I did a bad, bad thing.

I switched cat foods.

And if you have cats, you probably know that you are never, ever, ever supposed to switch cat foods. Ever.

This makes sense, given how the old switcheroo on anyone’s diet could be jarring to the system.

And I know… Read full post »

Never has a lifestyle choice come under such scrutiny than that of my decision to not eat meat.

Among the litany of questions:

“Where do you get your protein?” (By far the most common, and most irritating.)

“I don’t understand. How can you have gone your whole life eating meat… Read full post »

First of all, before I get to the meat of this post, or maybe I should say meat-substitute, I’d like to say that this was originally an email to my best friend.  As I wrote, all casual –like, I thought, “hey I should blog this.”  This isn’t the first time that'… Read full post »

One of my favorite books is an 86-pager by Elizabeth Wurtzel called Radical Sanity: Common Advice for Uncommon Women. I discovered the book in grad school and devoured it in about two hours. The chapters are witty, brief and powerful, with titles like “Don’t Clear the Table at a Dinner Pa… Read full post »

I hate being one of those people who complain about the weather, but I’m going to be one of those people who complain about the weather. Just for a sec.

It’s rained all week and I cannot seem to shake the damp stickiness that clings to my hair, skin and clothes. Why… Read full post »

I stepped into the darkened bathroom, the upper half of my right foot landing on the dampened bathroom rug, the other half on the cold—and wet—tile. Hoping I hadn’t stepped in an extra runny puddle of cat barf, or any other kind of feline bodily fluid for that matter, I stopped… Read full post »

So far on my time off, I've rearranged and cleaned the kitchen and pantry, visited the orthodontist, the dentist, and done many, many loads of laundry.

And Andrew says I don't know how to unwind. 

What he doesn't know, however, is that I enjoy household projects.  I like to… Read full post »

Me, as I walk past Andrew: “Hey baby, great job on rearranging the kitchen today. It looks really good. And for cleaning and organizing the pantry. That looks good too.”

Me, still walking: “Hey, thanks baby.”

Andrew: “Wow, that was kinda psycho.”

Me,  walking… Read full post »

Living together means that a back scratch from Andrew will always involve a grab for the boob.

So, it’s Sunday, ten after eleven and I’m in bed. Nothing necessarily wrong with this scenario, however, I am on vacation and it feels like I've broken a rule. Something about thou shalt… Read full post »

“Smooth Criminal” was my favorite Michael Jackson video and it took me a long time to figure out the “Annie are you okay?” lyric. You couldn’t just Google that shit back then.

Having your delicate hairs ripped out by the root is one way to jump-start your morning.

And during this, the most painful wax of my life, I realized two things simultaneously: One, that my precarious and vulnerable position was not completely unlike the gynecologist’s office, with the partial… Read full post »

I’ve never grown a garden. There’s a few reasons. 

One, I have a talent for killing every house plant I’ve ever owned. And two, for my entire adult life, at least until last September, I’ve always been an apartment dweller, and landlords don’t like it when tenants di… Read full post »

Yesterday's use of recent tweets as a new blog post required minimal effort, and it was brought on by a recent internal dilemma.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on OS, and as I’ve read posts here and there, I suddenly wondered if this was the best place for me to maintain… Read full post »

Brushing the cats after they've been outside to prevent fleas is like showering after sex to prevent STDs. Not a wise prevention measure.

Major literary irritant: Incorrect and over use of exclamation points. Not everything is that exciting!!!!!!!

Thunderstorms make me want to sneak under the covers, c… Read full post »

I rake my bare hands through the earth, crushing dirt clods between my thumb and fingers.  I hate the black grit beneath my newly grown nails, but garden gloves feel like a barrier. I don’t feel as connected to the ground when I use them. 

Perhaps I’ll… Read full post »

It's safe to assume that on any given weekend I'm hunting through vintage stores, and today was no exception. I snagged a pair of well, bloomers, I guess, from the 1950s. It's like a lace-trimmed slip, but instead of an elastic waist, it’s fastened by tiny buttons on either side. And… Read full post »

I wish I could say it was my iPhone that's kept me away.  I mean I'm completely addicted to it, don't get me wrong, but it has nothing to do with why I've ignored this blog for over a month. I  just suddenly lost the motivation to write. 

Yada, yada, and so the… Read full post »

Hi there.  Good to be back. I’ve been out of sorts thanks to a little handheld piece of life-consuming crack called the iPhone. 

My beloved boyfriend, aside from making me a heart-shaped breakfast sandwich on Valentine's Day, also surprised me with a room at the historic… Read full post »

On Valentine’s Day 2004, I posted the dark and cheerless lyrics from Modest Mouse’s song, “Heart Cooks Brain” on an old blog.  Let me just share a choice line: “My brain's the burger and my heart's the coal.” Not exactly sunshine and rainbows.… Read full post »

Well, here we go again.  The cleanup and power restoration effort from the devastating ice storm two weeks ago was thwarted last night as 60 mph winds whipped Louisville’s ass.
 
Leftover debris that sat curbside is now scattered back into streets and yards. And of course, about 37,000… Read full post »

After an nasty couple's spat last week, I gained some perspective by following Andrew's suggestion: I made a list of the reasons I love him.

At first I was incensed when he asked me to do this.  Was this a test? What if I wrote down the wrong things? Was he looking for… Read full post »

USA Today reports that Governor Beshear has asked the President to declare a major disaster in Kentucky, which would bring immediate federal financial relief to deal with last week’s devastating ice storm.

The price tag of this disaster has already surpassed $45 million and approximately 40… Read full post »

I recently saw the following commerical for The Snuggie:

I’m particularly fond of how this infomercial appeals to its audience with a catchy rhyme scheme:

“You want to stay warm when you’re feeling chilled, but you don’t want to raise your heating bill.  Blankets… Read full post »

Most Kentuckians are familiar with the damage wreaked by tornadoes—most rural areas get a doozy or two every spring.  But most Kentuckians—especially us city dwellers—had never seen the kind of wind-related destruction that Hurricane Ike inflicted in September.