Zucchini

This may be the biggest yellow zucchini I have ever seen. My mom had it in her garden and brought it over for me. I ended up slicing it into strips, adding italian dressing, olive oil, garlic salt, onion powder, oregano, and some s&p. Covered the pan in foil and baked it in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Took the foil off, put the oven on broil for 4 minutes and "wallah!" perfection.

Recent-ness in Lindsey-Land.

Currently I'm a little hyped up on a 500(ish) ml sugar-free Red Bull. (Yeah, the big one.) I haven't had to do my redbull trick since last summer when it ultimately gave me an ulcer. (I was drinking a LOT of it.) I had to work this weekend, and had 3 tests to study for. Needless to say, I needed a little extra "oompf". I just completed the first exam prior to this post. (I made it my whore.)

This has been the norm for me lately-- lots of studying, little time for sleep and play. However, I absolutely refuse to let nursing school completely take over my life. It's MY life, and fun is a top priority for me. That said, I have found time lately to lay out, go for a few runs, see a movie, watch trashy tv on VH1, take a couple of naps, and a few other things that make me smile. I'm lucky enough that I absorb information fairly easily, so I don't have to read over material 100 times to "get it".

The best thing I have done for myself is plan an awesome vacation. Shan and I went to Cheddar's (best croissants. ever.) about a week ago and decided we needed to go see her brother in San Diego ASAP. That evening we booked flights and hotels. Since Las Vegas is so close to San Diego, we decided it was imperative that we spend a couple of days there. So, first we are flying in to Vegas and staying two nights. Her bro is picking us up there and the remainder of our stay will be in San Diego with a short stint in LA for some Six Flags action. (apparently this is quite the fun/scary experience) We will also have an educational day (museums/zoo) and hit up a Padres/Cubs game while we're there. This will be the first time since this past winter that I will be completely (hopefully) worry-free. I have never been to Vegas or Cali, so you can imagine how excited I am. Would you like to know the most exciting part of this trip? Sure you would. We booked the flight from home to Vegas, San Diego to home, and both hotel nights for $250 each total. If you aren't aware, I'm a poor college student. This is extremely exciting for me.

I must get back to school now and learn things, but I will certainly keep you posted on the trip and there will be some pics.

Enjoy as much sun as you possibly can this summer, and don't take life too seriously.

- L McP

Honesty Rocks- That's my motto.

I don't usually write about relationship crap, but I can't sleep tonight and came across this article about how guys play games.

My simple rules of dating:

1. If you like someone, tell them.

2. If you want to talk to someone, call them.

3. If they do something that pisses you off, let them know. Just don't be a bitch about it.

4. If you don't like them, be up front. Honesty Rocks.

(I'm no pro by any means, but being straight forward seems to be the best approach in any relationship... from training your dog to co-workers to intimate relationships even to speaking with your parents)

Most of the examples of games in the article are of "guy" being a total d-bag, and "girl" in turn pining for every last bit of his attention.

This is what I have seen happen over and over with my female friends, guy friends that do it to women they like, and sometimes in my own experience-

So you like a girl, but flirt with other girls in front of her, act like a d-bag, or just act like you don't like her ... whatev. This may seem like it works. Once you finally give a girl some time, she is all over you and is sucking up every last bit of attention she can get from you. You've made her insecure, and she is probably trying to do everything she can to make you like her and want to spend time with her. Now you've made her seem crazy, desperate, clingy, and ultimately unattractive. You're wondering, 'What happened to this really cool chick? When did she go bonkers?'. Instead of looking back at what you may have done to make her act this way, you will more than likely blame it on the girl. If you wouldn't have played hard to get in this way (you CAN play hard to get without being an ass...) and brought out one of her worst sides, you'd probably still be into her. However, if you're just trying to get laid- this will probably work pretty well with most women.

I realize women play games too. I've done it, and it's never once worked out in my favor.

So boys and girls, next time you like someone, tell them (not 10x a day). Call them if you want to talk (also, not 10x a day... don't look desperate). If they do something to upset you, bring it up and get over it. If they do it again- toss em'. If you decide you do not want to see them anymore, get some balls and say something, nicely. IMO, the worst thing a girl or guy can do is drag someone along when they have no intentions of taking the relationship any further.

Like I said, Honesty Rocks.

End Soapbox.

L McP

Seems Shady...

So I walk out to the parking ramp when leaving work the other night and I have this stuck to my side mirror-



Now, WTF? I mean, do I want to earn 800-1,000 extra dolares a month? Duh.

Do I want to call some dude named Shawn who had the balls to go around a parking ramp of a private hospital and stick these little notes all over everyone's car, but doesn't give any clue to what kind of work he wants you to do? No.

For all I know, I could be signing up to be a drug mule, prostitute, rape victim, sideshow exhibit, scientific experiment, or star of a porno. What makes one think it's okay not to put the name of your "company" on a flyer looking for employees?

I don't get it.

L McP

Farewell to Prison Party? For Real?

So, T.I. is going to prison for 366 days. I found this story on CNN and just had to share because it made me laugh.

Talk about loving yourself too much.

L McP

Bowling for Kanye

Shan's bro, Casey was in town for a couple days and so we all (Shan, Nora, Casey & I) decided to go bowling yesterday. After some comida mexicana we headed to the bowling alley and I decided I was going to wear the Kanye stunna shades the entire time we were bowling.

Now you would think that this would prevent me from doing very well, but I actually played better than I ever have at bowling. Previous to this, my PR was around 120. The first game I scored a 129- WHOA! Then I had a 2nd beer and scored a 150 (!!!!) the 2nd game. Holy. Shit. Who am I?

The third game I didn't do so hot, I only scored a 114. But Nora, that girl lit the alley UP the 3rd game! Her first two games totaled a whopping 189. The final score of her 3rd game? 181. What a rock star!
Check it-


Here's a pic of the three of us


-L McP

LOL!

So there are some crazy Texans that want to secede from the United States. This makes me LOL. They even have a website, blog, and lots and lots of shit to buy, such as the apron above.

I say... good riddens. You can keep your Bush family, over-sized diesel trucks used just for show, oil.. stuff?, rodeos, stupid accents, and any other ridiculous Texas type thing you can think of.

Can we keep Galveston, though? It's pretty there, and they don't have a southern drawl.

The best $1.06 I've ever spent.

Kanye and Lady Gaga ain't got nothin' on me.

Shutter Shades.

My Birthday is coming up.... hint... hint...

So my birthday is coming up. I though I should share with you a list of things I want. It's in about 2 1/2 weeks. So I think you all have enough time to get these things for me.

#1.



If you don't remember, I wanted this car for a rental when the Subaru (lez-mobile) was in the shop getting some body work done. I ended up with a Mazda 5 mini-van instead. Please refer to this link if you don't remember. Well I've decided that a rental just isn't good enough, I would please like this car to drive all the time.

#2.



I want the balloon of course. What is a birthday without birthday balloons? If this man is attached to the balloon it would probably be okay if you brought him along as well. I'm sure I could figure out somewhere to put him.

#3.



(Ali, I know how much you love these. I have also had a slight obsession with them since I was about 4. I'll share if someone gets me one.) I don't want the picture, I want the actual unicorn. It would be greatly appreciated if you threw in a saddle or something. I am not an avid rider and would probably fall off bareback.

#4.



No, don't get me Robert Pattinson. I want the real thing- Edward Cullen, glittery vampire skin and all.

# 5. A Butler

I need someone that will answer my door, and do some cooking and cleaning around the house. If he looks like the man above holding the balloon, that would be perfect. No clothing required.

#6.



What girl doesn't want a shopping spree for her birthday? Stacy and Clinton would be the perfect shopping partners! Included with this should be a $5,000 Visa card.

#7.



The house doesn't have to be this exact one, I'm not even sure if this one has a pool or not.

And last but certainly not least....

#8.



I don't want Kanye West as "mine" per say. I just want him to throw me a kickass birthday party at my new house. I hear his parties are pretty baller, and I'd like one for myself.

Oh, if someone could get me an ice cream cake from Culver's that would be pretty sweet too.

Kthxbye,

L McP


(DISCLAIMER: Not to be taken seriously, obviously. Well, except for the cake maybe. I do love ice cream cake.)

Research: Napoleon Dynamite & ping pong.

(I had to use this picture because I love my macbook.)

So, I had an online assignment due at midnight tonight. I just turned it in at 12:02. I think they will live. It only took me about an hour to do and I got out of clinical around 3:30 this afternoon. (I'm a nursing student if you weren't aware) So, what important things was I doing that it took me 8 1/2 hours to do an hour's worth of homework? Well, I'll tell you.

First I took Harper for a walk. Then I ate supper (Yes, at around 4:30- I was hungry) Then I gave Harper a bath, which requires blow drying and woo-ing, followed with lots of treats. So, that took a while. He smells of Biolage conditioner and clean puppy now. =) Then I decided that I didn't eat enough for supper and was going to murder anyone who got in the way of me and some chocolate. To save myself some prison time, Harper and I took a trip to the local Kum n' Go and I got a 3 Muskateers bar.

After coming home and eating my much needed chocolate I finally started on my assignment. Almost immediately after Shan (one of my roomies) came home. She stated that there was a man collecting cans outside and we had two trashbags full in our dining room. It only seemed fair to make his day and give him two full bags of cans that he didn't have to dig through trash receptacles for. Shan and I are good Samaritans.

By this time it was about 7:30, I put some Crest White Strips on and watched the remainder of NCIS. (I also stared at my computer pretending to do the aformentioned assignment.) At 8:00 we watched The Mentalist because Patrick Jane is the cutest character ever.

During a commercial I asked Shan how she felt about ping-pong. We both decided it was an excellent idea and headed over to our clubhouse around 9. This is where the research begins.

We're pretty awesome at ping-ping and at one point got tired of playing with our dominant hand. I mean, no boundaries ping-pong does get boring after a while. We both then switched to our non-dominant hands (left for both of us). It was pretty brutal right at first, but eventually we got the hang of it and were almost as good left handed as were right handed. So, not only are we good sumaritans, but we're also stellar ambidextrous ping-pong players. Challenge us, I dare you.

After an hour of playing ping pong we were exhausted of course. I believe were were more mentally exhausted than anything as ping-pong takes a lot of concentration, especially when you're as good at it as we are. When we came back I was just famished from the events that had recently occured. I threw a bag of 94% fat-free Hy-Vee popcorn in the microwave and went to look for my roommate. She was sitting on the floor staring at her water bottle. Her eyes were a bit glazed over as I'm sure she was just as exhausted as I was. She then asked me if I wanted to watch Napoleon. Perfect! I had already started popcorn! We started the movie and I continued to piddle around with my assignment. About halfway through we began to ponder what the hell time period this movie is set in. Here is what we have concluded:


(Skip to here if you want the "meat" of this post)
Through evidence-based research including life experiences and some internet sites, we have determined that Napoleon Dynamite takes place in 1994. We have based this off of many observations.
#1- The movie takes place in a small town in... Idaho or something. I believe the town is called Preston. I went to high school in a small town, and we were always a little behind with the times. I was "cool" and "rich" because I had lived in Des Moines until I was 12, and my parents had 3 cars, none of which were more than 10 years old. The movie seems to take place in a town that's even more remote than my small town was. Therefore, it is easily deduced that they could be 5 or more years behind mainstream culture. IE- wearing clothes from the 80's and listening to music from the 80's (we think)

#2. Uncle Rico. (A) he owns a 1982 dodge Santana campervan (Wikipedia will say it is a 1975 Santana campervan, but I have found many sources that say it is in fact a 1982) The van is older, and not shiny, and Uncle Rico does not make enough money to buy brand new car. We think he may have obtained the van as a graduation present in 1982. He is also constantly referring to "back in 82'" This goes with point (B) that he is stuck in 1982. We can see this by his obsession with his football days (probably was okay in high school) If he did in fact graduate in 1982 it would make sense that he would drive a 1982 campervan and wear clothes from the early 80's. Like I said "back in 82'" (or rather, Uncle Rico says) (C) We think he looks about 30. If the movie does take place in 1994, and he was 18 in 1982 when he graduated high school, 12 years makes 30. It's science.

#3. The bracelets Deb makes were cool when I was in elementary school. (I was in 4th grade in 1994)

#4. LaFawnDuh and Kip. She dresses him in attire that was cool in the 90's (for some cultures): du-rags and chains make me think of Ludacris. She is from a big city (i'm assuming) therefore, her clothing attire and overall style should be more progressive than the people of Preston, Idaho.

So, as you can see we have ample evidence to back up our case that Napoleon Dynamite is set in 1994, the era of "trapper binders and rollerblades".

L McP

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I hope your mom is as cool as mine! =)

L McP

Rental Car= Bi-sex-mobile.

So, when I was making my appointment to get my Subaru Legacy Wagon (aka lez-mobile) (She got hit while parked by an old fellow) fixed, I asked Car-Guy Steve what kind of rental car I would get. The conversation went something like this:

Me- "So, Steve. What kind of rental car do you think they'll give me?"

Car-Guy Steve- "Oh, ya know probably a Corvette or a Porche."

Me- "Oh DAMN! I was hoping for a BMW!" Such as the one pictured below....





What did I ACTUALLY get? A Mazda 5.




One number short of cool (Mazda 6), and I'm driving a mini van for a week. It's a little deceiving, though. From some angles you would think this was an SUV. It's a little more raw and rugged than most mini-vans. When my dad saw it he determined that this car was "Bi-sexual". A little SUV and some mini-van all mixed into one with some balls in the engine. Sounds cool, right? Not really. I'm driving a mini-van. I swore to myself years ago that I would never have more than 3 children because I refused to ever drive a mini-van. I am not a soccer mom. I'm actually not even a mom, unless you include Harper. And I don't understand soccer.

There is one really cool thing about this car. (As you'll see, I'm very easily entertained) It has a switch-blade-key. For real. Look!


Nuff' Said.

L McP

A few bands I need to see before I die

My top 10 bands/artists in no particular order (I've also linked to youtube vids of my favs from each):

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Dashboard Confessional (I almost passed out from excitement at this concert)
Jack's Mannequin (I was front row at THIS concert!)
Weezer (I included a vid below, so no link here)
Ben Harper (I named my dog after this man)
Dave Matthews Band
Incubus
Jack Johnson
Rage Against the Machine
Stereophonics (this song is bittersweet-the ex used to play&sing it for me)/Counting Crows/Athlete (I know that's more than 10, don't judge me)


I've already seen Red Hot Chili Peppers, whom are a major love of mine. The concert was awesome, but Gnarl's Barkley (who opened) sucks live. Other favorites were Jack's Mannequin (twice), and Dashboard Confessional (looveee). Counting Crows was alright, but he was too wasted to function.

I'm hoping to see Ben Harper live this summer (EXCITED!) and also Dave Matthews Band this coming September (DOUBLE EXCITED!)

Weezer is next on my list for a must see. El Scorcho, Undone (sweater song), and Say it Ain't So are my favorite songs by them. Here's some Say it Ain't So (live version) for your musical enjoyment.

Again, You're welcome. =D

L McP

"Without music, life would be an error." - Nietzsche

Drunk Texting

Click the title of this post to see a hilarious website called "Texts From Last Night". The author/s have compiled a list of random text messages that people probably regret.=)

Here are a few of my favs from the site.

"(912): i woke up with socks on this morning
(485): so?
(912): i didnt wear socks last night"

"(832): I have the sudden urge to buy a Snuggie and wear it to the grocery store."

"(843): so i woke up this morning thinking _____ was in bed with me. . .but it was only a half eaten sonic burger"


I have a policy regarding text messages. If I know I've been naughty drunk texting whilst drinking, I will delete my entire inbox and outbox from my phone. It's a Don't Ask, Don't Tell type of policy. Here's a picture of one of those nights courtesy of my friend Abby.




You're welcome.

L McP

Gay Marriage in Iowa

So, I think it's really cool that Iowa has decided to allow same-sex marriage. It makes me really proud to be an Iowan. I'm a feminist in the sense that I believe in equality for all people. I personally really like boy parts, but I don't think it's my place to judge you if you swing the other way. I can completely understand if you really like boy parts too, they are cool. I also think boobs are cool, and would someday like some better ones. So, I get it if you like them a lot more than I do.

My thoughts are, if you are against it because it makes your heterosexual marriage "less special", get married in a church and get your pic taken with a priest. He'll think you're special.

The whole problem I believe is the actual term "marriage". Way back in the day when America became America we screwed up. The whole idea of "separation of church and state" was immediately reneged with this stupid word. The term "marriage" encompasses all things government and religion. Shit USA, we f'd up. This term has been around so long that we cannot separate it now. I understand the religious aspect of marriage, but believe it should be completely separate from the legal aspect.

My solution is simple, but will never happen. A "Civil Union" should be the legal version of marriage that has all the tax benefits, and blah blah that we have now with a "marriage" license signed in a court house. Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual couples would be able to obtain these. The term "marriage" should be a separate union between two people in a religious setting. If said setting allows gay marriage, then so be it. However, I don't think there should be any legal advantages to getting "married" in a church. The government should completely step away from that particular term. Why won't this ever happen? Because people don't want to be "Civil Unionized", they want to be "Married". Everyone thinks they're special, and really... you're probably not.

Anyone want to start a wedding planning business with me?

~L McP

"Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law." ~Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, A.D. 524

Harper

I realize I haven't raved about the little man since re-starting the blog. He is a Silky Terrier named Harper. He turned 1 March 20th. And he's my little fur-ball love-muffin.

Here he is cuddled up next to me on the couch.


Here he is in his car seat. Yes, I put him in a car seat. Don't judge me.



=) L McP

I've got love for C. Ferg.

If you don't already know, I really love Craig Ferguson. (on CBS after Letterman!) Maybe it's because we're both Scottish, maybe it's because he's kind of a pervert, or maybe it's because of our shared love for puppets. This video is from the intro to one of his shows, and I love it.

Finally!

Holy crap, kids! I am TIRED!

Let me tell you why. Shan and I went on a bar crawl in Chicago this weekend with some of our very close friends. The "Cover your bases" crawl started at 1:30PM and went until 12:30-1:00AM in the Wrigleyville area. I paced myself very well considering, drank lots of water, and then got a little ridiculous. Long story short- I got about 7-8 hours of sleep total this weekend. As soon as my trashy VH1 shows are over, this girl is passing out.

Speaking of VH1. One of my favorite things to do now is watch the trashy reality dating shows on Sunday night. I try to stay pretty low drama, but I am female. We thrive on drama. I'd rather get it on my 42 inch LG flatscreen TV than in my own life. Currently my two favorites are Tough Love, and Daisy of Love. Let me tell you why.

Tough Love is a show that is supposed to teach these crazy women why they suck at dating. The main reason I love it is that it makes me feel extremely normal. These girls are mostly a complete disaster.

Daisy of Love just started tonight. She was on Rock of Love with Brett Michaels, but lost. Now she's trying to "find love". She's like a walking, talking cartoon character. Umm. Awesome. The guys are also very strange. Hilarious. I'll keep you posted.

Now, I'm going to pass out.

"Save the drama for your momma!" (Or in this case, Trashy TV Night on the flatscreen!)

~L McP