Songs for the Road

I randomly found an abandoned CD the other day, (see image), safely tucked into a plastic white case, (again: see image)...

I had NO idea who made the CD, and NO idea who it was for. BUT, being the curious little lady I am, I picked up the disc and took it home to test out the songs...

It was jam-packed with artists I'd never heard of. I spent a lovely afternoon typing lyrics into Google trying to figure out who was singing these unique melodies, (BTW- I loved the music!) Here are the songs that I saved and imported into my iTunes:

1) Raised by Wolves (Voxtrot)
2) I'll Believe in Anything (Wolf Parade)
3) Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse (Minus the Bear)
4) New Monster Avenue (The Mountain Goats)
5) La Costa Brava (Ted Leo and the Pharmacists)
6) Sea Ghost (The Unicorns)
7) Bad Education (Tilly and the Wall)
8) Hang Me Up To Dry (Cold War Kids)
9) Smiley Faces (Gnarls Barkley)
10) That Time (Regina Spektor)
11) Comfy in Nautica (Panda Bear)
12) They are Night Zombies! (Sufjan Stevens)
13) I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon to Your Star (The Boys Least Likely To)
14) Sea King (Eisley)

I highly recommend downloading some of these songs if you're looking to broaden your musical library! Like the CD says, the tunes are perfect "Songs for the Road"...

Meet The Parents

Last night was huge... I finally brought Brian home to meet my parents... AHHH!

I was scared out of my mind & didn't know what to expect. It's funny, though, because I absolutely LOVE meeting other people's parents, but get nervous as HELL whenever I bring friends, (ok... really just boyfriends), over to meet mine... I'm sure there's some psychological explanation...

ANYWAYS: It went great! Mom was a relaxed social success, Dad was a quiet intimidating father who actually didn't, (for once), throw his usual dinner-time fit and Brian was charming as ever :)

Mom sent me an email this morning thanking me for bringing him over. She also made fun of me for being incredible hyper and nervous, while Brian was cool as a cucumber... what-EVER, MOOMSICAL!

P.S. The image above is of the jelly-roll that Mom re-gifted to Brian after dinner... That right there represents INSTANT approval :)

Cream-Colored Ponies & Crisp Apple-Strudel...

I had a brief conversation with Brian the other day about picking "favorites"... A favorite color, a favorite deli-meat, a favorite exercise machine, a favorite band, (You get the idea)...

I personally like to try and define my "favorite" things. It makes me feel like a decisive, powerful and opinionated woman. Brian prefers to keep an open mind, choosing to either like or dislike certain things but not picking specific favorites. He makes an excellent point, but let's not deny it, so do I! SO... In honor of all the world's opinionated individuals, Here's a fun little list of some of my favorite things...

1) Colors: Pink & Blue
2) Deli-Meat: Boar's Head Rosemary Ham
3) Exercise Machine: Treadmill
4) Band: I'm definitely undecided here...
5) Fruits: Bananas & Peaches
6) Season: Fall
7) Movies: High School Musical... 1, 2 & 3
8) Flowers: Roses & Gerber Daisies
9) Books: The Harry Potter Series
10) Cocktail: Diet Coke & Flavored Vodka
11) Number: 11

What are some of YOUR favorite things!?

"Ready to Rumble" Rebecca

I just got back to my DC apartment after 4 days of babysitting my old arthritic pooch. I promised the rents that I'd watch over darling Becky while they escaped to the Outer Banks to visit with some of Dad's family...

Dearest Becky turned 11 on June 20th and is happily fatter than ever. We're convinced she's a lesbian b/c she lifts her leg when she pees, (she doesn't squat), she likes to mark her territory & acts awkwardly around other female dogs. She also barks at anything that moves and greets our house guests by jumping and sneezing all over their legs. Here are some of my favorite Becky memories...

1) She dove her head into the cake at my 6-grade birthday party. Mom had to cut off about 1/3 of the sugary goodness. All my friends wondered why the word "Happy" was missing...

2) She puked on our new family room carpet the day we bought it. Dad was the only one awake and had to clean it up himself. Did I mention she's the bane of his existence?

3) The day after we brought her home, Becky crawled underneath my over-sized pajama shirt and took a 2 hour nap while Brohan & I watched our Saturday morning cartoons. It was immediate love...

Becky: With however many years you have left, live it up girl! Chase those squirrels, eat out of the garbage and leave your scent on all the telephone poles you want...

European Woodchuck

My dashingly intelligent brother, THE Andrew G. Leister, is never pleased when I hang out with his friends... especially if he's not there to monitor. Unfortunately, I don't give a damn... so on Saturday night I attended a little get-together hosted by ALL of his closest buds.

I was introduced to a new drink called "Woodchuck"... It's basically a sparkling cider with ale... absolutely delicious! I highly recommend buying a Woodchuck keg for your next house party.

In other news... Brian's 23rd birthday is Friday! He and his roommates are hosting a Eurotrash-themed party & I'm in charge of organizing food, decor and costume evaluations. I personally will be wearing a skanky H&M white leopard-print dress and tacky JLO glasses. And yes... glow-stick necklaces and bracelets WILL be present :)

Harry Potter 6: The Half-Blood Prince

Oh wow... I haven't posted in 11 days... Sorry, friends!

I guess I've been pretty busy... writing reports for my intense "media @ the millennium" class, spending 3 days frolicking through NYC, being Frank Warren's personal PR assistant @ PostSecret, going to Brian's performances, movie-dates with friends, taking care of my neighbor's cats-plants-mail... busy, busy, busy!

Let's chat about what I did last night... I went to see Harry Potter 6 with my good-friend, DQ, who is a fellow Harry Potter obsessee, (if that's a word)... Basically, the film was QUITE impressive. Potter, Granger & Weasley have truly stepped-up their acting abilities. Other Hogwarts characters have also been working on their on-screen talents: Dumbledore, Snape, Malfoy, Slughorn, McGongall, Mrs. Weasley, Bellatrix... they all pleasantly surprised me!

Here's a SPOILER list of the best scenes from the film...

1) Luna Lovegood wears a giant lion headdress to support the Gryffindor quidditch team at breakfast & acts like it's an everyday occurence. Hysterical!

2) Potter turns into "Mr. Suave" while talking to Slughorn after chugging some luck potion. He certainly brought an entertaining elegance to the term "smart-ass"

3) Ron Weasley turns into a bubbly airhead after eating love-potion chocolates. He snuggles up to Harry like a little girl, smiles like he's high and falls over the back of Slughorn's couch... QUITE the knee-slapper...

4) Cormac McLaggen licks his fingers clean while staring at Granger over a heaping chocolate sundae... the most entertaining innuendo you'll ever see in a PG film

Harry Potter 6 is playing now at a theater near you... Go see it or else I'll hex you with my 9-inch Holly & Cedar wand, (complete w/ crushed turtle shell & fragrant rose petals :)

I FREAKING WON!!

Over 100 people entered the "Goody-Bag Giveaway" hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, "City of Dionne" ... Only 2 people could win the contest, so there was less than a 1-in-50 chance that any participant would receive one of Dionne's amazing care-packages filled with cute girly goodies. Being the optimist than I am, I entered the contest. WELL, guess who won one of the glorious gift-baskets!?.... ME!

I'm overjoyed with happiness. Not only do I love care-packages... I also love free stuff, cute free-stuff, snail mail utilization & WINNING! What a great start to my week :) ... (P.S. I'm traveling to NYC this weekend with Brian for some memorable urban escapades... What's one thing we shouldn't miss!?)