Contramano--The best band you've never heard of...

Hubby and I discovered Contramano approximately a year ago at a show at the Brooklyn venue, South Paw. They were opening for one of our favorite bands, Rasputina--an amazing band whom I've blogged about extensively, but the nitty gritty is this: two chicks singing incredibility sarcastic, funny, and off the cuff lyrics, simultaneously playing cellos, and backed by a male drummer. They like to dress in corsets, and also like pilgrims and native Americans. Seeing them live is better than their albums. Their album A Radical Recital will make you pee yourself. But back to Contramano--an amazing, innovative and exciting band, hailing from Argentina, with live cello, lots of stuff done with an iBook, a crazy singer, and immensely catchy, politically driven lyrics. We're going to see them again this evening, at South Paw in Brooklyn, and if you're interested in coming with, you should call me ASAP.

Here's hubby's epinion he wrote about them forever ago:

Contramano, The Best Band You've Not Yet Heard Of...
Contramano: you should know about them. It was my duty to inform, and that duty is done. Thank me later.

Attention Gentlemen:

(If you call yourselves such.) Please note that if I am nice enough to hold the elevator for you to go upstairs, the courteous thing is to allow me off the elevator first. As a matter of fact, gentlemen should always let ladies off elevators first. And elderly of either gender should come before the ladies (though the elderly gentlemen that I've met actually have manners and 9 out of 10 times still insist that ladies go first), as should women with children and baby carriages. I'm not saying I'm not a feminist, or that I'm better than you, but we're talking manners here, not gender politics. I'm not trying to claim that my vagina is a handicap or anything like that. I'm not asking you to get up off your ass when I'm standing on a crowded subway (but you're a scuz-bucket if you see a pregnant lady standing and you don't give her your seat). I'm not asking for you to always pay for me (though my husband does mostly, I treat him too). I'm not saying you should throw your jacket over a wet puddle so I may not soil my shoes. Just be courteous. It's never a bad idea to be courteous.

Weight Watchers is working...

I know. You're saying to yourself--how can she possibly know if it's working if she's only been doing it for FOUR days? It's impossible. Well, actually, it isn't. I've already noticed that I'm making myself a lot more accountable for the foods that I'm eating, and when I eat them. Weight Watchers gives you a certain number of points a day, and your goal is to meet those points. You're also given 35 extra points per week to use whenever you want. Sounds easy right? It isn't. It really forces you to think about what you are going to eat the whole day. Since I have 20 points per day, I have to keep those points under control. I try to think backwards, since dinner is where I spend the largest amount of points per day. Usually somewhere between 8-10.
The great thing about WW is that it is really, really flexible. They assign points for practically everything--and give you this nifty sliding card thingy that figures out the points of ANYTHING as long as you have the info about the items dietary fiber, calories, and total fat. So if you want sushi, or pizza, or chicken and veggies with pasta, you can have it--in moderation. So for example, if you're craving a bagel, you just figure out what points you're going to "spend" on it: it's 3 points for a normal sized bagel, and another point for 2 tablespoons of fat free cream cheese. Four points for breakfast. If you want skim milk in your coffee, and you tend to drink 2 cups in the morning like I do, then that's another point (1 cup of skim milk is 1 point--when in doubt, I figure higher rather than lower). But if you eat that bagel with cream cheese, and you drink your coffee, that only leaves you with 15 points for the rest of the day---so if you're willing to have a green salad for lunch (no points as long as you stick to greens and veggies--things like cheese and olives have point values too!), with fat free dressing (no points), and 3 oz (give or take half an oz) of grilled chicken or tuna (3 points), you're totally fine. Add a whole wheat pita (1 point) and a flavored seltzer (0 points), and you've eaten a filling lunch for just 4 points. Eleven points left for the day--not too shabby. It's this kind of thinking that is keeping me in line--and I've already lost 3 pounds. Probably some of it was water weight, but still. I feel it, and I know it, and I feel so much better about myself already! Hooray for WW!

Artifical Sweeteners Will Kill You...

I'm trying to eat healthier lately but my downfall is sugar. Honey, actually. (Which I occasionally put in espresso--you may think I'm crazy, but it's damned good.) But for awhile there I bought into the Splenda craze. There. I said it. I am guilty. But...no longer! You know why??? It's almost the same chemical compound as DDT--or pesticides! For more info on Splenda, check out the following link:

Splenda is TOXIC info...

All of those artificial sweeteners are so freaking bad for you, it isn't even funny. Lets see, do I feel like spooning a bunch of chemicals into my body today? I don't think so. They're evil. Just have the freaking sugar already. It's only 16 calories a teaspoon for crying out loud.

Or, if you are like me and looking for lower calorie sweetener alternatives (that won't kill you), check out Stevia. Stevia is lower in calories than sugar and honey, but still very healthy. Metal Eve and I took a cooking class last week (a vegan cooking class, mind you) and everything we made was with natural sugars, most especially Stevia. The stuff was delicious. For more information on healthy low-cal sweeteners, check out:

Healthy Alternative Sweeteners

My weight neurosis (or why I feel like a fat ass)

Eve commented on my You Can Do It blog,and she mentioned that she was floored because I joined Weight Watchers...I realize that most people probably think that I'm crazy. I was explaining my neurosis to my hubby, Brad, today because even he didn't know how insane I am about my body image.

When I was much younger, like all little brothers, G found the one thing that upset me when he teased me and wielded that name like a sword--he'd call me "fatso." I was completely tramatized by this. Needless to say, I've had a freaking complex about my weight ever since--even though when he started the teasing, I was downright skinny. I did gymnastics when I was little--it was crazy; we used to train 4 days a week for 3 hours a day--I was 4 years old when I started and 10 when I quit. As soon as I quit I started to be weight conscious because I wasn't super skinny--I was normal. I was good until junior year of high school because I was co-captain of the girls swim team and a twirler. (Yes, you heard correctly--don't laugh.) Then I quit my senior year because we got a new coach who I absolutely hated. It was quite the drama-filled event. Anyway, long story short, I went away to college, blew up like a balloon, and finally decided that I wanted to be healthy, so I started dieting and going to the gym. I was fine for a long time. I met people that I knew during the tail end of high school and all of undergraduate (because it took until the end of UG and the beginning of grad school to finally get to my "skinny" weight of 123) and they often didn't even realize it was me until I explained who I am.

Fast forward to right now, and to tell you the truth, I'm just not happy about my weight. I know what my comfort zone is for my weight, and I know that I'm not at it right now--and that ever since I got married, I've gained. Mind you, this isn't Brad's fault, but my own for not controling my eating habits. I was happy with my body when I got married--and now I want to lose those married pounds and look svelt again. I just don't feel comfortable with my body the way it is. Because I was once heavy, I always think of myself that way (and I have the freaking stretch marks to prove it lol). I have a very poor body image, but I know this about myself. I can't help it. It's one of the things I tried to work on when I was in therapy, but unfortunately, all I can do to make myself happy is try to be in control of my weight, in a healthy way. It's really the only way for me to deal with it.

Sometimes I wonder...

I wonder about the oddest things. Like what the cats are doing right now. In all likelyhood, they're probably sleeping. I think I read something once that said cats sleep 75% of their lives. That's a lot of sleep. What I want to know is if they sleep so much, how come they're waking me up at 4:00 in the morning all the time? I's tired boss.

Elphie sleeping in her basket














Helena cuddling on the couch

Grendel

Our cat Grendel has a Myspace profile. The other cats have them too (I'll make one for Sawyer soon--Elphie and Helena have one each), but Grendel is by far the most popular. He has 184 friends--nearly twice as many as I have. I don't understand how that happens--especially since I don't really spend any time on trying to get him to meet new "cat friends," but that hasn't stopped people from asking to be his friend on a fairly regular basis. He's one popular cat!

Sawyer doesn't sleep...

Last night, for some reason, I thought it might be a good idea to let Sawyer hang out in the bedroom with me while I did some freelance work. He made himself very comfortable, attacked my feet and my papers a few times, and then retreated to the throw rug next to my bed and night stand; I dangled my hand over the bed and he'd occasionally swat at it. When it was time for bed, I closed him into the office (which is right next to the bedroom) and tried to go to sleep. The other cats came and took their usual places--Grendel at the foot of the bed, Elphie under the covers between my legs (not comfortable by the way), and Helena curled against my side. But Sawyer was voicing his discontent--loudly. He got sleepy I suppose, and eventually fell asleep.

Well Mr. Spoiled-Brat (or Mr. Pudding-Pop as Vivian likes to call him) decided at 4:00 am that he'd had enough of solitary and started meowing. Loudly. For more than a half hour. At 4:30 in the morning, I don't argue, I just removed Grendel to the couch (where Elphie and Helena already were), closed the bedroom door, and let Sawyer out. He proceeded to make himself comfortable on the throw rug on the side of my bed where he remained for the rest of the night, occasionally peeping up and hitting my hand with his paw. I am so in love with him.

You can do it!

I joined Weight Watchers today. Over the weekend I realized that I've gained TEN POUNDS since I've gotten married. I was a complete and total bitch to Brad over the whole weekend (except about kitty-related things) and I realize (in hindsight) that it's because I'm feeling fat and bloated. I feel completely disgusted by myself and think that I look like a big fat heifer. So in addition to taking my workouts up a notch, I joined Weight Watchers so I can feel like I'm taking control of what I eat. I noticed that I don't really overeat, but I don't make good choices sometimes. Did you know that a portion of Chicken Vindaloo is 10 WW points?? And a portion of Aloo Gobi is only 4 points! Oy. Another reason to give up on chicken (just a side note, I'm going to the doctor again tomorrow to get my blood work done--I need to see where my anemia and all that is at before I go back to being a vegetarian).

I don't know what the hell I've been thinking. I used to weigh a LOT. I mean I once weighed 192 pounds. I'm nowhere near that now, but lets just say when I was my thinnest adult weight, I was a full 68 pounds thinner (123--my thinnest weight since HS swimming) and I am determined to get back down around there. Maybe not 123 because I've seen pics of myself that thin and I look like I have a really big head, but 130 would be perfect. I mean, I'm 5'6", so 130 is ideal. I mean, I'm not overweight right now (the woman at WW actually asked me if I realized that I was already in my ideal weight range), but I'm not as thin as I want to be. And god damn it, I bought cute bikinis last year that didn't get enough use! I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!

Yet another new kitty...

Many of you know that Brad and I rescued Melora back in September of last year, and eventually, after much debate, gave her to Vivian. Well, very similar to Melora's story, is Sawyer's, our latest rescue mission. Sawyer has also been living at the bodega up the corner, and I suppose, because it has been so cold out, we haven't seen him outside and running around at night because the bodega has been keeping him inside (I hope)...well Friday night, as I was getting off the train, the bodega was closing for the night (it was around 7 pm) and I saw him outside the store arond 50 feet from the door--and they were closing the gates with him outside. I got him to come to me and started petting him (mind you, I was in full view of the bodega owners--you would think that if they actually cared about what happened to him, they would have at least tried to keep me from petting him, or at the very least stuck around to make sure I didn't take him). I waited until they left, and then, whosh! I scooped him up and started walking home cradling him in my arms.


As I was walking up the block to my, a girl in a car was stopped me to talk--she mentioned that she knew who he belonged to and I told her that I knew too, had already rescued one of the other kitties they had, and that since the bodega people don't take care of their cats, I was taking him home and going to find a home for him--and I'd probably keep doing it until they learned how to take care of their animals. She grinned and said, "Good. He's better off with you any day." Vindicated, I got little Sawyer home and put him in the bathroom (our kitty depot since that is where any new kitty we get makes his or her first stop in our house), and got him all set up--food, water, snuggly bed, extra litter box we keep on hand for just such occasions--and tried to make him comfy. He seemed a little scared and skittish, but I can't really say that I blame him. Brad and I had dinner reservations, so we left to go eat and discuss what to do with Sawyer. As it stands right now, we are thinking that we're going to try and find a home for him. Having Melora stay with us for the past month made us realize how much extra work a fourth cat is, and how much our cats don't take kindly to newcomers. It's funny, because when we found Melora, Brad was the one who really wanted to keep her. Now with Sawyer, it's completely opposite and I really want to keep him. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but it's the truth. I really, really want to keep him. We'll see what happens though. One can never count on anything--except that cats find me everywhere I go. Check out the link below to see more pics of Sawyer! He is so darn cute.
Sawyer, the new kitty

Neurotic

Every day, as soon as I get into work, I use antibacterial wipes to clean my desk and my phone. I hate dirt and germs. I will kill them all! Between that and airborne, it's no wonder why I haven't really gotten sick this winter.

Wait, did I say winter? It's spring now. It's 34 degrees out, but yes, it is technically spring. I knew NYC was going to have to pay for 55 degree days all through January, but did anyone listen to me? No. Of course not. Thank goodness for my space heater.

The Purse

My New Coach Purse...

I preordered it on Saturday...and now I'm waiting...waiting...waiting...Gods, the anticipation is killing me. I want it right now! I got it in black...so cute. Perfect size. And now I won't look like a retard when I'm carrying my big 'ole gym bag too. (I absolutely hate carrying a huge purse and a gym bag. Hello, can you say excessive?)Since I knew I was going to Coach, I also brought in my all-time favorite Coach purse--my large black patent leather tote bag. I adore this bag. The straps looked like they were coming apart though, so I thought it best to bring it in for repair before my beautiful Coach baby broke and then I'd be heartbroken. But it's going to take 4 to 6 weeks to fix! I'm in withdrawal! So now the only black purses I have as options are my little tiny ones which I usually save for nighttime use. Oh the horror--to be stuck with brown and burgandy as my only choices. I'm such a drama queen! heeheehee...

A Lucky St. Pat's Day...

A few weeks ago, Brad and I were having dinner at one of our favorite local pizza places, Two Boots, and we noticed that they were planning a St. Pat's day event with music and prizes and all that sort of thing. Since Two Boots is a fun sort of place, good cajun pizza, good drinks, and cozy atmosphere, we thought it would be the perfect place to grab a bite and spend a low-key St. Pat's.

When we got home tonight, we were both fairly exhausted. We volleyed the idea of going or not going back and forth a bit, and both decided that yeah, we should stop acting like old bastards and just go out for a while--and I really am glad we did.

Two Boots turned out to be a great idea. They were serving traditional Irish fare, in addition to their Cajun-themed pizzas, and they were running all sorts of contests. Brad and I scored a Jameson's t-shirt and key chain from answering an Irish trivia quiz, but the best part of the night was the Limerick contest...the goal was to write a limerick with the words "St. Pat's" in the first line. Between the bands sets, the hostess (a trip, let me tell you) would read all the entries and the winner would be based on the applause....and yeah, you guessed it--I won! Here is my winning limerick:

My husband wore a kilt on St. Pat's
And on a big float there he sat
He drank lots of whiskey
and yelled, "Come and kiss me"
and swung his green dick like a bat

:-) I won a big ole' bottle of Jameson's Irish Whiskey. Definitely a successful St. Patrick's day:

The never ending week...

Is finally almost over. It's 4:08 p.m. and I'm counting down the time until 5:30...I cannot wait to get out of here...

Minimum Wage

Since Brad knew how crappy I've been feeling lately, he surprised me last night by making a super yummy dinner (most appreciated after working out at the gym and then dragging my ass home on the train), and as an additional surprise, he stuck this in one of my shopping bags:


Yup, it's Minimum Wage! (He's "minimum" because it's a little ugly, as opposed to a full-size uglydoll.) This is the description from the Uglydoll website:

Minimum Wage gets the job done!
See that apron?
Told ya!
Wage is hard working and super smarty, just like you.
Hired, fired, never come back...
Wage has heard it all, and doesn't need to know what any of it means.
Why? Hmm yeah. But Wage does know that come pay day, it's time for cookies, snacks and plain ole chillin' with Ice-Bat, his best buddy Babo...and you, the human!

I love Minimun Wage. He is super cute and slept between Brad and I last night (along with Elphie and Helena, two of our cats). Our bed looks like it belongs in a kid's room or a zoo in the morning. Hooray for Uglydolls and Little Uglies!

Madame Coachie...

My husband and best girlfriends have christened me "Madame Coachie" due to my severe snobby purse ways and ridiculous amount of Coach purses/accessories. Well apparently Coach thinks I'm Mdm. Coachie too.

A couple of days ago, I received an invitation to the Coach invitation only pre-sale this coming March 21st (the first day of Spring). It's not a public sale--and I get 25% off. I was pretty darn excited about this, let me tell you. There are a couple new purses that I had my eye on, but I wasn't seriously thinking of buying anything until post-tax season--but with the one day sale, how could I not??

Well, I must seriously rate with Coach, because Joel, a salesperson from the Coach across the street (and the place I most often purchase things from because it is so close to my job) called me this afternoon to let me know that they would be happy to extend the sale from now until Tuesday--all I had to do was come in--with or without my invitation--and they'd be happy to ring up my purchases with the applicable discount anytime....heeheeheehee...Guess where I'm going this weekend?

Anxiety...

I've been having work anxiety lately--like overwhelming feelings of stress and worry. It's made me cry a couple of times in the last few days--luckily not actually in front of my coworkers, but still. I'm stressed. I like my job; I do it well, but this anxiety is the pits. I think I just need yoga and the gym and I'll be fine.

Gym!

I'm leaving work and going to the gym. No really. I am.

See? Look at me walk out the door...

My favorite things about this past weekend...

Two favs from this past weekend: My new uglydoll t-shirt, and the fact that I finished my crochet flower bag.

Check out my new t-shirt:


I am completely obsessed with uglydolls. Ever since I bought Ice Bat for Brad for Christmas a few years ago, our collection has slowly, but surely been increasing. We have full sized Ice Bat and Ox, and Mini-sized Target, Uglydog, Wedgehead, and Bop n' Beep. I want them all!

Proof that I really am a crazy cat lady...

In addition to the three cats we have, we're watching our "joint-custody cat"--a kitty we resuced several months ago and gave to our dear friend Vivian. Viv asked us to watch Melora-flora (far left) while she was taking care of her family dog Nino who is recovering from surgery...Meow! Four kitties! That's a lot of cat poop every day, let me tell you...

SF memories...

My recent trip to San Francisco to visit with my best girlfriends (Jennifer & Ingrid, who now live there, and Anna, who was visiting from New Mexico) made me realize something about friendship--or rather, made me remember something about friendship: it is the greatest gift in the world, and not something that should be given lightly. I know that my girlfriends and I have been through a lot together (more than I am comfortable sharing in a blog, I'll tell you that much) and while waiting to be seated at our table in a swanky Chinese restaurant in SF the first night of our visit, the four of us came to the realization that, yes, some things in life could be better, but right now, just as they stand, they're pretty darn good. It was such an amazing Zen moment--we were happy and grateful that we were able to share that moment with one another. It was amazing--the entire weekend was amazing.

That weekend in San Francisco has made me think about so many things recently--not only how much I love my girlfriends, but also how important it is to just be. To not rush around, making plans, but to sometimes just sit back with the ones you love, drive around randomly, sing crazy songs, talk, spend time with one another, laugh, be silly. I'll be carrying around the memories of that weekend with me for a long time to come--and I cherish my girls--so very, very much.

Project What?

I am a dedicated Project Runway fan and have never, ever missed an episode of either this past season, or last season. And you know what? I'm disappointed. Watching the runway shows last year got me excited--I wanted Jay to win and was so excited to see the amazing and innovative clothes that he came up with. Kara San's line was great, though a little too bling for my personal taste. Even Wendy's line was cohesive in cut, color, and fabrics.

Last night's show was a mess. Daniel V. was a mess. Chloe was a mess. Santino wasn't a mess, but it sure was boring. I wasn't impressed--with any of them. I cannot believe that Chloe won--what the hell was up with the fabric she chose? All of the materials she used looked like they could have been turned into upholstery or drapes. Yeesh. Yeah, her clothing was impeccably put together, but innovation? I don't know what the judges were looking at, but I didn't see any. And Daniels line was so safe. Those purses were a nightmare (woodshop 101, hello?), and what the hell was up with the tassels and gold buttons? Eeeew, ewwww, EWWW. Santino. Oh Santino, did you disappoint. Your maturity squashed the raw talent we saw so much of this past season, and we were left with such lackluster pieces. Even the colors were drab.

After hearing all the buzz on Kara's line--that was the one that I really wanted to see. I was pissed that she was eliminated anyway since I thought she should have won both the flower and makeup challenges, and thought that her evening gown was infinitely better than Chloe's. Take a look at the New York Metro pictures of her show here: Kara Janx 2006 Collection
I thought her collection was definitely the most inspired and interesting. Though I didn't love every single thing in it, it was still, by far, the most interesting.

I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth from Project Runway this season. Last season, I couldn't wait for the next show to start. I fooked forward to it all summer. This year? Let's just say Lost is still going to be the only reason to keep Wednesday nights free...

I'm too busy to eat!

I always know when it starts getting super busy at work because I start forgetting to take lunch until my stomach makes such a loud growl that my co-workers who share my office actually hear it and tell me to go eat something. It just happened. I'm going to finally leave my desk for more that three minutes on a pee-break so that I can go and get some food. It will probably be soup. I always eat soup; it's easy and I don't have to waste time thinking about what I feel like having for lunch. I ate soup yesterday, and I was sort of disappointed in my choice. I had Southwestern shrimp and corn bisque from Hale & Hearty (my normal soup joint). I was expecting it to be amazing--I didn't taste it ahead of time because I thought that I had already had that soup and loved it. It was not the case. I must have had a shrimp and corm curry, because this soup was seriously lacking in flavor. I hate being disappointed by what should be a fail-proof lunch process. In addition to whatever soup I get, I think I'll get myself an orange from the fruit cart. I'm feeling orangy today.

Grendel

While on Snapfish looking to order a few prints, I came across a really, really funny one my husband took of me sleeping with our kitty Grendel "keeping watch." Grendel is the funniest cat ever. It kills me how jealous he gets and how much attention he needs. While I was gone this weekend, he followed Bradley around like a puppy and as soon as I got home, he made sure to do the same to me...in fact, I'm pretty sure I woke up in this exact position last night: