guess what? It was so good that I stuffed my face until I could stuff it no more. I had to actually UNZIP my jeans at the dinner table. How is that for classy? Behold!







My mouth is watering all over again. I can't wait to eat these fabulous sea creatures again immediately.

Andrew used this recipe, but he skipped the red pepper and increased the garlic tenfold.

He served the delicious garlic covered mussels with garlic basil fettucine in a
white wine clam sauce, with calamari, scallops, and shrimp. All ingredients (except the mussels) were from Trader Joe's. Nom nom nom.

Ok. Fine!

She talked me into it. Sigh.

Public Service Announcement

If you still have my old blogspot URL in your reader, you are probably getting feed updates a day or two late.

Be sure to update your reader subscriptions with the new URL www.cuspofnormal.com. Or else you will be like "so yesterday."

We know how to par-tay

Well, crap.

If I knew llamas were this affordable, I would have bought one for myself years ago.

I'm definitely giving some lucky person a llama for Christmas this year. Wait. Or a flock of chicks. Wait. Or a trio of rabbits.

Crap. There are just too many cute options. Wait. Did you say they will be eating the rabbits? Well, crap. Forget that then. They won't eat the llama right? Right?!

Read more about Heifer here. It could make holiday shopping way less stressful. And of course, the gifts will be more meaningful--even if you can't play with your livestock on Christmas morning.

Why don't you just marry him... gosh!

Ok, people. Pull up a seat. We need to have a little chat. Mermanda's not mad. She's just a little... confused.

First of all, thank you all for watching my horribly long vlog. Your sweet comments had me smiling all day. However, there is one thing that makes me shake my fists at you a little wee bit.

Nearly half of your comments are Andrew-centric. This is my blog! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! I share everything with him. My tootsie rolls. My hot chocolate. My sheets. My laundry detergent. My toothpaste. Everything. But now I have to share you all with him too? Really? Sigh.

MY blog. ::pouty face::

Ok. Just kidding--kind of. I think it is kind of adorable that you all seem to like him as much as I do.

But it's still my blog. And don't you forget it.


Andrew cooking up a storm in our old place

Happy 20SB Video Blog Day!

I think N'Sync said it best...

Baby baby we can do all that we want
We're gettin nasty nasty, we're getting freaky deaky
Baby baby we can do more than just talk
Cause I can hear ya hear ya, and I can see ya see ya
Baby baby we can do all that we want
We're getting nasty nasty, we're getting freaky deaky...

The day has finally arrived!

It's video blog day, kiddies. Let the fun begin.

Warning: this video is gratuitous in length and probably not the most interesting thing you will ever see. However, here is your chance to glimpse the elusive Mermanda in her habitat.

XO

Hours of entertainment...

Or at least like five solid minutes of unending laughter.

Palin As President

If you haven't seen this yet... you are missing out on some serious comedy.

Mermanda is a biter

Lauren at the Strict Shenaniganist tagged me for some blogging fun. I must have a blogging bug up my bum*, because I can't stop today.

Anyhow.

Here are the Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Ready? Set! Blog!

1. This one is probably no secret if you follow me on Twitter... but strong perfume makes me ill. Spraying your poison in my general vicinity is a sure-fire way to give me a killer headache and possibly make me nauseated, depending on the potency of your fragrance.

2. I am the only one who knows how to refill the PUR water pitcher in our fridge. The only one! (ahem... Andrew.)

3. In high school, I sang alto in the choir and was vice president of the Spanish club. Me gusta papas fritas.

4. My mom is a little on the paranoid side. Ok... a lot on the paranoid side. When my sister and I were kids, my mom made us go to the basement and WEAR OUR BICYCLE HELMETS during tornado warnings. My mom's panicking freaked out my little sister so bad, that she threw up this one time. This is among my favorite childhood memories.

5. When I was little, I used to enjoy stuffing ripped pieces of construction paper in envelopes, which I referred to as "enveglubs."

6. I had my recess taken away for biting a boy on the playground in 2nd grade. In my defense, we were playing a game where the boys tried to capture the girls. This boy, Ryan Bard (take that, punk. now the whole internet knows the truth!) had his arm wrapped around my neck, cutting off my air. In a move towards survival, I turned my head and bit down on his shoulder. Hard. He cried. I was sent inside and was made to write "I will not bite" a trillion times. On lineless paper. Do you remember how hard it was to write on paper without lines in second grade? That is just cruel and unusual punishment, my friends.

I tag:
Hillary
Rae
Wishcake
Rachel
Heather
Morgan

*Say that ten times fast!

I'm feeling very bloggy today OR What does George Washington have in common with a hippo?

Andrew's teeth resemble the color of wood, at least according to him. I think they are more like... alabaster*.

Anyhow, despite his complaints of George Washington teeth** he has not been to the dentist for years. Mind you, he's had dental insurance since June when he started his new job.

This weekend, he was complaining about something on the side of his tooth. Remembering I had purchased a dental pick about a year ago, he ransacked the house looking for it while I was out. Unable to find it, he asked me where I kept it so he could take care of his tooth. I said something along the lines of, "No way in hell! That is so gross! You CAN'T use my pick! EW! No! No! NOOOO! Go to the dentist****!"

So, after procrastinating for about four months, he finally broke down and called to schedule an appointment with a dentist whom was recommended to him. Turns out the practice doesn't take his insurance. Desperate for a way to unwood his teeth, he called my dentist--whom I may or may not loathe*****. The receptionist was very nice to him, and scheduled him for next Monday. When he told me this, I replied (via gchat):

Tell the dentist he hates your girlfriend. He always says mean things to me like "Unfortunately, I think you are going to live." ...Which just made me crack up laughing for some reason... I guess it IS funny after all!

*Just kidding! His teeth are really nice. See?!



**Actually, I heard that is a myth. George Washington didn't have wooden dentures. They were actually carved from the finest hippopotamus ivory and gold***. Now tell me, where did George's dentist come across a hippopotamus?

***George Washington was the first and only American President to sport a grill.

****He couldn't think of this on his own because he has a really tiny brain.

*****I don't like anyone who tries to convince me it is a good idea to take a laser to my face.

Walk the walk

We are having a walking competition at my place of employment. It is a campus-wide effort to get people to adopt a more active lifestyle. This competition is very serious. There are pedometers, teams, and prizes. I have to log into the competition web site daily to log my steps. Sometimes Andrew shakes my pedometer to help me get more steps. Don't tell.

Anyhow, yesterday I went a little bit out of my way to actually do my part and reach my day's goal number of steps for the first time since the competition began a week ago. It didn't take too much effort. I took the stairs instead of the elevator twice. I walked to the library on my lunch break. I walked two blocks to a further bus stop. End result: I had about 2,500 steps more than "my goal." (Goal is determined by competition coordinator. If it was my actual goal, I'd make it like... the number of steps it takes to sit on the couch all night.)

So the reason I'm sharing this is so you can appreciate the location of my meeting this morning. At 10 a.m. I am meeting my colleagues in front of the office building, where we will then walk around the block as we discuss an upcoming fundraiser. Yeah. We're a traveling meeting. I wish people would be standing on the sidewalks with cups of coffee for us--like they do with marathons. Or whatever. I don't really know what happens at marathons. I heard something about "running."

K. These boots were not made for walking. But I don't think my colleagues will care. Off I go. With my pedometer. ::shake:: ::shake:: ::shake::

101 Things in 1001 Days

Following Wishcake's lead, I am jumping on the "101 Things in 1001 Days" bandwagon. I like the idea of keeping each other motivated. I was going to post my list today, but after reading the site where this idea originated, I feel like my list needs some work. I think I strayed from the heart of this project, so I will reveal my list once I feel it is complete.

In the meantime, start working on your lists!

And the award goes to...

No. I am not talking about the "stupidest hair" award. We all know I already won that. (Eat your heart out, Hillary.)

Throughout the past week or so, I've been the recipient of three totally radical bloggy love awards. I am not really clear on the rules of passing these particular awards on, so I'm making them up as I go. You have a problem with that? No award for you!

Moving right along...



The "I-Less-than-Three your Blog" Award is from Rialeilani at & that's the way life goes. Ria is a great blogger because she is so open with her feelings, while respecting the privacy of those closest to her. You should really check out her blog... and her new layout! Those daisies are just too pretty.

I pass this award on to:

Who's Your Dachshund? --->I can't read this as much as I want to... or else I annoy Andrew with my pleas for a pup. No dogs allowed. :(
Two L's Please --->Hillary can try to out-stupid my hair, but it will be a long and hard battle. Also, she makes me LOL. I hope she comes to the meetup so I can ply her with booze to recreate the toilet shot of fame.
Simply, me. --->Wishcake is pretty much the most adorable thing on the Interwebs right now. She even beat out lolcats. One of her readers commented something on her blog to the effect of "You are so adorable that I want to put you on a shelf." Yeah. I feel that way too.
Lots Better Then Your Blog ---> Falwless makes me snort sometimes. I'm kind of a new reader, and feel like the uncoolest person in the class when I read her blog... but it is worth the performance-anxiety.
ramblings of a semi-literate mind --->Jossie is one of my newest commenters, and I am so glad she found my blog. She is one tough cookie and she totally introduced me to Joshua Radin. Thanks! I can't wait to buy his album.





The "A Perfect Blend of Friendship Award" is from Sleepy Jane. Nicole is such a wonderful caring person--someone I would love to know in real life. Her heart bleeds for those in need and she uses her blog to promote causes near and dear to her heart. Oh, and did I mention she is also a doggy blogger at Who's Your Dachshund?

I pass this award on to:
Oh! How Lovely! AND Oh! How Lovely! Shops Yes, that is how much I adore Jamie. She gets this award TWICE. She is totally cute and has the best hair ever, so even though she can never compete in my battle for the stupidest hair... I really think she is neat. She is another blogger who I can't wait to meet in person. I envision lots of squealing and hugs. Her Oh! How Lovely! Shops blog is a serious threat to my bank account, because she has a knack at finding beautiful unique art, jewelry, clothes, etc. Oh... she's also another awesome blogger for Who's Your Dachshund?.

No Ordinary Rollercoaster --->Ben is yet ANOTHER Who's Your Dachshund? blogger. He is my blog boyfriend--but don't tell anyone I said that. I don't want a pack of rabid 20-something bloggers mobbing me to get close to him. When Ben leaves me a comment, nine times out of ten it leaves me in stitches. He says our expectations of him will never live up to reality when our paths cross in Boston, but I personally DO NOT BELIEVE HIM AND THINK HE IS JUST BEING MODEST. Just sayin'.

Free and Flawed --->She cracks me up with her paint illustrations (I really miss your trainer, Jenn). She has contests to name her skeleton. She inspires me to be more thankful with her lists of things that make her happy. Oh, and she's doing a hell of a lot of work to make the 20SB meetup a reality.


Half Deserted Streets --->See my love letter to Lauren below.




The "I Heart Your Blog" award comes from Lauren at Half Deserted Streets. Lauren feels like someone I've known forever, though we've never met. We have a lot in common--except for how she was in the circus and everything. She is a tremendous writer and from what I hear--she can whip up a mean pumpkin spice cookie. I can't wait to hang out with her in Boston this summer at the 20SB meetup. It will be incredibly silly. And awesome. Did I mention awesome?

Kyla Bea --->I know I already gave Kyla an Award a few months ago... but I can't help it! She's so sweet. And ambitious. And talented. And beautiful. (Blog crush, anyone?)


The Typing Makes Me Sound Busy --->I've said it before and I'll say it again. J-Money is the funniest blogger around. I invited her to a picnic this summer, but that was the week she was away drinking on a boat or something. Can I tell you how happy it would have made me to see J-Money and Pigpen (dressed as a unicorn) in person? I would have exploded. Really. So I guess it is a good thing it didn't work out. It could have been messy.

I'm a mom in real life --->I don't think Rachel reads my blog, but we are twitter pals. Though I am way better than her at Presidential Bingo... she is really rad. I like reading about her mommy exploits and watching videos of her daughter doing crazy things like pass out on top of the family pet covered in stickers. I hope I can be so lucky one day.

Chrissy: QOFE --->Chrissy just won the hottest mommy blogger's choice awards. I think that means we will be seeing her naked soon. Hawt!

Arjewtino --->I'm a fairly new reader of this blog, but he is VERY funny. He does social experiments and he even has an iphone. (Though it does kind of make him look like a jackass.)

My hair is having a nervous breakdown

Hi! I'm back. Healthy and stuff. Thanks for your well wishes. So do you remember that battle we were having for the stupidest hair? Well, today I take gold, my friends. I'm having a hair tantrum. It's really bad, people. I couldn't get the layers to curl under at all this morning. No my hair is sticking out in 90 degree angles. I wish I was exaggerating. But alas, the proof is in the pudding crappy cell phone pic. Oh. And did I mention I have a zit the size of a pencil eraser? Yeah, you're not seeing a picture of that. Trust me, you don't want to. So here is the conundrum: I wanted to grow out my hair because Andrew likes it long (what guy doesn't?) and I'm told there are wedding bells in my future. I never imagined myself walking down the aisle with a choppy short frisky hairdo. But you know what? I think that is just what I'm going to do. I called Andrew telling him about my hair issues this morning. Me: I'm having a hair conundrum. Andrew: A what? Me: Hair conundrum! Andrew: Hair tantrum? Me: [laughing] That's not what I said, but it actually works. Yes. Hair tantrum. It is sticking out in a 90 angle. I look so dumb. Andrew: Where are you? Me: In my office! Looking dumb in my office! [pause] I think I want a haircut. Andrew: Are you asking my permission to get a hair cut? Honey! What happened to being an independent woman? Me: But you like it long! You want me to grow it out! Andrew: I never said that. Me: I just want to look nice. Andrew: Well it doesn't sound like that's working. So anyhow, I am going to call it quits on this "grow out my hair" business. My hair was long my entire life--until a year ago. And I've never felt more "me" than I do with my funky choppy frisky Mandy Moore haircut. That is all.

Sick Day

Dear Blog,

I am not feeling well today. I think I'm fighting off a bug. I called in sick at work today... and slept until 2 in the afternoon. I think that will bite me in the ass tonight when I can't fall asleep until 2 a.m.

Blog, I just don't have anything interesting to report today. My brain is gooey and I haven't even showered yet. How can you expect me to be funny? That's not very fair.

I have three loads of laundry to do, blog! I didn't do any laundry this weekend. And now I am out of my favorite underwear. Not good.

At least I will have some time to get caught up on my reading today. Blog, did you know there is only like ten weeks left of 2008? That means I have basically no time left at all to read 15 books in order to reach my goal of 50 books in '08. I have to get moving. Ugh. Now who is going to carry me upstairs so I can shower? Anyone?

Love,
Mermanda

Last night...

Andrew: Are you happy?
Me: Yes! Are you?
Andrew: Yes... except for how you just tricked me into dancing to Gavin DeGraw in our bedroom. Sorry. I mean YOUR bedroom.

Hehe... isn't he a cutie pie?

Yeah, sometimes I call "our" things "mine" accidentally. Oops.

P.S. This weekend, I made my video blog entry for the 20SB video blog day, Oct. 22. I am so excited to share it with you!

So long, For Real? Friday...

My heart isn't in it anymore. For Real? Friday is officially Cusp of Normal history. If you left yours in the original packaging, it could be a real collector's item some day.

Anyhow, I want to tell you kiddos what I'm up to today. I'm collaborating with a graphic designer colleague to make posters on proper hand washing techniques for the work bathrooms. The fact that this is actually necessary is extremely sad. We are adults. Past first grade, we should not have to be taught that washing your hands with soap and water after poop/pee time is the right thing to do.

It makes me shudder when I'm in the stall, doin' my thang, when I hear someone turn on the faucet for approximately half of a second before dashing out of the bathroom. When it comes to stopping the spread of germs, there is no "A for effort," people. Turning on the water for a split second does not count.

I guess I am just on a lifelong mission for hand-cleanliness because when I was an RA in college, I made tons of signs for the girls' bathroom promoting hand washing. It was starting to seriously make my stomach turn watching these young co-eds flee the bathroom within seconds of flushing.

One poster I made had a picture of Usher, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and other pop icons, with the caption: "Wash your hands. All the cool kids do it."

Now, that may or may not be true... but I had to use whatever ammunition I could get my hands on. (I bet Paris doesn't wash her hands every time. Sick.) College students are not the cleanest bunch, as you probably already know.

But professionals? I know you are busy... but it only takes 15 seconds with soap and water to do a thorough job after using the bathroom. That's about as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song. But please, I beg you, sing to yourselves.

The girl who cried, "I can't smell anything!"

Do you know the difference between a fib and a lie?

I like to fib a lot to bring some spice to my day. You know, if Andrew asks me how my day is going, I might just reply that it was fine until I lost my sense of smell just moments ago... when in fact my smeller works fine. Then in the middle of our conversation, I might interrupt to say, "Oh, my sense of smell is back!"

Why do I do this? I guess because I am simple and easily amused.

On a serious note

Last night I played with the 2001 Google archives. At first, I started Googling silly things like my own name and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

But when I realized the archives were from January 2001, it hit me. This is my chance to visit a time when 9/11 did not yet exist.

Immediately, I googled "World Trade Center." You can click on the link to see my results. There's not one mention of Osama Bin Laden, burning towers, terrorists, or September 11.

While visiting pages of WTC observation deck tours, I started to cry. I saw a view of Manhattan that will never again exist. I thought of all the people who perished with that same view in sight--albeit likely masked by giant plumes of black smoke.

Thank you, Google, for bringing me back to the simpler days. Who says there is no such thing as time travel?

Where does strawberry milk come from, smart guy?

I had a funny conversation with Lauren from Half Deserted Streets yesterday. She was frantic that she had just ruined one of her most precious childhood memories by discovering Olivia Newton-John was in fact, not singing about exercise in her song "Physical." Oh, Lauren. That video had a lot of us fooled.



To comfort her, I explained that I used to think chocolate milk came from brown cows. (Thanks to my cruel aunt who thought it would be funny to plant lies in the head of her sweet little niece.)

Tell me the strange things you believed as a child.

Hell Yes We Can!

Never fails to crack me up...

Melts my heart

Did you see this yet? My heart is now a giant puddle.

Look at those faces. Obama is completely at peace, while the boy and his father(?) look like they've never been happier. I almost burst into tears looking at this. Hormonal much?


Yes We Can (Hold Babies)!

Why I've been a stranger

Hi. Do you remember me? I know it's been a while. I'm sorry. Really. But I have a few good excuses prepared as to why I've neglected my blog for a few days. I will present my excuses in list-form, as I know you all appreciate a good list.

1. Not many people can say, "Since the market has collapsed, I've been so busy at work!" Not many people... except me. I guess this means I'll have job security for a while. My phone will not stop ringing.

2. How do you expect me to blog when I'm busy with dinosaurs? Andrew and I went to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History this weekend with his parents. For his dad's Christmas present last year, the kids chipped in to adopt him a dinosaur bone. This Saturday was the first time he got to see his Stegosaurus vertebrae in person.




Jack R. pictured at the excavation site of the Stegosaurus Dinosaurus Maximus in 1865.



Not only did he get to see his dino bone, but I found my new favorite dinosaur. Um. It has feathers. How cool is that? It is yet unnamed according to the exhibit, but you can see it below along with an image of what it might have looked like when it roamed the Earth. You know, before that big meteor hit the world and drastically changed the eco-system leading all land-dwelling creatures but a few birds to demise? (Yeah, I learned a lot!) If anyone is looking for gift ideas for me, I wouldn't mind having this feathered dino named after me. The Mermandasaurus. Has a nice ring to it, huh?



Mermandasaurus pictured with name-sake, 2008.

I also got to pay a visit to my original favorite dinosaur, the pterodactyl. Aren't we a cute couple?





Mermanda tries out her Blue Steel with long-time companion, Pteradactyl Joe.



3. I celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the city of Pittsburgh. See? That's really important. I might not be around for the tricentennial. And even if I am, I doubt I'll want to sit in two-hour traffic to watch $1 million worth of fireworks. With fireworks being set off from 17 locations around the city, it was the biggest fireworks display in U.S. history (unless I made that up. Just pretend, m'kay?)




Fireworks are better when shared with a glow-stick.
(Photo Credit: Sidney L. Davis/Tribune-Review)



4. I drank The Best Pumpkin Beer Ever. Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale. So good when it touches your lips. A perfect blend of pumpkin and spice and ale. (You didn't know I was such a connoisseur of beer, did you? Just full of surprises today.)

5. I got caught up on my reader. Phew! You kids can sure blog like there is no tomorrow.

So what do you say? Do you forgive me?

Say yes and I'll throw in a bonus blog at Oh! How Lovely!

I won't make that mistake again tonight

Day two of the running program ended with a terrible cramp in my right side. It hurt so much that I suspected one of my organs burst. When we returned from the run, I settled into the couch with a glass of water--slowly returning to a normal breathing pattern. That's when Andrew was reading the running program details and yelled from the other room, "Oh! We were doing it backwards! We ran more than we needed to! We should have ran for 60 seconds and walked for 90 seconds... we did it the other way around!"

Can I explain to you, my dear readers, how much this upset me?

A normal person might have said, "Oh! Wow! We ran more than we had to and lived to tell the tale! We are on our way to being marathon runners!"

But not me. I said, "WHAT?! NOOOOOOOO! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

Yeah. I think this is why I've never been in shape.

UFO sighting OR: Proof that I have a loose screw

As I stood up from my desk chair yesterday afternoon, this UFO (unidentified falling object) fell to the floor. I have no idea what it is or where it came from. I guess it is just proof that I do in fact have a loose screw.

Either that or my desk chair is about to collapse beneath me now that it is missing some suspiciously alien piece of hardware.

(Sorry for the piss-poor quality of the photo. My camera phone is approximately three thousand years old in Verizon years.)