super uplifting post

i love the holidays just as much as the next guy, but for some reason, they do not love me back...and are trying to get me to dislike them as well.

i'm pretty sure this is the fourth year in a row where i get really sick around december 20th. fever, sore throat, cold, cough, everything. taylor's birthday is the 22nd, and he claims he gets ill every year around his birthday, ergo, he thinks the only reason i'm sick is to get him sick. apparently the universe is out to get him!

regardless, this sucks. i have not even started shopping yet and going out feeling like this is un-possible.

sooo....back to bed with dexter i go. at least i have dexter!! 

p.s. shamus got neutered today. we pick him up at four. i will post pics soon because the poor guy has to wear the CONE!! when we scheduled it the vet told us dogs don't really need it anymore because the stitches are so small, but we got a call from her about an hour ago telling us she knew within 3 minutes of his waking up that he'd need it. he's a licker. i'm so sad for him....

career move

the other day i decided that shamus is cuter than dogs i have seen in ads...so i decided it's done. he's going to be an actor/model, my little money maker, and i'm his stage mom.
here are his head shots taken on the prestigious nikcanonslrrebel600mycellphone:

this is his really sassy pose.

ok i think this is hysterical that it's funny to joke about being a stage mom for your dog, but can you imagine if i posted something similar with a real human child? i can see it now, my only friend would be my mom. 

i promise i won't ever do that!!

I'M DONE!!!

i handed in my last set of bluebooks yesterday at 4:15. i was too tired to dance, but i should have. this was a TOUGH semester. ready for your recap? (ok, my recap, so 5 years from now i can look at this and remember at least a sentence of what i learned from this super cheap education? heh. heh.)

family law - prenups won't be enforced unless they are voluntary, knowing, with assistance of counsel, blah blah blah...also BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD is the phrase that pays

administrative law - hmmm. difficult to sum up. agencies don't have any inherent power. they are given all their authority from the legislature, but then given a ton of deference usually down the road.

criminal procedure II - evidence cops get while being nasty and breaking all the rules will be deemed "fruit of the poisonous tree" and will be excluded from a criminal trial. except there are a million exceptions so i'm gonna say cops still come out on top

immigration law - way too hard to sum up.

constitutional law II - i took this final yesterday so it's painful to think about so soon. i think it had something to do with the constitution. oh my god i'm hilarious.

OK! well! i'm happy and ready to party! we have our end of finals happy hour at john's upper deck tonight, but i'm gonna be responsible since i have a hair appointment that is about 3 months past due tomorrow at eleven, and it's too important to miss. will report back if anything funny happens tonight, as it usually does, since i tend to be a tad awkward at most law school events. peace.

it's ruining everything!

not only is law school ruining my social life, figure, and brain (it's so full of a semester's worth of information normal stuff escapes me daily)....it's now ruining OUR SHEETS!

no, nothing gross, i just pulled back the comforter the other day to find an extremely curious looking blue mark on our white sheets, and pulled it back even further to reveal a blue un-capped pen left in bed. yes, i was underlining criminal procedure and must have dozed off...

i feel so defeated.

and geeky.

woops.

nothing better than a real christmas tree

best little study break last night.
i put on a whole shoe. (explanation: during the school week i am too lazy to do this. instead, i slip on either a) my birkenstocks i got for my 14th birthday or b) moccasin slippers that pass for shoes when under jeans from target. sweet.)

after i put on said shoes, we used our edokko groupon for dinner. it's a really great sushi place up on 87th and quivira-ish. then we got a double bottle of wine (no, we did not even come close to finishing it - i've got five finals to study for) to enjoy while we decorated our christmas tree. (why the double bottle? it's the easiest way to fill up your tree with water! so go out and get yourself a big chugger - even if you already have an empty one laying around to use as your tree pitcher, each holiday season begs for a new one. :)
and here she is!

wide shot:

we love it! the house smells so great, and it feels so wonderful here.

i'm not one for themed christmas trees, i am more of a smorgasbord of random stuff accumulated over the years (ok, my whole three years of christmas trees other than my parents.)
i just have an obsession with christmas ornaments and limiting myself to a certain color or style just don't work! i gotta have them all!!
my favorites are personalized ones, i.e. this adorable guy from my mom:

i am also partial towards angels (because they're angels, who doesn't love angels of the lord? and because of pi phizzle. hehe) and any cute picture frame ones...and any from pottery barn. or anywhere, really.
last year i gave my fellow pi phi sister squared (sister in real life as well as in the bonds of wine and blue) an angel ornament for christmas and she looked at me as if i had aged 20 years in one. i told her she'd appreciate it later. oh, amy.

anyways, after our decorating to the tunes of the season via pandora, we watched an episode of dexter before taylor left to go watch the cats game at brewster's place (juhn's house) and i went back to studying/off to bed.

what an awesome night! sushi, wine, christmas tree, dexter. (we're on season 3, it's amazing....we're a tad obsessed.) and shamus hasn't eaten any ornaments! just unraveled the tree skirt a bit, but i think he got his fix.

happy holidays!

complaining cathy

oh the dreaded finals.
the only grades you get in law school.
one test, testing the entire semester, usually in the form of a 3 hour essay. five times, for the five classes you take. joy.
oh and did i mention the horrible mandatory curves? so no matter how good you think you did it doesn't really matter....it just depends how good you did compared to everyone else?

what can ya do. this was my decision! :) smile smile.

see everyone on december 15th!!

thankful for: family.

i am so lucky to have such a sweet family. normally, thanksgiving is the only time of year where we all get together in the same city. my brother sam, sister-in-law jennifer, niece fiona, and nephew liam come in from california, and my sister lisa and brother-in-law todd come in from minneapolis. we do all the normal thanksgiving stuff; eat a ton, laugh, play, concern ourselves over my parent's dog's weight. this year though, a certain hartley wedding in july substituted our family get together for 2010. i am sad that we can't spend this thanksgiving together, but am thankful for all of the thanksgivings we have had and all that are to come!

last year, we had family pictures taken at loose park over thanksgiving, and it was fuh-reezing, unlike this year's eerie warmth.
they're pretty cute.

fiona and liam, picture posers extraordinaire.

all the girls! jennifer, lisa, mom, fiona, amy, moi.

hot tay-lah and chubbs mccue.

another of liam and fiona, they're so cute!!!!

my sisters and i.

my mom in her cute sweater and my dad in his posh turtleneck. (oh wait, it's a mock turtleneck.)

the guys! taylor, sam, liam, dad, todd.

aaand scene. everyone.

my second bui

i have to apologize for my previous post. it's pretty annoying and bossy. the chiefs game was on when i was writing it, and why wouldn't i partake in a brewsky or two during the game?  and then why wouldn't i get bored and decide to blog? this is turning into a dangerous trend. blogging under the influence. sorry....

Cesar's Way

Ok, so I got a dog, and I'm obsessed. exhibit a:

(yes, i look disgusting, and yes, he's allowed on the couch now, but he sleeps on me like that!! how could i say no??)

Anyways, for those of you who are like I used to be, and don't have a dog, or like dogs but are just not crazy crazy about them, you can skip this... because I'll admit, I've turned into a crazy dog lady.

So my dad got me this book:

And I read it in 2 days. Oh.my.goodness. Talk about an EDUCATION. If there were ever to be Cesar Millan flavored kool-aid, I would be chugging it. I will admit, I ate every syllable of this book right up. And learned so, so much. I know there are professionals out there that don't agree with him, but after reading this, that seems a bit dificil. The bottom line is we all love our dogs, and want them to be happy. And this book helps you to do that.

"Cesar's Way" isn't what you would call a "dog training" book. It doesn't give you any specific steps, per se, but instead focuses on broad concepts and generally changing American dog-owning thought. To me, it was all completely logical, but pretty much the opposite (sorta) of how I and most dog owners view our dogs and the relationship we have with them. It starts out with Cesar Millan's own personal history, which is an absolutely amazing story. (Did you know that one of biggest reasons he became so well known and successful was due to Jada Pinkett Smith?) It then moves on to describe his day to day life as the owner of the Dog Psychology Center in L.A., with tons of anecdotes about the rescued dogs he has rehabilitated. The last half of the book tackles common dog problems (agression, fear, phobias, fixations - i.e. going nuts over squirrels and people on walks) and how they are pretty much human created. Dogs live in the moment, and aren't obsessing/dreaming/flipping out about negative past experiences like humans do. So these problems we attribute to their "personalities" really aren't so. We encourage them, and we can also change them.

Ok, it's really obvious that this book had a huge effect on me. I can't stop talking or thinking about it. And I can attest to the fact that Shamus is literally a different dog on our "cesar calm-assertive" walks now. He walks right next to me, doesn't chase squirrels, leaves, or people.

READ this book! Anyone who has a dog or wants to get a dog, it's a perspective that I don't think many of us have, but should. Es magnifico. $8.99 at Costco.

Problems?

I can't get my posts to format normally. Exhibit A : my previous post. (huge space before the post starts, then the font size is all messed up) Blogger just kinda does whatever it wants. Anyone else have this problem?

Zeitoun - ABR #3

Wow. This was really tough to read. Not in a bad way, just because it was such a horrifying story. Zeitoun is the true story of a New Orleanian family's experience during and post Hurricane Katrina. Their story is powerfully recorded by Dave Eggers, who is the author of one of my all time favorite books, "What is the What".

The real life hero of the story, Syrian-American Abdulrahman Zeitoun, is the owner of a successful painting and contracting firm, who stays behind after the storm hits, paddling around in a canoe, helping whoever he can.

And then the shocking stuff happens. And it really happened, in our country. Not going to say much more!

Bottom Line: this is an incredible story that deserves to be read.

post i really hope no one reads other than good friends

I suffer from weirdtothepointofdisturbingdream-itis. 95% of them I would never share. However, this one I had the other night was so funny, and one of the least disturbing and share-able dreams I've ever had, so I thought I would entertain you all with it. This is the most ridiculous and poorly written post ever. I just have nothing to do right now before class starts at 12:40.

Soo...we were all back in college, yet at our current ages. It was rush week, and Pi Phi had this new tiny house. It was old, disgusting, and musty, with a bunch of long hallways that no one knew where they led to. We were trying to get ready for house tours, but everyone was just sitting and talking in this gross dusty living room with 70s furniture that looked like it was from my grandma's house.

I was really stressed out that I was supposed to give a house tour in this house I knew absolutely nothing about, and didn't know where anything was. I was really fixated, however, on making sure to tell everyone "if your rushee asks you a question that you don't know the answer to, just politely explain to her that you don't know, it's a new house, and make sure that you do not interrupt other conversations around you and ask other girls if they know the answer!"

Scene changes. I wander off, find that the sleeping dorms are in this little closet that can only fit beds, so you had to crawl in and once you were laying down the ceiling was like 5 inches from your face. But I was just glad I found them.

Then the rushees show up, and they are in the front yard with a bunch of random people just watching. We start giving the house tours, then everything stops, and I watch as everyone takes their rushee by both hands, and starts dancing in a circle around them and singing "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. I didn't know this was going to happen, but I have to follow suit. I grab my girl's hand, (not both, just one) and dance around her like everyone else and start lip synching "A Whole New World". I decided lip synching was the better choice since I had obviously missed the practice.
At this point I am in the front yard, so all the random people are watching me. All of a sudden, I fall down, and land in a little bit of well, number 2. (SEE? It always gets weirder than weird)
My rushee tells me it's hers, she had an accident and doesn't want me to tell anyone.
At this point, I start freaking out because I realize I haven't asked her one question, I've just been talking about really random stuff and had forgotten it was rush. So I ask her what her name is, she says it's Amy.

I can't really remember the rest, but it got even weirder.

What I think this dream means:
A. I'm stressed out. All my dreams are really stressful, where I feel a ton of pressure and confusion and have to just throw something together. Themes of "unpreparedness" are always present.
B. I apparently have some issue with the new "number 2" that is everywhere in our yard due to a new canine friend
C. The girl's name was Amy because right before bed I was talking to Taylor about how weird it is that his family named their dog Amy.
D. I can't figure out why I was so adamant about making sure the girls didn't interrupt other people. All I can think of is that I'm wanting to control something.

and etc. etc.

now everyone else post about a weird dream so I feel normal. :)

ABR # 2

Second book I wanted to talk about:
A Spot of Bother, by Mark Haddon.

I read this earlier this year. It's Mark Haddon's second novel, (his first is "A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" which I read a couple years ago and loved as well).
This one is completely different, but I actually enjoyed it more.
It's written from 3 different perspectives, however, the main voice is that of George, a 61 year old hypochondriac, depressed, British man. His wife is cheating on him, his daughter is getting married to a guy he hates, his son is gay and doesn't think his dad (or mom) approves, and George think his eczema, "the spot of bother", is cancer.
It's dark, it's sad, but it's hilarious at the same time. I laughed out loud, I gagged, I cried. It's very vivid. I just loved it. Loved, loved, loved it. :)

first video

we've been waiting for shamus to turn 13 weeks so we could enroll him in this puppy class that came highly recommended, especially for his breed. well, that came, and we weren't able to do it. we're hoping to start one soon though. in the meantime, we had our own improvised obedience class in the living room last night. here is our little man on his first try at tricks! he's surely not perfect yet, but he picked all this up in about 10 minutes!! (braggy mom much?)

(i couldn't get the video to upload on blogger - anyone know why? so i posted on youtube instead....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GYPDUYEyY0

and since i wouldn't click the link if i were you(but it is so cute!!), here are some pics to enjoy from taylor's new iphone SINCE I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA! major bummer.

he's so cute it's sick!

his ears are so perky! haha.

regal profile.

ABR #1

When I think of the word "hobby", I think of scrapbooking, running, guitar-playing, or photography.While I wish I had all of those hobbies, ehhh, "not yet". But when I have to fill in the "what are your hobbies?" blank, I feel good that I have at least one I'm not lying about: reading. I get through 3-4 books a month, and since I really love getting book recommendations, I thought I'd share a few of my own.

and so begins part one of my personal series :
Molly's Abridged Book Reviews (or ABR) (abridged because i don't think i'm cool enough or proficient enough to give you a full blown review, but a quick blurb is fine from anyone, right?)

I'll start with The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

I'm starting here because a) I just finished it last night and b) I think it's a book that everyone would really like.

I'm sure many of you have read it, it's uber-publicized and a loyal member of most current best-seller lists. Which usually makes me not want to read it. Snobby, I know. However, this truly was a wonderful page-turner, and I really can't see anyone not falling in love with Aibileen, Minny, or even the "white trash" Cecilia.

I coincidentally re-read To Kill A Mockingbird right before this one, which is also set in Mississippi, civil rights era, so I'll admit at the beginning I had my nose-turned at the stereotyped verbiage and lack of all around Harper Lee perfection....but once I got attached I was LATCHED on. I loved the story, I loved the lessons, and I loved the ending. Pick it up next.

hartley halloween

k-state homecoming fell on halloween weekend, so our actual "holiday" holiday plans were non-existent. therefore, a very last minute holiday plan was formed around noon on sunday. we went to first watch for brunch, i ordered egg's benedict "since it was a holiday". at brunch, we decided to invite my mom and dad over for dinner and to watch the saints game. next came the grocery store, where i asked taylor if i could buy some gourds to decorate. he said no, and that i could go in our backyard and get some leaves instead. what, am i seven? still, i went home, looked outside, all the leaves on our deck were gross and searching beyond that seemed like too much work. so i took a nap. :)

i made a baked goat cheese appetizer that was delicioso, and a new recipe for baked pesto pasta shells that had sort of a funny taste at dinner but was awesome left over for lunch. taylor decided to make spiced rum spiked apple cider. and that was that! oh, and shamus sufficiently embarrassed us by showing off his great jumping on the couch, biting, barking and peeing on the floor skills!! but my dad was really happy to not cook for the four of us for the first time in well, ever, and we promised him for every 100 meals he cooks us, i'll make one.

next year i promise pictures, costumes, and parties. but i'm okay with our low key halloween numero uno.

mid-monday adventures.

as i was walking shamus before work this afternoon, i approached a man walking his very small dog. he was a small man, probably my height, maybe in his 40s. and here's our story:

...i walk up, shamus is jumping and visibly excited.
little man: (with what i find to be a high pitched sweet little voice) "hi, look at your dog! is he friendly?"
me: "yeah, he's fine, he's just really hyper!"
man: "oh my, he is so cute. what is your name?"
me: "molly"
man: "i'm sonny. this is new orleans." (pointing to his sort of strange looking tiny tiny dog that i can't quite place the breed)
sonny: (to me) "you are beautiful! what is your sign in the zodiac?"
me: "uhh, capricorn."
sonny: "oh my gosh, that is a WONDERFUL sign!!"
me: (trying to end this zodiac talk) "what kind of breed is new orleans?"
sonny: "he's a chihuahua"
me: "oh yeah!" (feeling really stupid, because everyone knows what a chihuahua looks like but this one is just really bushy and i thought he might be a mix or something)
sonny: "so you must have a birthday coming up in january!"
me: (dammit. he's back on the zodiac stuff) "yeah i guess it's coming up, but it's on christmas day"
sonny: "oh my! the 24th?"
me: "the 25th"
sonny: "is your puppy a collie?"
me: "no he's an australian shepherd."
sonny: "oh wow, they are so cute when they are puppies." "what is his name?"
me: "shamus."
sonny: "oh my gosh, i have never heard of that name before. how unique!"
me: "yeah, it's an irish name"
sonny: "well they are so cute when they are puppies"

...at this point shamus is barking at new orleans and i'm glad i have an out. sonny does not want to stop talking to me.  i start to lead my psycho puppy away.

sonny: "well it was so nice to meet you both!"
me: "yeah, you too"

at the end of the street when sonny and new orleans are out of sight, i think to myself:
"that was the funniest, weirdest thing that's happened to me in a really long time"
"but why did sonny keep emphasizing that australian shepherds are so cute when they are puppies? while i truly do NOT want to run into sonny and new orleans again and have another one of the strangest, longest conversations of my life, i do want to prove to sonny that they are cute as adults too."
"i guess these are the kinds of people you meet while walking your dog at 11:15 am on a monday....most people should be at work"
"i think i want to quit this law stuff and be a professional dog walker"
"no wonder we had 3 trick or treaters last night, sonny lives in this neighborhood!!"

the end.

the "-ings" of friday

on this friday, october 22nd, i am....

Wishing: for this mirror above my mantel. 

Thanking: taylor for supporting our family all by himself while i'm a jobless student.

Obsessing: over THIS dress sienna miller wore to some charity event the other day. it's a nina ricci. if i had $5,000 i would buy it. [insert jealousy here]

Planning: on waking up early enough to garage sale it up tomorrow. i'm going for that whole: "oh my gosh, yes, look at all these gorgeous unique accents in my home i stumbled upon for 99 cents and just spruced up a bit". yeah. right. i figure i'll try once though.

Listening: as always, to NPR. this week is the member donation drive, so if anyone wants to donate my share for me, please feel free :) i'll make it up to them one day.

Watching: america's most wanted in criminal procedure today since my professor is out of town. come on man, cancel class instead!!! i wonder how far these re-enactment actors are gonna get in their careers....because i think i've picked out some bright stars.

Craving: that wonderful cotes du rhone from costco. you can crave wine right?

Laughing: at the thought of putting Shamus in this kilt and tam for halloween!! (i know this is Scottish and i advertise Shamus's heritage as Irish, but i think their two great cultures can come together to celebrate my American holiday, yeh?)

Missing: my friends who live near and far! seeing so many a couple weeks ago, like always, was a strong reminder of how lucky i am and how much more i wish i saw everyone!

And Also Thanking: emily griffin for commenting on my post last night, the clapping is working!! i love you!

"leave it!"

well, i have been sick since last saturday, but am finally feeling ok. the highlight of my week, however, has been reading 'to kill a mockingbird' for the first time since it was assigned in 9th grade. it's such an extraordinary book, i can't get enough of it. i will be so sad when i'm done!

in puppy news, shamus has a nipping/biting problem.     :)         (that smiley face was sarcastic.)
i know he'll grow out of it, but we are in a constant battle, and i think he might be winning. those teeth are sharp.

and don't worry, if he can't be chewing on ME, he sneaks in our room to snatch the next best thing!

30 rock live

my fall tv line up was missing a BIG one. 30 Rock!

one of my absolute favorites. ever.

anyways, tonight's episode is live, and here's hoping they will pull it off! i'm so excited. it's supposed to have a John Hughes-themed plot line where everyone forgets Liz's birthday. 

ready, set, DVR!

extra, extra!

http://aldifoods.com/us/html/offers/offers_10_20_2010_ENU_HTML.htm?WT.z_src=main

aldi's special buys as of October 20 are the best yet!
theme: "the italian cook"
lasagna noodles, rigatoni, assorted pestos, nicer EVOO, roasted red peppers, risotto, ravioli, angel hair, pizza crust, marinated mozzarella, cookbooks, and more! all things i had to go to hyvee to get...are now at my personal mecca.

aaannndd, nabisco 100 calorie packs! $1.99. yes.

pointless post about shamus

so, other than going pee in his kennel, refusing to "come", refusing to walk on his leash, jumping, biting, etc. etc. etc., shamus is still getting cuter and sweeter every day!
i know this is all to be expected and more, i just can't wait until he's old enough for real obedience lessons. i'm exhausted!

new collar and new toy!

ok. i promise these boring blog posts about my dog will not become a habit :)

life with shamus

sooo....this is the first time i've been able to sit down and write about my adorable, sweet, smart, hellion of a puppy!
taylor and i had been looking at miniature australian shepherds for about a year off and on, but after an awesome weekend in denver with adam, jamie, liz, and the smith's dog luna, we both decided we were 100% ready. we got home from denver last monday, immediately got on the net to 'seriously' look for our dog, and just couldn't find the perfect one....but pretty much at the same time we both perked up at the thought of getting a full size aussie instead of a mini. it was sort of a 'duh' moment for both of us. since we were so ready to be pet parents, that extra 15-20 pounds really wasn't an issue anymore, and regular aussies seemed like the better choice for a number of other reasons. so i googled australian shepherd breeders in kansas and missouri, and ran across our man! the perfect color, ready the next day at eight weeks old, male, about $400 less than most of the other breeders we were looking at and only 3 hours away! everything on our list! we called and arranged to meet in macon, missouri the next day. i skipped class for the second day in a row, got in the car, and came home 5 and a half hours later with a dog! it all happened so fast but it was just too good to be true! and when we saw him, it was even better. Shamus O'Toole McCue Hartley rode home on my lap, sweetly endured the longest, most indecisive trip to petsmart ever, met my mom and dad, slept through the night in his kennel, and became the love of our lives!!

over the six days we have had him, he has:
 - been taken outside probably 100+ times, and pees EVERY time
- visited three vets to pick out his fave, then made his parents extremely happy by deciding to be painfully tired during his actual vet visit so that he seemed like the best dog ever but really he was just half passed out
- been dragged on about eight walks where his herding instincts run rampant so he runs right into your ankles....and me being the paranoid first time puppy owner seriously thought he was blind....thank god i was just dumb.
- been the pickiest little dude ever with treats, we had to go through four kinds to get it right. snob. :)
- made his mom talk to people in her "dog praise" voice on accident...
- had two play dates with gus, my family's 11 year old moron of a dog who is scared shitless of this 9 pound puppy who herds him around the back yard and steals his kong.
- made an appearance at the UMKC law softball tournament, therefore making taylor and i the most popular people there
- visibly grown. a lot. he won't be small for long at all!
- been liking me and taylor equally!! yes! i was so nervous i'd be second in line to my dog whisperer of a husband :)

he's a TON of work but so worth it!

posing for the camera. really, he does it!

please ignore my strange bang-thang.

p.s. my name is pronounced "shay-miss" or "shay-mus". i'm not a female orca whale named "shamoo". it is an alternate spelling of the irish name seamus, the gaelic equivalent of james. yeah, i'm a bad ass.

my fall tv line-up

what i'm watching:

last night was the first time i've ever seen modern family. where. have. i. been??? i was almost in tears in the first five minutes, when the gay husband said he didn't think he'd be a very inspiring disabled person.
i can't wait to catch up....add it to the list.

top chef just desserts - everyone knows how fanatical i am about top chef. not quite sold on this one yet....but i'm not giving up, it looks like the contestants are gonna get really bitchy.

mad men - this season keeps getting better. peggy and joan are KILLING me they're so amazing. don's getting it together....and i can't wait to see how he'll screw it up again. if you are not a mad men viewer, become one, but start at season one, don't just pick it up. you're missing too much.

project runway - i will be so sad when this season comes to an end. i could write a whole post on how much i love mondo. mondo mondo mondo!!!! gretchen and ivy = grossyuck.

boardwalk empire - completely satisfied with the series premiere. hbo already picked it up for a second season and i think it's gonna be a gritty, dirty winner. they got me with al capone. i'm so predictable.

keeping up with the kardashians - BRUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'd give you all the space in the garage you'd ever need and more!

real housewives of d.c. - i can't wait for machine guns to erect themselves from michaela's fem-bot boobies. seriously, she's gonna break, people! her passive aggression can't stay like this forever! who names their daughter lolly by the way? i know she liked molly better but wanted to be edgy.

(ahh! nightmares!)

tosh.o - i'm in so deep i might become an actual tweeting fan. or start planning my future viewer video of the week.

the event - ehhhh, lame. but it had vague traces of alias and lost like it was supposed to and might pan out to be a decent wannabe replacement.

glee - will it ever get better than p-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face?? doubtful, but i am SO excited for britney.

jersey shore - promiscuous, talentless losers getting paid a billion dollars an episode and it's still this good?? how is this possible?? pauly d stole my heart this season. he and rocio are waiting to smush and it's so sweet. i can't believe vinny's girl didn't show up for the date! he got a fresh tight fade for you, sweetheart, show some gratitude!!

and COMING SOON....

the office - please please please redeem yourself for the final season. something so good for so long can't go out in the slump it's currently in. i have faith in you, writers!

bored to death - can't wait for season two. schwartzman + galifianakis + danson = brilliant.

eastbound and down - again, ready to get f-ed up with some truth.

real housewives of atlanta - "ooohhhhh, that kim, that dirty, low-down, monkey wid a wig on,  mmmh!" - nene.

real housewives of [insert city here]- they could add duluth. i'd still watch it.
GOOOO bravo.

if my kids ever watch this much tv, i'll kill them. or lock them in some nature.
-molly

stuff white people like

www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com - if you are bored, read the full list. yet another funny, useless way to fill your day.

here is one of my personal favorites:

#72 Study Abroad

February 22, 2008 by clander

In addition to accumulating sexual partners, binge drinking, drug use and learning, white people consider studying abroad to be one of the most important parts of a well rounded college education.

Study Abroad allows people to leave their current educational institution and spend a semester or a year in Europe or Australia.  Though study abroad are offered to other places, these two are the overwhelming favorites.

By attending school in another country, white people are technically living in another country.  This is important as it gives them the opportunity to insert that fact into any sentence they please. “When I used to live in [insert country], I would always ride the train to school.  The people I’d see were inspiring.”

If you need to make up your own study abroad experience, they all pretty much work the same way.  You arrived in Australia not knowing anybody, you went out to the bar the first night and made a lot of friends, you had a short relationship with someone from a foreign country, you didn’t learn anything, and you acquired a taste for something (local food, beer, fruit).  This latter point is important because you will need to be able to tell everyone how it is unavailable in your current country.

It is also important that you understand the study abroad ranking system.  Europe/Australia form the base level, then Asia, then South America, and finally the trump card of studying abroad in Tibet.  Then there is the conversation killer of studying abroad in Africa.  If you studied in Africa, it is usually a good idea to keep it quiet, it will remind white people that they were too scared to go and they will feel bad. Use this only in emergencies.

and guess what? i'm just as cliche as i thought i was. dammit!! my freaking haircut is on the list.  

taylor and another white girl with bangs - artistic, deep, and popular. duh.

#104 Girls with Bangs

June 27, 2008 by clander

If you see a white woman and you are trying to figure out whether she is liked or just merely tolerated by white people, the best thing you can do is get a quick look at her haircut. It is a known fact that white people love women who wear their hair with bangs that hang straight down.

A number of very popular white women have worn this hairstyle including Joni Mitchell, Jane Birkin, Jenny Lewis and every girl ever photographed by Vice Magazine or the Cobrasnake. (Note: it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with these two things as they are both beloved by cool white people. Follow up note: these same things are hated by cooler white people).

Many people associate this type of haircut with children and people looking for the most efficient way to get hair out of their eyes. But for white people, this simple haircut makes a bold declaration by saying that the wearer is artistic, deep, and has probably dated a guy in a band you like. Of course, as with many things loved by white people, simple often means expensive and these haircuts usually cost upwards of $100.

It is essential for you to know this haircut is more than a mere fashion statement– it is an important cultural marking. Throughout the world, many cultures feature ceremonies to announce that a girl has become a woman. For white people, the haircut-with-bangs is an important symbol that a female has completed her transformation from a nerdy girl to a cool woman. In fact, if you went to high school with a nerdy white girl who moved to a big city, there is a good chance she will show up to your high school reunion with this haircut.

When you are introduced to a group of white people, it’s a good idea to befriend the girl with the bangs. She’s probably the most popular.

it's a sign!

for no reason other than boredom, i decided to make brownies this afternoon, and the second i pop them in the oven taylor comes upstairs with a bunch of my stuff that was left in his office. what was right on top of the pile? a freaking Shape magazine. so i read it, as the brownie smell filled the air, and it was the most depressing situation ever.

i mean really, how many times can one say: "i'll start tomorrow?"

anyways, had a really fun time at the early k-state game at arrowhead on saturday, and proceeded to making an absolute fool of myself that night interpretive dancing to this really emo serious music. (the band is called "the xx" - they are incredible. so incredible they moved me to the art of dance.)

welp, off to go draft a fake pre-nup for family law....HOW FUN!!!! 

offended.

my dad's tacos are T-H-E best ever. they were one of my favorite meals growing up, and if i don't say so myself, i do a pretty darn job of re-creating them. you fry corn tortillas in oil for just a second on each side to soften and warm them, (it also adds a ton of flavor), and the taco meat MUST be made with Lawry's Taco seasoning only! Absoltutely no exceptions.

taylor is not a huge fan. it pisses me right off.

so tonight at dinner i decided the only way to settle our taste differences will be to use our future children. i am positive that our kids will love these tacos, so i will win, and we'll eat them for the rest of our lives. i mean, yes, they could possibly prefer a less flavorful taco seasoning and crappy store bought hard shells, and then taylor wins this battle. but they have to decide!!!

note: taylor and i are not planning on having kids anytime soon. also, i realize that the above way of thinking boils down to me using kids to drive a wedge between my marriage. even if it's just so i can continue to enjoy my favorite food, that's bad. but i still thought about it, which proves even more so that i will not be having kids for some time. 

xoxo,
molly who has had three beers and will probably delete this post tomorrow.

killer photography

i'm sure this is redundant, since most of you that read this bliggity blog are also facebook friends, but i couldn't skip a post featuring our wedding photos.

taylor and i picked becca spears from wirken photography about a month after our engagement, and although it was a tough decision since photography is so expensive, the second we signed the contract we did not experience an ounce of buyer's remorse. once we got the courage to do it, we were just kinda like, well duh!!

and she SURELY did not disappoint. instead of sending her clients their photos whenever they are ready, wirken photography (which just consists of becca and her partner, tyler wirken) hosts a "viewing party" where clients can invite whoever they want to come to the studio, drink champagne, and re-live your whole wedding day through the most amazing slideshow ever, to music that perfectly fits your personalities. my mom, dad, and i were all crying within five minutes. they know what they're doing.

some of my favorites:

my cousin's son simon is SOOOO girl-crazy. the night of the rehearsal was the first time he met fiona, and he was in love. (he was also in love with pretty much every girl there, and has an imaginary girlfriend named sarah). he's the most hysterical kid ever!!!! we talked to him a couple nights ago and he described in detail what he wanted his next girlfriend to look like: "long blond hair, the same color as mine, and NO PONYTAILS!!"

I love this picture so much.

I had no idea these ones would turn out so cool! We snuck out of the reception right after dinner to go up to the roof and take these - such a relaxing break!

This cracks my shit up.

becca posted this one on her blog as one of her favs, and i couldn't agree more! 

we're married!

beautiful wedding par-tay!

i over-looked this photo the first night. now it's one of my favorites.

soooo good lookin.

jim thome, ladies and gentlemen.

haha, for some reason i am obsessed with this picture....and that reason would be jake tunnell.

ok i'm stopping here, there are way too many!!!

the point is, I couldn't be happier. when I saw becca's blog post of her favorite 30 or so photos, it took me about 6 hours to figure out what to say in my blog comment. i just couldn't put into words how special, perfect, extraordinary, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome these pictures are!!!