Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Jenny from the bike

I recently started participating in a "confession Tuesday" exercise with some other poets, based on the idea that confessional writing is helpful in the poetic process. The jury is still out (at least for me and my poetry), but I have actually started to enjoy unburdening myself and airing some of my sillier quirks and foibles in the relative anonymity of the internet. Last week I confessed something for which I get a lot of well-deserved grief from Jim: I'm a closet J.Lo fan.

It's still a bit embarrassing for me to admit in the light of day and the presence of other sentient life. So I feel the need to qualify it by saying I was more a fan of J.Lo when she was still Jennifer Lopez. Back when she starred in Out of Sight and inspired women everywhere to envy her making out with George Clooney in a bathtub. Back when she had not yet merged into the media circus that was Bennifer. Back when she didn't have to write a song about how she's "real". Back when she wasn't going global with her own lines of perfume, yoga gear, and faux-fur undies. (Although I have to admit I thought "Glow" smelled really good.)

For the last few years I've kept my distance: watched her romantic comedies, listened to "Let's Get Loud" on my workout playlist, but generally steered clear of reading anything about her. A few weeks back I happened to see pictures on msn.com of post-partem J.Lo looking trim in her bikini and thought, "Good for you, girl." Taking off pregnancy weight can be tough, so more power to her. Then this morning I saw another article on msn.com, this time about how she was training for a triathlon and had a blog about it. Sorry, but if you gotta have an entourage of makeup artists touching you up for a photo shoot after a training session... that's just not keepin' it real.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Tightwad tuesday: best when fresh

Buy fresh fruits and vegetables at their peak season, when prices are usually lowest. Here's a handy guide (for produce grown in North America):


And while it won't necessarily save you money, shopping at local farmers' markets is a great way to make sure you're getting the freshest, most delicious produce, while supporting local growers.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Lego love


When I asked Jimmy who he made this for, he said, "Audrey... and you and Dad and the kitties... to show love for everybody."

Awwwwww.

Gotta appreciate a male who's not afraid to express his feelings. And in such an artistic way.

Saturday, August 02, 2008