her own eyes

goal: log into library account.
step 1: try at least 4 different variations on what i think my password might be.
step 2: give up trying to remember and click "forgot my password."
step 3: check e-mail and find link to reset password.
step 4: before resetting password, try logging in one more time. IT WORKS.

goal: obtain stopwatch so i no longer have to count running intervals off in my head.
step 1: dismiss iphone as viable stopwatch option because i don't want to carry it with me when i run.
step 2: run for a week without stopwatch because keep forgetting/being too lazy to get one.
step 3: finally make the effort to go to walgreens for stopwatch. they don't have it.
step 4: cross street to cvs. no stopwatch.
step 5: return home and start looking on amazon.com for stopwatch. some wristwatches come up, in addition to the ones i was picturing that i'm pretty sure we used to use in gym class in elementary school.
step 6: realize i HAVE a wristwatch lying around that probably has a stopwatch function.
step 7: find watch. figure out how to work stopwatch feature. go for run.

we have moved into the future.

not only is there, as you may have noticed, this stylish new look, a.k.a. movable type's "microblogging" theme, BUT now you can confirm your non-roboticness (a.k.a. "human-ness") when you comment through the magic of CAPTCHA. and not just any CAPTCHA, but reCAPTCHA! now not only are we preventing spam, but we are contributing to the betterment of society (i.e., helping to digitize books).

so START COMMENTING. it's good for you and everyone else.

i borrowed american teen from a local library (sidenote: i recommend it. it even features a text-message breakup!). after the movie had ended, i don't know what came over me. perhaps i was just so excited about having an actual dvd (usually we watch things on the internet). for one reason or another, i clicked over to the special features and started watching "hannah blogs." i guess hannah must have had a pet rat because as she's talking all of a sudden a rat starts climbing all over her. and i'm like ... uh where did that come from.

but i wasn't the only one who noticed! suddenly andré perked up and started paying attention to what was happening on-screen. tyler and i looked at each other. despite living with lauren "tv queen" biscombe, andré had never shown a particular interest in televised entertainment. but next thing we knew, he had repositioned himself to get a closer look at the screen. (a front row seat, if you will.)

hannah could only blog so much, so eventually we ran out of rat footage. but this is, after all, the twenty-first century, so we clicked on over to youtube to search for rat videos. and naturally, youtube did not disappoint. andré could not get enough.

this particular video was called "Rats are Friends, Not food" (subtitle: "A cat and a rat having too much fun").

maybe you had to be there, but because i was, let me tell you: there is nothing more HI-LARIOUS than a cat watching videos of rodents on youtube.

in virginia this fall, i was leafing through family photo albums at my gram apple's. i picked out some of my favorite pictures and used her new scanner (! that i had set up myself, thank you very much) to preserve them for posterity (or as long as these computer-contraptions stick around).

looking closer at this picture of the younger versions of me, my little brother, and assorted cousins, i realized i HAVE THOSE SHOES.

exhibit a:

exhibit b:

i don't even remember the original versions, but they must have stuck around in some dusty corner of the subconscious because i somehow managed to repurchase them 10+ years later.

now i'm paranoid that every item in my closet is an attempt at recreating my childhood wardrobe. except that red sweater my oma knit me when i was little. that i know is actually from my childhood and i do still wear it.

i am taking a 5 hr, 47 min train ride on tuesday, leaving before the mail comes. so if i wanted a dvd to watch on the train, i'd need it to arrive in monday's mail.

unfortunately by friday (yesterday) i still hadn't mailed back the netflix movie i had out. friday morning i did a little research to see if there was any way possible to mail it friday and get a new one by monday.

netflix says: "We receive rental returns Monday through Friday (and Saturday in some areas)."

hm, that's nice, but is my area one of those areas? a little further research, and the verdict was unclear.

well, folks, i'll tell you. this morning i got an email saying that my movie had been received and just now i got the email saying that my movie had been shipped. (!!)

me + the stepford wives (1975) (i picked the longest movie in my queue) + amtrak = new bff

(lauren.)

tuesday: pasta with pesto sauce + garlic bread. i used this recipe for the pesto sauce and chopped everything by hand(!). it was delicious, if i do say so myself. oh, and i substituted romano for parmesan on recommendation of the internet.

wednesday: aloo matar. my all-time favorite indian dish, as laid out in this recipe. the recipe isn't perfect (calls for onions and turmeric, but doesn't list either in the ingredients list), but it did the job. also i dropped a BUNCH of frozen peas on the floor. i'm still waiting for my big break as endearingly clumsy romantic comedy star. i would be great.

monday: kidney beans + corn + sweet onion + spanish rice from a box + sour cream (5 minute meals)

tuesday: lentils + rice (recipezaar) + sweet potato for dessert

FACT. lentils are great.

alternate title: notes from my ongoing battle with white walls.

inspired by this blog post, i decided to make my own jewelry displays, so i headed down to the local goodwill and scooped up three picture frames and a purple blanket for a grand total of ~$18.

i popped the glass out of the frames and replaced it with rectangles i had cut from the $5 blanket (it was double-sided, so i had two flowery patterns to choose from!). i put the thing back together, added some pushpins ($1 at the hardware store downstairs), et voilà. now my jewelry is on display! plus i did it all for less than twenty bucks.

credit goes to linda may for having made a good portion of my jewelry (all but one of the necklaces i have hanging up). i apologize for having taken these pictures with my iphone, but i am a modern (read: lazy) woman.

hello. my name is k8 and i love cross-genre covers. especially when a female singer takes a pop song and slows it down. (i think alanis morissette first brought this phenomenon into my life with her inspired cover of "my humps.")

thanks to twitter, the other day i discovered t.v. carpio's take on "i want to hold your hand." i liked this so much it even convinced me to watch across the universe afterward, which i may or may not regret having done.

when trying to listen to beyoncé herself sing "crazy in love" a few days ago (thanks, spotify!), i came across the antony and the johnsons version. not my favorite, but deserves mention (i love the original so much!). listening to it prompted me to tell tyler about how much i love cross-genre covers, and he introduced me to yael naim's "toxic". in honor of my current guest's (LAUREN!!) affinity for britney spears, it's simply a must-have on my list of cross-genre covers that i think you ought to listen to.

this next one has the dubious distinction of having been featured on gossip girl, but i'll include it anyway. anya marina - whatever you like. (another tyler find. :-*)

AND i absolutely love-love-love imogen heap's "thriller". i listened to this a lot around halloween.

honorable mention goes to jonathan coulton's "baby got back" because sometimes i miss junior high school. (okay not really.) la face with the oakland booty.