Jillapalooza

IM IN UR OCEAN. EATIN UR CARDZ.

A night at Katie’s

Because Smitty’s bachelor party was at my house this weekend, Nick gave me the boot on Saturday night. I ended up hanging out with my friend Katie and spending the night at her place. Actually, I kind of invited myself over, but that didn’t affect the end result.

We went to Flame for dinner, picked up snacks and movies (The Kids Are All Right and The Social Network), and then headed back to Katie’s really awesome downtown house/condo thingy that looks nothing like a living space from the outside.

I ended up sleeping on the couch with Katie’s cat, Keira. She’s this really cute fluffy thing that let me do things Boo doesn’t, like rub her fuzzy underbelly and stick my fingers between her toes. When I fell asleep she was on my chest, and when I woke up she was between my legs. I’m not a back sleeper, and as much as I didn’t want to disturb her, I had to move. I tried to bend my knee so I could flip on my side with her behind my legs, but she was somehow attached to my leg and moved with me. I felt bad, but I ended up having to push her off. Unlike Boo, she didn’t run away when I shifted positions. She simply sprawled out to take up more space on the couch. I ended up curling myself up and sleeping in a little ball. Her ability to not move the entire night was really impressive.

The evening was fun, even with the kink in my neck from catering to the cat’s sleeping needs, and I totally intend on inviting myself over again some day. Katie, be forewarned. :)

I heart my coffee pot

Last December I invested in a new coffee pot. I’m convinced it might just be the best kitchen device I’ve ever purchased. (Okay, mebbe it’s second to the Foreman Grill with removable plates, but that’s debatable.)

I had been thinking about replacing my old coffee pot for a few months, but I hate buying new things when I already have something that works perfectly fine. This is no secret, but I’m lazy. I knew it was time for a change the day I drove to the gas station to buy a cup of coffee because I didn’t want to deal with the mess and hassle of making it myself.

My Keurig coffee pot brews a perfect cup of coffee every time (even I can’t screw it up), and there’s practically no clean-up involved. There are no beans, messy grounds, or drippy filters to deal with. I can make one cup of coffee in about 30 seconds. Hot chocolate? Check. Tea? Check. Instant hot water? Check. I don’t have to worry about beans going stale. I don’t have to keep a grinder in the cupboard. And the best part? I’m not stuck with one flavor. The K-Cups are available in a variety of brands and flavors, and if I order them online, they end up costing about 50 cents a piece.

If you only drink 1–2 cups of coffee a day, or if you prefer a different type of coffee than the person you’re living with, or if the whole process of making coffee is too much effort, then I highly suggest buying a Keurig. I bought the one pictured above for $130 at Kohls, but there are many machines in different sizes and price ranges. I wish I had purchased one months ago. It would have saved me lots of trips inside the gas station.

Too much rock for one hand

Smitty’s bachelor party is at our house this weekend, and although I’m making myself scarce tomorrow, I refuse to be kicked out of my house two nights in a row. Right now I’m holed up in the bedroom with Boo, doing something that should have been done a long, long time ago.

I present to you “Too Much Rock for One Hand.” (0:00–0:48)

Reading goals for 2011

I recently signed up for Goodreads. It’s a really nice way to keep track of the books I’ve read as well as books I want to read. There’s even a nice little status update that allows me to track what page of a book I’m on, enter a quote or comment, and even tweet it. Back in January, I noticed they have a 2011 Reading Challenge. Oooh, exciting, right? How many books will I read?

While most of the people I know are setting goals of 20, 30, even 52 books, I kept it at a reasonable 6. I can read 6 books in 2011. That’s a book every other month . . . or 2 months to finish a book as I’d like to look at it. I’m hoping to read more than that, obviously, but I have a bad habit of not finishing things. I’ll be lucky if I post daily through the end of the month! So I figured, for once, just this one little time, I will set a goal that I will actually meet. Maybe it will motivate me to complete more goals and start a whole chain reaction of do-goodedness.

Here are the 6 books* that I foresee reading:

Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins
Third and last book of The Hunger Games trilogy. The ending has already kind of been spoiled for me, so I need to hurry up and read it before it gets full-on spoiled. I’m currently on page 16.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Must read before the movie, starring the delicious Robert Pattinson, comes out on April 22!

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Sequel to Hush, Hush, which I had my nose stuck in for two days straight at Blog Cabin last summer. Team Patch!

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
Seventh book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries aka True Blood.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
I honestly have no idea what this book is about, but it doesn’t matter because it’s written by one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, then you are really missing out.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Mar
First book in the series of the same name. Mary talked a big game about this book, and I managed to snag both this and the second book, Ink Exchange, from borders.com for $2.28. No lie.

*excludes audio books. ebooks are a-okay.

There’s the list. Wish me luck, and let me know what’s on your to-read list this year.

Post a day in February

To celebrate jillapalooza’s 4th anniversary this month, I decided to make one blog post a day during the month of February. I got the idea from my buddy Mary who has taken the initiative to do a post a day for an entire year.

Of course I decided to move my site to a hosting company yesterday, February 1, and didn’t get it working again until 11 PM today. Nick’s website and the Beez website were up and working within an hour. But mine? No such luck. I tried yelling “fuck” really loud but the computer seemed unimpressed. But I’m late for everything, so is it really that surprising? I’m not going to let missing one little day get me down, even if it was the kick off day.

Feel free to join in by posting on your own blog or leaving me comments (hint, hint).

Home     About     Contact     Disclaimer