The Skinny on Men

Has anyone else noticed that especially lately, because really this has been going on for a couple of years now, more and more men are wearing skinny jeans? It started with Kate Moss and then inevitably Sienna Miller because those chicks have style. Personally I think they are NOT flattering unless you are a size 2 and 6 ft tall. I've tried on many occasion to talk myself into liking them and event bought a pair that sat in my closet never worn. What concerns me is all these dudes wearing skinny jeans. It's just not right! Men should not wear skinny jeans because their packages bulge (or not), they get a wedgie and you can see their happy trail. Sorry but I don't want to see that on some 90 pound musician dude. Ever. And really its all these musicians that are doing it. And not just a certain musical genre either. It's most musicians, musical men or artists of some sort that are wearing these jeans. I just don't get it or see the fashion in them for men. I'm disturbed.

A couple of things...

First, Bowie had to go to the vet this morning because he's been running a very high temperature, not eating or drinking, unable to jump on high surfaces and literally sleeping all day long. It's been going on for about a week but I didn't really pay it too much attention. After all, Super Target, our new kitten, has totally thrown Bowie's schedule off. I thought he was just tired from playing all day with a 2 pound fur ball of a tornado. Then last night, to my horror, he couldn't jump on the bed, wouldn't eat Fancy Feast, and for anyone who has a cat you know they're sick when they turn that smelly sh#t down, and was burning up. We decided to wait until the vet opened this morning rather than spending the double-price at the ER vet. So at 7am Bowie and I sat in the waiting room for the vet to look at him. Turns out the kitten carried a virus that he was immune to, but Bowie wasn't. Bowie is now on antibiotics for the next 10-days and is currently hiding under the bed where inevitably the kitten is torturing him. Poor thing. I feel like I have a sick baby at home.

Second, if you'd like to listen to Eric's new music project, The Heart Eyes Open, you can by going to www.neverbnation.com/hearteyesopen. It's a very rough copy of the demo so pardon the fact that it needs mixed again then mastered. It'll give you an idea of what he's working on. It's really good. No, really!

Lastly, I ordered a digital camera online and it should arrive any day now. Once I get it I too will be addicted to ebay. I can't wait. I have a closet full of clothes that I'm certain can make me some money, plus all the random household stuff we don't want/need/or use. I can't wait to start. Once I get some capital I'm going to start yard selling and get some more business going that way. Now, if I could only limit myself to selling and not buying...

Randy Pausch

Did anyone watch the TV special on Randy Pausch that aired about 2 months ago? I think Dateline carried it. Eric an I watched it and by the end of the show we were both near tears at this man's story. He was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer and given 3-6 months to live. Before he was diagnosed the University he teaches at asked each Professor to do a "last lecture" series which considering the news he would find out is ironic.

One thing that really struck me about his story is that he and his wife decided not to tell their 3 young children of his illness. This morning he died at his home. I can only imagine how shocked and confused they now must be and even more so when they are old enough to realize they never knew what he was going through.

If you're in the mood for a tear jerker read on...

Pork, the other MH

Right before I got married last year I decided to see who would carry on the "Michelle Harbst" name to ensure it would be survived by someone worthy of sharing a name with me. To my horror and alarm there is another MH (see pic below) however she and I are quit different, to say the least.

For me, the Harbst last name is more than just the end of me being single. I am the last of my family line. As my Father tells me, "you were supposed to be a boy". Oops. Sorry about that. I had promised my Father at my sister's wedding that I would hyphenate my last name when I married however I no longer plan on doing that. I could come up with some logical reasons but for practical sake I don't want to have to spell out two last names every time I leave a phone message or have to write a check. Plus that only does any good if my kids, boys-in-particular, continue to keep the Harbst in their last name. Sooner or later we'll be an Indian tribe with 16 last names. That's just too much work and there's not enough room on the family tree for all that writing.

I do feel bad though because I did promise my dad. But then I consider both my older sisters and their surnames and really, they should have done this rather than leave it to a last-resort. In my temporary defense, legally, I still am a Harbst because I haven't changed my social security, drivers license or any of my financial obligations to Martin. And besides all of that, Martin isn't even the real family last name. It was changed when Eric's Grandfather moved here from Romania and couldn't get a job without a more "American" sounding surname so they changed it. It was Maladene, which in my opinion, is better. But I've only been in this family for 8 months so I don't think it's my place to change over 60 years of family heritage just yet.

Introducing the other MH... and no her hair is not pulled back in a pony tail, it's shaved.

Get Fuzzy

The one comic I don't think I could ever out-grow.

I heart The Fish

Last night Eric and I ventured out of our sushi-routine and tried a new place. The one bad thing about trying a new sushi place is if it sucks then you end up paying $50+ for a crappy meal. We discovered a gem of a place only a few blocks from our house and have been frequenting it so much now that all the servers know our names.

That was a sign to try a new place.

Plus, with so many sushi bars opening in Dallas there is so much competition going on to get business that everyone does some sort of cheap-night or happy hour. We're making the sushi work for us rather than the other way around and last night it really paid off.

I did a search on Pegasus, which if you live in a big city and have never looked at happy hours on HERE stop reading this right now and go look.

I found a new place, The Fish, that just opened in the cluster-F that is Uptown and decided to give it a shot. After circling the one-way labyrinth of McKinney Ave and Lemmon a couple of times, and swear words later, we found it and it was worth it. 4 decent-size rolls, 1 appetizer (yummy Lobster egg rolls) and 1 drink later our bill was only $27!

Amazing and delicious.

GUN SHOT SURVIVOR

Linda Burnett ,23, a resident of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws and while there went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda replied that she had been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour. The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head. A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered.

Linda is a blonde, and a Democrat, and an Obama supporter, but that could be irrelevant.

Introducing Target

Friday night on our way to return our new bedding at Target we pulled into the parking lot and noticed on the grassy area outside about 20 cats lounging. We stopped immediately to investigate, thinking that maybe we were being punked. The cats, mostly all full-size besides the 4 or 5 that were kittens, were just lounging in the grass. It was so bizarre. As we stood there bewildered a few other cars stopped and we all chatted about how strange what we were seeing was. After a couple of minutes a SUV pulled up and all the cats went running to the driver side of the car when a grey-haired women stepped out holding cans of cat food. This lady, Jacqui I think her name was, has been feeding these cats, who are totally feral, for about 10 years now. She's even paid for all of them to be spade and neutered so they stop pro-creating. She's a big Bob Barker fan.

We had a nice chat with Jacqui and asked her about one of the kittens, who couldn't have been more than 7 weeks old. Apparently this little one must have been recently abandoned by one of the near-by apartment residents. As the kitten was eating I walked up to it and picked it up. That little kitty is now our little kitty. How could we just leave it there to that sort of life!? I know, I know, I know. We appear to be turning into "those cat people" but there was just no way to leave that tiny little baby out there in the wild.

So Target, the newest addition to our family, is happily at home right now playing boisterously with David Bowie. They get along so well. Target is timid around Eric and I but LOVES Bowie and Bowie is enjoying the 24-hour entertainment. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Gender to be confirmed after his/her vet appointment.

I love Target, now in more ways than one. Next time I go at dusk though I'll be sure to just park the car instead of taking another kitten home.

FREE Slurpee!

Tomorrow, July 11th, in honor of the national "7-11 Day" you can get a free slurpee from participating stores. You know what this means, slurpee for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Awe. Yeah. I may have an addiction problem here.

So I have to write about a book I just started reading last weekend that has really made me question a lot of things I do with money and how I view it. The book is "Total Money Makeover" and it's equally awesome and enlightening and also cruel and depressing. His whole idea, which doesn't seem like it should even be considered an idea but more of a norm is to only spend what you have. Duh. But in a time of credit card offers left and right and the "spend now, pay later" mentality it's so darn easy to fall into the trap and find yourself 6 feet under covered in past due bills.

I'll be honest, I've always had a problem with shopping. I love getting something new whether it be a new notebooks, eye shadow or clothes; I just love shopping. When I was single it was no problem to lavish myself at department stores because in the end I was the one who would suffer the consequences, which was usually not enough money to buy groceries. Now that my finances are "our" finances though I can't justify buying something without first consulting my other-half. And, since we're living on a tight budget, asking if I can spend $100 at Target on stuff I don't need just doesn't fly. Don't get me wrong when I say "ask" because trust me, I hate the idea of having to ask someone else to spend my money. But again, it's "our" money. It's a vicious cycle.

Back to the book... Dave's money-game-plan is to pay off one bill at a time until you are, however many months and cute-less clothes later, debt-free. Eric and I don't have a ton of debt considering how much the average American owes, but we still want to be debt-free and with money in a savings account so we can plan and take trips instead of crossing our fingers that we can eventually afford to leave the state of Texas like we have been. So this is our first official month on this plan. The first card to be paid off will be the Discover card. Then WaMu. Then British Airways, which will take a wwwhhhiiilllleeee. Then the medical bills, again this is going to take some time. Then then then then. However many months down the road when we are completely free from credit card dependency and receiving 18 paper bills each month, we can smile and know we did a good thing so early into our marriage.

If you have any debt, read this book. It's really good. Plus, Dave, the guy that wrote it is a Christian so there's lots of good scriptures mentioned throughout the book that will make you want to get on your face and repent. I tore my clothes and put ashes on my head after the first chapter.

Free slurpee and a great book. Good times.