Library Loving

Today for Library Loving I would like to present the stuff of nightmares.  These are pictures of pages of an old German children's book my friend Traci had. YOU ARE SO WELCOME!

I don't even know. 

This is the story of a child who starves to death because  of refusal to eat soup. Note the shrinking size of the child. Note the soup tureen on the child's grave. SO MESSED UP! 

May your dreams be full of creepy German children's stories.

Yes, this is how I reward new followers and visitors. Logic has no place here. Welcome to Meg's Mind. 

Much Love Monday

Much Love Monday. 

A couple of months ago I was having a blazer moment. It was a big enough of a thing that I attempted to  document it. Haven't you missed my iPhone craptastic pictures??

Loving Jackets: 

For Want Of An Oven.....

You know what this blog has been missing lately?

Brownies!

(duh)

Did I mention I do not have an oven at my place? Hey folks, I do not have an oven at my place. BUT JERRYKAY does.......

Here's what happened:

Brownie Mix gifted to me by my little sisters. Yay! 

Always add espresso powder but otherwise just follow directions on brownie box. 

A few dollops of cookie butter? Don't mind if I do!! 

Use knife to mix in cookie butter. Bake as directed.

AWESOME!! 

All that stuff your parents told you? Not lies, apparently.

Remember the eleventy thousand times that your parents told you that one day certain foods you found revolting would grow on you because your taste buds would change? Not a lie. Sometimes. Gosh. Sometimes I desire salad. Who am I??????

Remember when your sisters were just. so. irritating. and your mom was all like, some day you will be friends? Not only will someday you be friends, some day you will find yourself in an airport terminal with tears (humiliatingly) escaping your eyes because how are you supposed to leave them? For who knows how long?


Remember how your parents told you that you would POKE SOMEBODY'S EYE OUT if you kept ______ (insert completely random dumb childish thing here)? Ok. That was a lie. That never happened.


What about you? What did your parents tell you that did/did not turn out to be true?

Friday Finds

Need interesting gift ideas? Check out everything below!

Ecospheres 

Bottlehood

You can not go wrong with Tiffany's but these are especially sweet.

Yevgenia's ceramics. So lovely! I love this Japanese inspired cup:

For the music buff: Patrick Laurent of Quiet Boy Studio does custom lyrics on vintage vinyl. BEYOND AWESOME.

Super classy office supplies via MIMI + MEG.

Because This Is My Life......FOOD

Hey y'all!

Did I ever tell you about the time that I was getting ready to move to Tucson and some of my family and I went to my favorite St. Louis restaurant, BARcelona, for a farewell dinner? 

Well we did. It's a Tapas joint and they have amazing sangria too. What more could you want? 

Dessert. You could want dessert. 

My family decided to order two desserts to share. I picked the Tres Leches cake. Someone else picked something so inconsequential that I have not bothered to remember it. 

Four years later, I still think about that Tres Leches cake. I remember what that first bite felt like. I remember the offense that I felt when my family did not love it the way I loved it. But also the glee that it meant more for me. I have not had a bite of Tres Leches cake from anywhere since then, afraid that it would not measure up. 

Thinking about BARcelona makes me love Tucson significantly less. No Steak N Shake? Stupid, but okay. No St. Louis Bread Company/Panera. Fine, just do not offend me with telling me Paradise Bakery replaces it. It does not. But no BARcelona? Great sadness. 

And now. Now I have to try and find a crepe place in Tucson because the last time I was in St. Louis, this happened: 

Skinny Californian Crepe. Chicken, bacon, avocado, swiss, cream sauce. OH YUM! 

My sisters went for sweet with the Nutella and  bananas. 

Hot chocolate with a shot of raspberry and a HOMEMADE giant marshmallow on top.

So yeah. Food in St. Louis is better.

Via Crepes, Etc in the Central West End. 
I am all rave reviews about this place!

Really Important Information...

For no one. Just kidding. It's only really important to me. It's also two examples of me being basically right. Possibly the only two examples of me being right ever.

So I joke ALL THE TIME about how I am poverty-stricken. I'm sure the people I say that to are beyond tired of hearing me say it. Except. EXCEPT! I just was looking at the U.S. Census Poverty Thresholds for 2011 because I wanted to compare it to my tax information for 2011 and see how far off I was from poverty. Guess what people? Guess freaking what? A paltry $2k above poverty. So do I live in poverty? Technically, no. But seriously, do you begrudge me my $2,000 above poverty? That would be super uncharitable of you. Let me own my poverty. For reals.


This flow chart from Adulting PERFECTLY expresses my feelings on friends going after a friend's ex. So perfectly does it match my own feelings that it feels like a giant affirmation that I am not crazy or overly sensitive. Some things are just messed up.

And as an end note, I am having some blood sugar issues this afternoon and I feel all shaky and hopped up and so if this post is a little heavy on the CAPS I just wanna say--sorry. I am surprised there are not more caps. I tried to rein it in.

Library Loving

Soooooooooooooooo yeah. I, as usual, have a huge stack of books I am working on. 

But I hate neglecting my little Library Loving column. 

Have you read any good books lately? 

I got Jumping the Broom from the library and watched that. Eh. 

I got a Luther Vandross CD from the library and it keeps skipping. Grrrrr.....

And in the meantime, I am reading and reading and reading. 

I'll let you know. 

Ten on Tuesday

Songs for Moving West: 

1. Wide Open Spaces, Dixie Chicks

2. Airstream Song, Miranda Lambert

3. Great Wide Open, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

4. Guns Out, Young The Giant

5. I'm On Fire, Bruce Springsteen

6. The Road's My Middle Name, Bonnie Raitt

7. Wild, Wild West, Will Smith

8. Running On Empty, Jackson Browne

9. Airplanes, B.o.b.

10. California Girls, Beach Boys

Have a list you would like to submit for Ten On Tuesday? Email me at megsmindnet@gmail.com! 

Much Love Monday

Much Love Monday 

This is a bag I got in St. Louis. I really dig it. 

But right after I bought this bag, I saw this bag.....

that I kinda dig even more. But I had already bought the first bag. Such is life. 

The point being: This Monday I am loving St. Louis themed bags. 

What are you loving? 

Join in on the fun! 

Because This Is My Life.....

Otherwise entitled: No, your bun is not THE bomb, but it might be A bomb.

My hair had been thrown up in a bun whilst still wet. It was a small and practical bun. Not a blogger bun. If hairstyles equaled footwear, this was an old pair of New Balance Sneakers kind of bun.

I had been a little rushed in my packing and getting to the airport that day. So rushed that I failed to address the all important "am I wearing socks" factor that is vital to a restful airport security experience.

There I was. Barefoot. In an airport. Trying desperately not to dwell on the germaphobic, hypochondriac thoughts racing through my brain (flesh-eating bacteria). I became intensely focused on getting through the security and back into my shoes as soon as humanly possible.

As soon as this became my focus, I should have known that I would be stuck in security, barefoot, for awhile. Because this is my life.....

To start off this "only me" moment, the man in front of me was clearly not airport security savvy. There was the failed trip through the metal detector because he still had his belt on. And then the second failed attempt for his watch. And then I wanted to scream, "HELLO, BARE FEET OVER HERE! I AM CATCHING A DISEASE WHILE I WAIT!" But I did not and he made it through on his third try.

I stepped up to breeze through the easy peasy metal detector only to be motioned over to the line for the slower, less convenient full body x-ray scanner. Flesh-eating bacteria in my feet and cancer rays??? What a sweet day for my hypochondria! Also, why was I being singled out for the x-ray machine?

In line for the x-ray. Worried about bacteria and disease and cancer and invasion of privacy. And worried about someone stealing my laptop that easily made its way through security, while I did not. I watched the man in front of me go through the machine, it takes about 30 seconds and then he was released to travel. Not so bad. All in all about an extra minute and a half of bacteria exposure to my poor tootsies.

Except that after I go through the scanner I am NOT released to travel. Instead, a large male security agent stands at the end of the x-ray security lane, closes the end of the lane of with a rope, and blocks my exit. In case I decided to make a run for it? Did I need to make a run for it? Why is this happening to me while I am barefoot? Am I being considered a threat to security because only a lunatic would fail to wear socks at the airport? I think so. But no one feels compelled to explain it to me and I do not have the courage to ask.

I stand there blocked by the burly agent, gazing longingly at my laptop and praying for it's safety, not knowing if and when I will ever see it again, when a female agent comes up behind me and gropes my bun! My hair bun that is. No words.  Just one big invasive grope. She gives the burly agent a nod and I am released into the terminal.

I have never put my shoes on so fast in my life.

Life lesson: Wear socks and keep your hair down at the airport.

It does not feel like Friday when you are sick.

 I have totally been mauled by a nasty flu/cold thing that I picked up in St. Louis. Best souvenir NEVER!  


What goes on in Meg's Mind, when Meg's mind is afflicted with illness: 


1. From now on I will take vitamins, drink green smoothies, eat right, sleep more, etc.  I will never allow this to happen again. 
2. Why aren't there any snack cakes in my house????? I NEED a snack cake! 
3. I am in a weakened state and I live alone. Why does big pharma make their drug packaging Meg proof? 
4. Doctor Who is not the best show to watch when you have just taken cold remedies that make you slightly delusional.  On the other hand, Doctor Who is flipping funny and I am really sad it took me so long to get on that bandwagon. 
5. Speaking of bandwagons, there is now no such thing as too much Downton Abbey. It's like cowbell. More! More! More! I need more! 
6. I know I am really sick because I am crying at Jumping The Broom. Also, why does Angela Bassett keep getting hotter? Wouldn't I kill for those genetics? 
7. Breathing is so under appreciated. Dear breathing, I will never take you for granted again. 
8. Have I ate lately? No wonder I am sick, I haven't ate since............crap! Have I ate lately? How am I still alive? I wish I had some snack cakes. Or soup. Maybe I will just eat this piece of bread. Why couldn't I have gotten sick AFTER I had a chance to go to the grocery store? 
9. How long between doses? 
10. Is this medication making me feel better or worse? I can not even tell anymore. 
11. How long do you have to be stuck in bed before you get bed sores? 
12. Don't people know I am stuck at home sick bored out of my mind!! Why aren't they taking their turns in chess/words/scramble/hanging with friends? No TELEVISION people. Just DVD'son my laptop. Am I supposed to read?? You can't read when you are sick! 




And now, a life recipe for success: 


Fill a coffee mug with water and add a little honey. A teaspoon or two should do. 
Then put this in the microwave for 1 minute.
Add a tea bag and microwave for 45 seconds more. 
Remove mug from microwave. 
Remove tea bag. 
Add lemon juice (to taste). 
Add a dash of brandy. (just a dash) 
Stir. Counter Clockwise. 
Sip. 

Ten on Tuesday

Perfect Fall Drive Mix
1. Days Like This, Van Morrison
2. Carry It All, The Decemberists
3. Badge, Cream  (as submitted by my moms)
4.We Are Going To Be Friends, White Stripes (as submitted by my pops)
5. The Long & Winding Road, Beatles  (as submitted by my pops)
6. Give A Little Bit, Supertramp (as submitted by Emma)
7. Clean, Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johnansson (as submitted by Margaux)
8.And It Stoned Me, Van Morrison
9.Guns Out, Young The Giant
10. Jeremiah Blues (Part I), Sting

Secondhand Smoke

Sometimes I walk into the garage where I work after my boss has just finished smoking and it is like a punch directly to my gut. I have to quickly do what I am there to do and rush back inside, all the while struggling to gain my composure.

Why?

Because the smell of a freshly lit cigarettes reminds me of my grandma. Makes me miss her so desperately that it makes my chest ache and my eyes water.

Here is what I didn't tell you on this blog: My grandma died at the end of July.

I miss her.

It was several months before I could wear the ring she gave me.

And then it took me several wears before I could put it on without crying.

The other day I knew I had been wearing my ring. I knew I had taken it off in my bathroom, but I thought I had put it back on. Several hours later, I noticed I did not have it on. My heart stopped. My throat closed. I had to drop everything and race home to see if it was in my bathroom. It was. Thank goodness.

I think my grandma would be dismayed by such emotional displays.  She would rather I did crosswords, read biographies, played dominoes as if it were bloodsport, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

The One With All Things Russia, Volume 2.

Gorgeous Pictures of St. Petersburg, Russia.


If the theme song doesn't kill you, what will?


Russian biologist Alexander Semenov rocks my world with these pictures of jellyfish. Did you know I love jellyfish? I think they are so super awesome! More here. 

An excess of snow: 

PSA: Beer is alcohol.