Just a reminder, if you want to be a part of the pen pal group, please make sure that you send me your address! I can’t add you without it! So send away, pretty please…. alyssa [dot] kindofamess [at] gmail [dot] com
Do it. I command you.
Things I Can’t Quit.
I used to smoke. And I looooooved smoking. And I miss it. But I miss it like you miss an old boyfriend when you find his flannel in the back of your closet; enough to make you sigh but not enough to make you call him and see what’s up. Because he was a douche and you broke up for a reason, or rather reasonS; twenty-seven of them at last count, which was about 2 weeks after you broke up, with your bestie one night over cookies and beer at 2am.
I might be oversharing again.
Anyway, I quit pretty easily. I don’t have an addictive personality…or so I like to think. But there are a few things that I just can’t give up, no matter how hard you think I need to.
1. Candy
I have a candy fetish. FaveRed Starburst, Haribo gummi bears, Fruity Mentos, Cherry Twist ‘n’ Peel Twizzlers, Skittles….I’d probably set someone on fire for a giant pile of Laffy Taffy. (Unless they were all banana. Nobody likes banana. But fruit punch flavor? IT IS ON.) Not a chocolate fan unless it has caramel in it. Or it’s Dove. Even retro candy like Kits, Mallo Cups and Sugar Daddy…*sigh* If I succumb to my family’s history of diabetes, you’re just gonna have to take me outback and shoot me.
I recently found out from Lauren that she has movie theaters where you can mix and match the bins of candy and just buy it by the pound. I find it incredibly unfair that I don’t have this and think I need to write my congressman. Read More
Shhhh…..
….I’m hiding.
Yesterday, I managed to render two printers and a copier unusable for a significant amount of time, stab myself on a brad from an old-school report folder, spill tea twice, freeze Outlook four times, get lost driving around campus and burn my hand.
So last night, I set down to the business of doing absolutely NOTHING because I needed a break, DAMMIT. And even then I stabbed myself with a needle at least five times and burned my tongue on dinner.
Today should be better, right? Read More
Sad Bastard Songs: Classic Soul
My father, a cranky Guyanese man we lovingly call the Tyrant, brought me up to appreciate good music. Well, more like he played good classic soul in the house on a regular basis and frequently told me my music sucked. (To be fair, it sort of did sometimes.) And so, because he blared Sam Cooke and Clarence Carter while mowing the lawn, the latter of which horrified my mom, I learned to listen to appreciate a lot of the greats. (Plus, playing “Strokin'” loud enough for the neighbors to hear and embarrass my mom? HI-LARIOUS.”)
So here are my favorite Sad Bastard classic soul songs. Hipsters think they have angsty pain music cornered, but these folks have been doing it and doing it better for years. And they don’t wear awful skinny jeans while doing it.
Little Anthony & The Imperials – Going Out of my Head
Oh, this one is one of those car songs that I get busted at the stop light with, belting out the lyrics and totally oblivious to the carful of teens staring in horror and amusement.
Suck it, kids. Me and Anthony, we got pain.
Eatin’ Pants: Baked French Toast
Sarah came into town this weekend and it was fabulous! Hours of talking, shopping, REAL margarita-making, fried chicken eating and silly TV watching. Not only did we view the Tony’s and talk theatre, I also introduced her to Toddlers and Tiaras. And this horror.
And, proof that she’s a nice person, Maggie ADORED her. The dog that runs from everyone in the entire world let Sarah pet her within five minutes of meeting her and then proceeded to spend most of the weekend licking Sarah’s toes or climbing in her lap for cuddles. However, that also meant that she got to experience Maggie sneezing on her more than a few times. I like to pretend that it’s an expression of love and not just doggie allergies. Read More
Sarah is comin’ to town!
So, Sarah. Y’all know sarah_fae, right?
She is in Houston for a wedding and plans on driving to Dallas afterwards to come see moi! Isn’t that FUN?
She’s also super nuts because the drive from Houston to Dallas is a BEATING. And she’s heading BACK to Houston to fly out, so she’s doing the drive TWICE.
I wouldn’t even do that for Jethro. Not even if there was candy involved.
So! What should we do? Cliché it up and go to Dealey Plaza and Campisi’s? Take her to Babe’s and get her stuffed on family style fried chicken? Shopping? What would YOU like to do in Dallas? Dallasites? Any suggestions? I promised her a margarita as big as her head, where should we go for that? Gloria’s?
Keep in mind, it’s 105 degrees here. I’m not pretty when I’m sweaty.
On a sidenote, Happy 4th of July! My present to you. This song makes me super nostalgic for summer and short white shorts and flannel shirts stolen off a skater boy, smoking Doral menthols I was too young to buy on the porch of my best friend’s house as we tried to figure out how a few days and a cap and gown made us grown up’s.
Green Fail
In an effort to try to be more green, I decided to ban paper towels from our house. Jethro has this stunningly annoying habit of ripping off about five of them at a time, just to dry his hands even though there’s a perfectly good clean hand towel within arms’ reach. Which I hate. Hate, hate, HATE. (Sad part is, he’s an environmental scientist. He KNOWS better.) But I’m just as bad, using them instead of towels to clean off counters, dry messes and kill bugs. (After I’ve yelled and flailed about it and then convinced Jethro to step on it for me. I don’t do well with bugs.)
But now, no more paper towels in the Mess household! We will use cloth napkins for everything! They’re washable! They’re eco-friendly! We’ll be a green couple and finally trendy! It’ll be epic and life-changing! Pretty soon, we’ll be driving a Prius and churning our own butter!
Or not. I’ve learned a couple of things in my journey to be green…mostly that I’m pretty terrible at it. Read More
Oops.
Sooo….maybe the reason that y’all are so quiet today is that I didn’t have post up.
Apparently when you schedule things, you need to know what day it is.
Who knew?
Everyone but me, obviously.
*sigh*
We’re just going to pretend today didn’t happen and then continue tomorrow like everything’s fine.
Go here instead.
Move it along. Nothing to see here…come back tomorrow when I’ll be vaguely interesting again.
Kind of a Mess Interviews: Katie of Katie Jane Photo
Katie Jane Goulah, of Katie Jane Photography is awesome, super positive and encouraging and everything you’d want for a wedding photographer or a Twitter buddy. (And isn’t her logo so cute you want to eat it up?!?) She totally breaks the stereotype that all New Yorkers are assholes. Either that, or she’s SUPER good at hiding it… Besides, anyone who dresses as nostalgic video game characters for Halloween is automatically jerk-free.
Fun Fact about Katie Jane that you (and she) did not know: Katie Jane has plans to grow up to be an old Southern lady, complete with giant handbag and church hat, just so she can have tea with people and ask how their beaus are.
What would you eat if it were your last meal?
Crab-stuffed sole, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese, and chocolate gelato for dessert. (Crab-stuffed sole is my husband’s specialty and it’s my favorite thing to eat everrrr. So good.)
What is your favorite piece of clothing?
Do shoes count? If so, the brown, knee-high boots I bought on our honeymoon in Florence, Italy. As excited as I am for warmer weather, I have pretty much worn my boots everyday since we got back from our honeymoon in October, and I’ll miss wearing them for the summer. They go with everything I own.
What’s your earliest memory from your childhood that you can recall?
It’s sort of an ordinary memory. I was probably two, maybe almost three. I am standing at a window at our little red bricked house in Amarillo, Texas wearing a rainbow colored knit cap – even though I’m pretty sure it was warm out – and I have Mr. Potato Head’s green pipe in my mouth. The sun is going down and slanting in through the window. My dad is coming up the driveway in a suit – I guess he’s just getting home from work – and I am standing at the window waiting for him to walk in the door and sort of jumping up and down. My mom is cooking something, and the news is on in the background. Our Schnauzer – Sparky – is standing next to me, and I pull on his tail (so mean!), and then we both run to the door as my dad walks in. I don’t know why I remember this SO vividly, but I always have. Read More
Update on TMJ Saga
So. When last you left your intrepid heroine, she was trying to avoid a second surgery and find a way to fix her stupid broken face. (Gripping, I know.)
Turns out that I don’t need more surgery and my TMJ is sleep related. (Heather G, hang on, I know you’ll love this…)
My current doctor sent me to a new doctor to explore non-surgical options that he doesn’t do because he most definitely did not want to do more surgery on me. The second surgery would be more invasive and wouldn’t correct the problem, just the symptoms.
At this point, I did NOT care. I was just over pretty much everything and wanted it fixed RAIGHT NOW. I’m not so good with the patience.
So a couple weeks later, I go to my new doctor who gave me not only an exhaustive 20 page patient information sheet, but proceeded to do a examination that consisted on him having me do all sorts of movements and rate my pain. He even checked my neck and my mobility of my legs. Which was a bit confusing, but there is also something comforting about a doctor that is that through. You feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. (Which I should, it was an $800 visit. Which might be reimbursed by insurance, might not. WHEEE, American Healthcare!!!) Read More
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