The quote is from one of my very favorite Jason Anderson songs, El Paso. It has been running through my head a lot this week.

My friend Jeff Barszcz took his own life on Tuesday. Processing his death has taken a lot out of me even though this news did not come as a surprise. Jeff was battling with depression as long as I had known him, but I knew he had been depressed long before that. A few friends and I had, I believe, helped pull him out of it before. Before I moved to Chicago, Jeff was one of my very best friends. I often called him Jeffers. I was quite fond of his cat Wally, whom he often called Mister. He deeply loved his cats. He had a real connection with them. When my first hedgehog Hoggle died, I went into a deep depression over the loss of the first pet Zachary and I had. Hoggle was the first pet either of us owned outside of our family pets. A lot of friends did not know how to respond to me losing Hoggle, but because Jeff knew the deep pain I felt, he sent me this e-mail:

Hi. I’m really sorry about Hoggle. I know exactly how you feel, but please don’t blame yourself. You loved him and that’s all that matters. I spent over $2500 in vet bills trying to save Wally and I still kept thinking about what else I could have done, but you know what? I loved him so much and I tried my best. So did you with Hoggle. He was lucky to have someone like you to care for him. He’s in your heart forever.

Hang in there. It will get better.

Hugs,
Jeff

It is heartbreaking because I feel like I could have sent most of this e-mail that he had sent me to my other friends who tried very hard to save Jeff. Since moving away from the DC area in 2003, I had not gotten to see Jeff a lot, but the times we did get to see one another were very happy. He visited me in Chicago once while I was dating a previous dude and I got to take Jeff to see Jason Anderson at Texas Ballroom. I got to see Jeff whenever I went back to DC before he moved to Seattle. Zachary got to meet him when we went to Seattle together in spring 2009. Jeff took us to his favorite coffee shop, Espresso Vivace Sidewalk Bar.

Sadly, the last time I saw Jeff was in December 2009. He had a manic episode while I was with him and I tried everything in my power to help lift him up and he was still unhappy. I felt like I had failed him. After that episode, I pulled away from him. I never told him that I was doing so. We would still IM from time to time, but the friendship was not the same as before. When I called a mutual friend to inform him of what happened, he said he had always “sensed a darkness in” Jeff. The only solace I find in Jeff’s passing is that he is at peace now. His humor, his wit, his taste in food and music were all huge influences on who I am today. He will be sorely missed by so, so many.

Films watched 19th week of the year:

Foxes (1980)
The Immortals
EL BULLI – Cooking in Progress*

*documentary

This week was great overall, but the best news is that Zachary and I are betrothed! He said he had an early birthday present for me and he put on a puppet show and then one of the puppets came up with the ring box in his mouth and he asked “Will you be my Mrs. Boo?” This has been in the works for awhile. The ring was my Great Aunt Norma’s, but it first had to be appraised and then re-sized and reinforced. I knew it was going to happen, but I just didn’t know the when. I assumed it would be sometime around my birthday and I was right. We went out for celebratory gelato at Black Dog Gelato with Kirstie & Jason.

The photos above are the finished result of our taking the Woodworking Beginner to Intermediate class at Pagoda Studios. We can say without a doubt that it was worth it. We left the class with knowledge of basic woodworking tools as well as a cutting board that we made with our own hands! Zachary was going for a bomber (22 oz. beer) cutting board, but it ended up looking like a wine bottle, which was good too. Of course I made a hedgehog. This was the second class that I’ve taken on Dabble. If you haven’t heard of Dabble, it’s a site that offers affordable classes ranging from vermicomposting to woodworking to Photoshop, etc.: Dabble. I cannot recommend Joseph’s class enough. Take it and you will not regret it. I have to give props to Heidi for blogging about his class in the first place.

I said I would eat out less this week and I failed at that. I did get to see many awesome friends though.

MUSIC-A-LEIGH, I saw Mahogany at Subt on Friday night. The last time I saw them was November 8, 2002 at WMUC Third Rail Radio. They remained great, but very different from nearly 10 years ago. Dang, I am old.

Films watched 18th week of the year:

Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback*
The Unbelievable Truth
Margaret
Sweet Revenge
Three Coins in the Fountain

*documentary

Margaret was incredible. Really interesting shots. Great acting by all. Anna Paquin’s portrayal of a teenage girl was fantastic. I keep thinking back to it. Definitely worth a watch.

I ate far too many meals out this week, but most of the time I used my calories wisely. Above is the exception. The photo was taken of my chicken & waffle (no bacon) lunch at Inspiration Kitchen. Chicagoans, take note: this is not only a place to get a delicious meal, but by dining there, you are supporting a wonderful cause. I got to witness another awesome cause in action right before my co-workers and I ate lunch there: Fresh Moves. Fresh Moves is a converted CTA bus that serves as a mobile produce market that goes from food desert to food desert, supplying affordable vegetables where there are none available. My birthday is coming up on 5/10. I don’t want anything for my birthday, but if you want to spend money on me, please donate to Fresh Moves here instead.

This week, my friend Brandy said goodbye to the midwest and headed down to San Antonio for a new job that sounds perfect for her. It seems like a mass exodus is happening with friends/acquaintances leaving the Chicago-area. Everyone has good reasons, but what a bummer!

I am once again at my lowest weight. I swear to you, if you want to lose weight, My Fitness Pal, helps so much! Holding myself accountable is what has really worked for me. Also, having my friends egg me on has been motivational.

Also of note: We went to see our friend Derek’s theatre company, Chicago dell’Arte perform Comm-80s-a. A very fun and short show if you loved 80′s movies and well-choreographed dance numbers!

Films watched 17th week of the year:

Anna
Candyman: The David Klein Story*
Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement*
Leaves of Grass
Colombiana

*documentary

This week there was only one dud and it was Leaves of Grass. Every other movie was fulfilling and worthwhile in different ways. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement was the clear winner this week. Seeing people so genuinely in love makes me so happy. I bawled my eyes out. Anyone who believes that being gay is a “choice” should see this movie. It is rare that I see straight people love one another the way that Edie & Thea do in this documentary. If you like food history, then you should see Candyman: The David Klein Story. David Klein got the short end of the Jelly Belly. Zachary and I went to the Jelly Belly factory in WI and they literally had written him out of their history on the tour we went on. David Klein has a new gourmet line of jelly beans here if you’d like to support the real genius with the jelly belly.

Also this weekend was Record Store Day. Record Store Day has caused a lot of debate between me and my boo and my friends. Sure, I was excited that Numero Group was doing their pop-up shop right down the street from us at the Bottle, but then I read this that Patrick from Saki had posted and my opinion changed. I love the label. I love what they are doing for vinyl. My first Chicago friend, Dustin Drase, now works for Numero. I love the owners. Tom is our neighbor, which we just found out last week when we saw him walking his dog. However, I completely empathized with Patrick’s post. Money spent at the Numero pop-up was money that could not be spent in a record store on that day. I worked at an awesome record store in the early 00′s. It was called Now! Music and Fashion in Arlington, VA. It was everything a record store should be and it started off great, but when the neighborhood started turning over and people stopped buying, it went through two moves and then it died. Things are different today and Chicago is home to such amazing record stores that all seem to be doing okay. Sure, there is not a ton of overlap between fans buying at the pop-up shop and fans who will buy at actual record stores, but I know there is some. Why not do the pop-up a separate weekend in 2013? Because I had made brunch plans before my stance on the pop-up had changed, I ate at Bite with pals and, though I did venture into the pop-up shop next door, I did not buy anything. I bought a 7″ at Laurie’s Planet of Sound and a Monks cd and the Unrest mug at Saki. I also got to see a set by Bare Mutants, who I was very impressed by. Long live RECORD STORE day. Even in its’ short life, it’s become commercial with people standing in long lines only to hawk sought after stuff on eBay when they get home, but what’s wrong with having a day to celebrate the shops that mean so much to so many? Let’s leave RECORD STORE in RECORD STORE DAY.

Let’s go back to happy news that Z just relayed to me off Facebook: Our friends Annie and Jason are engaged! Also, now that it’s past midnight, it is Annie’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Annie!

Films watched 16th week of the year:

OSS 117: Lost in Rio
Alex in Wonderland
30 Minutes or Less
Fresh (2009) *
Hot Coffee*
Once More with Feeling

*documentary

Totally loved FRESH. I know, I know. How many documentaries about how much better locally-grown food is for us vs. processed crap can I watch, right? Zachary won’t even watch anymore of them with me, HOWEVER, I learn from each and every one that I watch. This time I learned about Growing Power, which I feel silly for not knowing about, being so close to Milwaukee. This documentary was not as flashy as Food, Inc. which I also loved, but it was definitely worth watching; lots of beautiful, happy animals and passionate people. I love these things.

Super productive week. Got my taxes done and saw that One Strange Bird was right across the street, so I finally dropped in. Awesome little shop. Because of stopping by, I made the connection that a class I had been considering taken was taught there! So, on Saturday, I took my first Dabble class: Linocut printmaking taught by owner Nicole Northway. The above photo is a picture of the lino block I carved and the prints that resulted from it. I predict many lino blocks in Rhymes with Twee’s future. At work, I noticed that one of the screws from my glasses was coming out and a simple tiny screwdriver wasn’t cutting it. I ended up having to drop in to Labrabbit, where Coyote fixed them! Coyote also showed me great frames made in the USA!

Films watched 15th week of the year:

Bending All the Rules
Into the Abyss*
ADULT.’s Three Grace(s) Triptych
Source Code
Truly Madly Deeply
Today’s Special

*documentary

CIMMfest made it possible for me to see the film Three Graces that ADULT. made and then played the score live to. It was unnerving; like Matthew Barney meets Alejandro Jodorowsky but with a 99% female cast. Though I was certain I was going to have nightmares afterwards, I somehow avoided them. I am watching Today’s Special right now and I need to go eat some Indian food ASAP.

Z and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary twice this week. On our actual anniversary (Monday), we went to our beloved Bite because we wanted to do something on the actual day and it was lovely, as always. While we were in the DC area for the Chickfactor shows, we went to a fancy dinner at Birch & Barley. It was one of *the* best meals of my life. Stuff of dreams was my appetizer: ricotta dumplings wrapped in duck prosciutto with fried capers and olives and there are two elements I am missing. Creamy and salty and the texture was just amazing. Duck as my entree was excellent also, but I wasn’t wild about the wild rice on the side. The goat milk cheesecake was flawless. One of the pricier meals we have eaten, but definitely worth every single penny and then some. Photos are above. You should probably have a napkin handy to wipe the drool from your mouth.

RE: Chickfactor at Artisphere (Arlington, VA). Seeing Stevie Jackson and Black Tambourine were the highlights for me. Spending time with Z and my family and friends this weekend was fun-filled and we ate and drank like kings every day. Truth: I ate duck Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We got a nice long walk with my parents in over the weekend, but not much other exercise. We are definitely going back to Lean Cuisines and Wii-ing every day this week!

Films watched 14th week of the year:

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia*
Sleeping With the Enemy

*documentary

Being so busy, we didn’t have a whole lot of time to watch films, but all of them were enjoyable in their own way. This is definitely a must-watch doc and it’s on Netflix instant viewing!

These bunnies were spotted wreaking havoc in the neighborhood. Police are advising keeping carrots on your person at all time to distract them from attacking.

Lots of awesome friend’s birthdays this week. I failed at being able to sing Billy Bragg’s ‘A New England’ at my friend Megan’s birthday, but I succeeded later in the week. I applied for my first craft fair of 2012 this year; for Urban Folk Circuit @ Schubas in May. Cross your fingers! I’m fighting against a cold I’m pretty sure that was tipped off by biking to work on a freezing day dressed inappropriately. Lately I’ve been researching natural remedies rather than reaching for a medicine first. So, for my sore throat I’ve been gargling and then drinking water with 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper. It actually chases away some of the soreness. As a result, haven’t gotten to work out very much for the past few days.

Tomorrow is Zachary and my 6 year anniversary! Next weekend we’re heading back to DC for the Arlington, VA Chickfactor show to celebrate. It’s great to be in love with your best friend.

Films watched 13th week of the year:

Gates of Heaven*
In Time
All That Heaven Allows
My Week with Marilyn

*documentary

This week, I watched a great deal of Shark Tank and not a lot of films. Gates of Heaven was my favorite of the week. It is a charming documentary and I connected with many of the people interviewed about the deep connection they felt to their pets. I was actually surprised to know that pet cemeteries have been around that long. In Time was a great premise, but it fell short. I felt like part of the film was yanked from one of my recent faves Timer.

Zachary and my third hedgehog is named Katniss after the Katniss in The Hunger Games. She was so thrilled that so many people went to see the movie about her! Can’t you tell?

Very tired. Brief week wrap = go! It was a busy week at work, so I didn’t make it out much during the week, but the weekend ruled. Of course we saw The Hunger Games! We went to Sarah and Todd’s wedding in Three Oaks, MI. Our friends Mark and Aubri got engaged. I had every intention to work out today, but didn’t get to. Hope to bike to work every day this week. We’ll see if the weather lets me do so.

Films watched 12th week of the year:

Orgasm, Inc.*
Like Crazy
Friends with Kids
The Hunger Games

*documentary

As a film, The Hunger Games was just about as perfect as it could have possibly been. I was expecting the worst because it was one of my favorite books ever. I am happy to report that the adaptation was really, really great. Of course there are always going to be bits left out on film that were great in the book, but they did a superb job. I can’t stop thinking about it and I am already planning to see it again.

Of note this week: I rode my bike to work three times in the lovely, albeit freakish, weather Chicago has been having! I started watching Downton Abbey and Shark Tank. Unfortunately, now I am obsessed with Shark Tank! I also went to Hon Kee (see above) and Chopper’s with Z and Donovan. It was so nice to spend time with a friend I met through the crafty universe, who I usually only see at craft fairs or randomly out at Bite. Friday night Z and I went to dinner with our besties, Kirstie & Jason, to Angel’s and enjoyed the weather and then we all watched Ken Russell’s The Music Lovers. If you are a film lover and have not delved deeper into his catalog than Tommy, you should do so.

Saturday Zachary’s efforts to see two films at the Music Box were thwarted by drunken leprechauns who had taken all the neighborhood parking, so we holed up in the Boo Haus until we ventured out onto Division Street to Delish for sustenance. We immediately felt like strangers in a strange green land. Three girls at the table next to ours seemed to be wannabe Jersey Shore cast members. A direct quote: “We’re in a Jewish Diner, bitches!” It is hard to eat pancakes while someone with Snooki’s vernacular is 5 feet from you. So hard not to laugh and/or weep for humanity.

I still haven’t found pit tickets for Radiohead in Tinley Park. I keep hoping that something will turn up, but then I read Craigslist postings of scalpers selling tickets that they purchased through the w.a.s.t.e. (Radiohead fanclub) presale for hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. I have often said that I wish they would ask an easy RH trivia question that would have to be answered in order to get to the purchase page. That would trip up at least some of the scalpers.

Films watched 11th week of the year:

OSS117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Dorian Gray (2009)
Tamara Drewe
The Music Lovers
The Woman
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America*

*documentary

Cinephiles would enjoy the last one. I somehow reached the end of the week and realized I had not watched a documentary yet, so I picked this one and finished it just under the wire. This doc about the National Film Registry turned me on to directors/films I had never heard of like Dorothy Arzner and Lois Weber and reminded me of some I had not thought about in awhile like Sherman Alexie, who directed one of my favorite films, Smoke Signals, based on his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.

The pitfall experience was failing to get tickets to Radiohead. We tried and failed on both the w.a.s.t.e. pre-sale and the WXRT presale. During the proper sale on Saturday, I had 200 level tickets in my cart on Saturday and I just could not pull the trigger. I can’t see my favorite band since 1995 from that far away. I just can’t. So, if anyone stumbles upon this blog post and can help out, my friend (old school IRL #permanent_daylight name internautte) and I (old school IRL #permanent_daylight name madflowr) are looking for two Pit or 100 level tickets. Crestfallen is the best way to describe how it feels not getting tickets to your favorite band for over half of your life. I am fairly certain it will work out in the end and we’ll find some way to see them, but currently I am feeling gutted. I had to force myself to leave the house Saturday, but I made it out and it was a good thing I did.

Adapted from the recipe I found here:

Lemon Butter Sauce:

1 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, quartered and chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 cans artichoke hearts, quartered
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine the wine, lemons and shallots in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the lemons with the back of a spoon to break up into pieces. Add the milk and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add in two cans of artichoke hearts, quartered. Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, adding each piece before the previous one has been completely incorporated. Continue until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, removing the pan from the heat periodically to prevent the sauce from getting too hot and breaking. Add the salt and pepper, and whisk to blend.

Remove from the heat and serve immediately over your favorite type of pasta or cover to keep warm.

Yield: 5 servings

I removed the couple steps I did not follow. I know this would have been better with cream, but all I had on hand was 2% milk. I would also recommend using only 1/2 or 1/4 of the lemon, depending on your tastebuds. This sauce was extremely tart and had way too much lemon incorporated into it.

Films watched 10th week of the year:

The Exploding Girl
A Fish Called Wanda
The Gate
Dirty Country*
From Prada to Nada
Waste Land*

*documentary

Winners this week were the two docs. I love documentaries. Wasteland felt especially pertinent to my job and I’m going to recommend that my co-workers watch it. Anyone who is a fan of art, living green, or a good doc would enjoy it. Dirty Country was Z’s pick, but I ended up loving it. Prudes, beware! I want to go see this guy Larry Pierce play a show in his garage one day. Watch it: Dirty Country.

Tilda doesn’t like the pigs from Angry Bids either.

I didn’t want to jinx it, but as of last week I had lost 10 lbs. since starting my new year’s resolutions. This week I threw Just Dance 2 into my workout routine. I am digging it, but I can already tell after doing it 3 times that hearing the same songs over and over is going to get boring. Being a huge music nerd, it just doesn’t make sense to me that there are so few songs. Blerg.

This week ruled. I finally went to Sun Wah for the duck feast with friends. It was everything it was quacked up to be. I attended a successful surprise party for my friend Juli of Cordinated. I redeemed my expiring Groupons at Loving Hut and Lovely Bakeshop. Bummer #1: I skipped out on Don Hertzfeldt because I needed a night off. Bummer #2: Yesterday my ladytime left me feeling useless and full of unfulfilled cravings. I made today count and Z and I made a donation run to Brown Elephant, dropped off LP mailers for Permanent Records to re-use, and dropped off plastic bags for recycling at Jewel. Tonight I made chili and the mashed cauliflower below.

RECIPE: Garlicky Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients:
1 head – cauliflower
1 TBL – butter
5 cloves – garlic
salt, to taste

Roughly chop cauliflower into pieces.
Boil for about 20 min. or until tender.
Drain in a colander.
Transfer into a bowl.
Mash with a potato masher or electric hand mixer.
Add butter and garlic.
Add salt to taste.

I modified the recipe that Juli sent me to cut some calories out (milk & cream cheese). I put a dollop of sour cream on top and it was amazing. Huzzah!

Films watched 9th week of the year:

Being Elmo*
50/50
Gogol Bordello: Non-Stop*
AI: Artificial Intelligence
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasens*
Nostalgia for the Light*
In the Line of Fire

It seemed like this week I could not watch enough documentaries. Luckily there is a plethora of them for my hungry eyes! Being Elmo blew everything else I watched this week away. Kevin Clash is from Dundalk, where my very awesome friend Laini was from before she passed away. He followed every one of his dreams and has ended up with one of the most recognizable voices in the world: Elmo. His family had documented his early days, so there is footage of him making some of his first puppets and bringing them to life. Really, really inspiring.

On Wednesday I had the second part of my root canal and on the drive home from Avondale, I saw this handmade penguin piñata in the storefront of Dulcelandia and I stopped in to check it out. This weekend my boo turned 31 and though he does love a good penguin, I couldn’t justify $20 on something we’d just smash apart. He had a nice birthday weekend anyways sans penguin.

I finally went to see Hugo and I was bummed it didn’t win Best Picture at the Oscars. I enjoyed The Artist, but Hugo was something special. Very few films these days provide that sheer sense of wonderment that Hugo did. I couldn’t stop telling Z how much I loved it after we left the theatre. It made me feel like life was full of possibilities. Also awesome this week was that Z and I saw The Promise Ring at the Metro and then The Holy Mountain at Music Box. It was a cool one-two punch for Z’s birthday! Z was not familiar with TPR, but I belted out nearly every song with the crowd and ran into friends aplenty. Hearing “make me a mixtape” and my boo having a great birthday weekend made for a nice week.

Films watched 8th week of the year:

Hugo (3D)
Bill Cunningham New York*
Beautiful Boy
The Crazies (2010)
Solitary Man
The Holy Mountain (Jodorowsky)

*documentary

Anyone who loves documentaries should see Bill Cunningham New York. Bill Cunningham totally rules. He has see so much in his life and documented most of it on film. He rides his bicycle everywhere. He’s had 27 stolen and yet he is such a happy person. He writes it off with a laugh. I have never known anyone like this in my life. This man has ethics that I am sure journalists today rarely, if ever, follow. It is fascinating to see someone completely married to his art, but at what cost?

My duck eating has been balancing out some bad and sad things going on. Maude, beloved store pug of Stacy at Paper Doll, passed away this week. Tilda lost her only friend. I found this news out immediately after experiencing the worst pain I have ever experienced in my entire life, after having the beginning of a root canal done on an infected tooth. Really, Wednesday was one of the worst days imaginable. Losing a longtime friend like Maude and having such an exquisite pain in my mouth. Z said he has never heard anyone outside of a movie scream like I was over the phone. My wonderful boo met me at CVS to drive me home after I picked up the pain med I was prescribed and an antibiotic for the infection. I just could not fathom driving that last few blocks in that pain. The second part of the root canal will be done on Wednesday. Reminder: STOP EATING CANDY! Additionally, this morning Tilda somehow slipped out of her Easy Walk harness and jumped on a shih tzu. I was able to wrestle her away after about 10 seconds of biting and yelping. Thankfully, the dog was alright, but it left me terrified of this ever happening again. I carried my squirming pup home where Z put the harness back on her and we tried to figure out how she escaped and were left dumbfounded. Tilda’s middle name is Houdini. Stacy of Paper Doll recommended another brand, which we are going to buy ASAP as soon as she reminds me of the brand again.

Rhymes with Twee - print gocco inks

Isn’t organizing pretty? This also allows me to see what colors I am running low on, so I can scour the internetz for them. Today I got brackets for my shelves at Home Depot so the craft room organization will continue this week. I sent in my paperwork to reactivate my IBT number, so fingers crossed they get all that done. Now comes the fun part of doing my IL sales taxes for 2009-2011. I’ve got most of it sorted out. Now I just need to sit down and do the dirty work. Yuck.

Films watched 7th week of the year:

The Bodyguard
Soldier’s Girl
Pina (3-D)*
The Artist
Drive
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

*documentary

I implore anyone reading this to go see Pina in a theatre. It is a work of art that you will never see anything remotely close to in your lifetime. The rest of the films I saw this week were good, but none lived up to the hype that preceded them, except, let’s be real here: The Bodyguard.

I made vegan rice crispy treats tonight. I used the recipe here, but I only used 3 1/2 cups of crisp rice cereal because I wanted mine extra gooey! I had bought some Dandies back at Vegan Mania in late 2011, but I hadn’t used them yet, so this was the perfect way to do so. These are definitely best when warm. Due the vegan-ness nature, they harden up pretty quickly. I am a weirdo who doesn’t eat gelatin, but does eat poultry. I miss marshmallows sometimes and Chicago Soydairy’s Dandies are absolutely spot on.

Apparently I had not been getting some important mail from the Illinois Department of Revenue forwarded to my “new” (April 2011) address and this led them to put a levy against me and they nearly garnished my wages at my day job (for $67). Just bonkers. To fight this thing, I am further organizing my craft room, especially all of my sales tax documents. One day, when it’s all done, I will post photos of the finished product. Actually, this makes me want to google and see how other crafters maintain their files. As a result of all this clean-up, I fell slightly behind on my working out. I still ate pretty healthy to balance that out. Luckily, cleaning burns calories and I’ve been doing a heck of a lot of that. Phew!

On Friday night Z and I had Eliza and Mike over and played a game that Z had gotten me for Christmas called Creatures. The game was super fun and I hope they make an expansion pack that has a hedgehog in it! All of the awesomeness that Kickstarter.com has brought into the world is astounding. Friends of my friend nickd funded their game Cards Against Humanity. This game has become a staple of nick and erin’s parties. It is a thrilling thing to see just how many sick minds are in one room, in one group of friends.

Films watched 6th week of the year:

Family Plot
Eden Lake
Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop*
One Day

*documentary

Eden Lake surpassed any expectation that I had of it. I enjoy an occasional horror film, but I wasn’t planning to watch this with Z. In the first 5 minutes, I was hooked. This put the THRILL in Thriller. Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly’s performances were some of the best I have ever seen. It felt so believable. It made me scour both of their IMDB profiles and I found this quote from Michael Fassbender which made me love him even more:

[on being nude in films and full frontal nudity in Shame] To be honest with you again, I think it’s the idea of male frontal nudity. It just baffles me: Women can parade around naked all the time, but the guy conveniently has his pants on. I remember my mom always complaining about that to me, saying, “This is such bullshit, it’s always the women who are naked” … so I did this one for you, Mom!

Leigh preparing to Wii!

This was a good week filled with fun and friends. I still haven’t made a whole lot of progress on the craft room, but I did manage to put up shelves by myself. This was a milestone! Also, I finally found some new storage for my A2 cards at IKEA: SAMLA box with lid. Z took the above photo of me pre-Wii Fit one day. In order to better track my calories, I switched from the Lose It! app to My Fitness Pal. It has far more foods listed, so I don’t have to make up my own makeshift recipes as often. They actually have multiple variations of avocado rolls to choose from. Hooray! I wish the Wii had an option I could pick so it did not show me my BMI/weight every day. I’d rather see my weight once a week so it’s not such a constant up and down. Since we started Wii Fit-ing in early January, Z and I have lost 5 lbs., but then every few days it fluctuates back or forth.

Films watched 5th week of the year:

Alice in Wonderland (1933)
Sweetgrass*
A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop
The Men Who Stare at Goats

*documentary

Sweetgrass was really fascinating. It is a documentary about sheep herding through the mountains of Montana. It uses natural sound. No music, no narration and very little speaking at all. Definitely something we are not used to seeing these days. One of the couple times there was speaking, I learned some brand new swears. Definitely worth a viewing if you think sheep are cute. Holy sheep!