Progress Report

A progress report on my apartment, it finally feels like home.

My living room with its tiny TV and comfy recliner.

A few additions to the bedroom

Dressing area & bathroom

I'm finally settled in and am sad to realize I've only got a little over a week left before I pack up and head to Delhi for several weeks.  At least I'll have someplace nice to come home to in April.

This sweet song, a recent release from Carrie Underwood, reminds me to keep my eye on the big picture even as I work to make my temporary home as nice as I can.

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How did I get so OLD?

Like all of you, I've found myself reading many "best of" lists over the past few weeks.  This weekend I was reading Entertainment Weekly's 2009 Best & Worst issue and one list in particular left me feeling very old and out of touch.  Their picks for The Best Singles of the Year include:

• Jay-Z and Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind"
• Lady Gaga "Paparazzi"
• Phoenix "Lisztomania"
• Keri Hilson feat Kanya West & Ne-Yo "Knock You Down"
• Grizzly Bear "Two Weeks"
• Gossip "Heavy Cross"
• Green Day "21 Guns"
• Noisettes "Never Forget You"
• Mile Cyrus "Party in the USA"
• Dirty Projectors "Stillness is the Move"

As I read through the list I realized that, while I recognized all of the artists (except Dirty Projectors) the only songs I actually remember hearing were "21 Guns" and "Party in the USA."  Since then I've spent several days feeling old and out of touch.

I've finally decided to blame my lack of knowledge on the fact that I don't listen to the radio anymore and that my taste in music is just a bit outside mainstream pop.  Have I rationalized enough so that I can still consider myself "cool" when it comes to music?

To try and prove my "coolness" here are some of my picks for the top songs of the year (in no particular order):

• The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You"
• Owl City "Fireflies"
• Kings of Leon "Use Somebody"
• Carrie Underwood "I Told You So"
• Miranda Lambert "Dead Flowers"
• Death Cab for Cutie "Meet Me at the Equinox"
• Holly Williams "Alone"
• The Temper Trap "Sweet Disposition"
• Will Hoge "Even if it Breaks Your Heart"
• Dierks Bentley feat. Patty Griffin "Beautiful World"

What were your favorite songs this year?

And because I really do want to know, I've decided to provide a little incentive to get you to comment.  I'm going to give away a mix of my favorite songs to one of you, so leave a comment with you favorite song(s) before Thursday at mid-night and you could be the proud owner of my Best of Mix.

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Toad

I'm holding down the fort at my parent's house while my dad has knee surgery and last night things got a little exciting.

I took the dogs out before putting them to bed so they could take care of business. After a minute or two, I noticed my dog, Sadie, had stopped to play with something, which I quickly realized was a toad. I started yelling at her trying to get her to leave it alone because it just seemed mean to play with the little toad that way. Of course I didn't go over and make her stop, I just stood and yelled - not because I'm lazy but because I have a thing about toads and didn't really want to get to close.

She finally listened and finished up her business. As she came in I started shaking my finger at her and telling her she was going to get warts if she played with toads. That's when I noticed she was foaming at the mouth. I tried to grab her, but since I'd just spent the last 5 minutes yelling at her she dashed off. I kept trying to grab her but finally called down to my brother J for help. I was starting to envision a very large vet bill in my future. As he walked up the stairs he asked me what she ate, I told him nothing that I knew of but that she'd been playing with a toad. He started to laugh.

Luckily he knew that toads emit something that causes their predators (like Sadie) to foam at the mouth and we just needed to wash her mouth out. He was able to catch her and soon she was foam free. I'm happy to report no lasting effects, aside from having a good story to tell.

Guys - if I have any male readers that is - don't take this song as a dig, I'm just posting it because how many other songs can you think of that include both frogs and dogs in them?

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