goodness gracious!

ok, i'm on this Blood Feathers kick tonight.

this has happened before. i'll see a band live but then it's not until much later that i really get into them.

it happened the night of the Rooney/Tally Hall/Crash Kings show.

- i was there to see Rooney
- Crash Kings blew my mind away
- i forgot how much i enjoyed Tally Hall until months later! and now i love Tally Hall!

and the Tally Hall Effect has happened again with Blood Feathers. ('effect' i don't think is the right word. and i think technically it would be the Crash Kings Effect. Tally Hall Scenario? i don't know. we'll stick with 'Effect' for now.)

ANYWAYS!!!!

here is what the lovely gentlemen of Blood Feathers look like:



cuties! i very strongly recommend that you purchase their record, Goodness Gracious.

BUT! after i wrote the blog post below this one, i was thinking more about merch for them. i don't know why. i don't know why at all.

but i was chopping up a tomato and thinking about Blood Feathers. i think because i had 'Sweet Tea' stuck in my head.

but! i guess i was pretending that i was actually the head of their Merch Street Team and i came up with a new shirt for them.

OKAY! not that different from the other one really...

so the other one was black with their design*


*
printed in red on the shirt and then their name in white lettering.

HERE'S MY NEW COLOR SCHEME IDEA:

- light blue t-shirt
- white design
- red lettering

BRILLZ! because at first i might have thought their name was scary, but now i think it's beautiful. and i think the white bird feathery design against the light blue shirt would be 'airy' and beautiful. like, "aahhhh we have the word 'feather' in our name....."

"....but we also have the word 'blood!!!'" and that's where the red comes in.

BUT!!!!!! the band name will not be in the font that's on their record cover. it will be in

THIS FONT WHICH I LIKE BETTER:



(the font that says Blood Feathers) i like the other font too, but yes, it's more of an album title and not a band name font.

DAVID!!!! can you name any of these fonts!??!

(that message was directed to one of my best friends David, who is a font designer.)


ANYWAYS! that's my new Blood Feathers t-shirt design. i'm still a little perplexed as to why i was thinking about this. i've never designed a t-shirt for a band in my head before.

and i would gladly move to Philadelphia! (the liberty bell!!! the walnut street theater!!!) i mean, if they wanted to make me Head of the Blood Feathers Merch Street Team. do they have a street team? i don't know! but they should start one! or, the fans should start one. i'm sure they have good fans. cause they play good music.

MAN. i wish i had had more than a one-second conversation with Ben at the bar of The Note that night because now i want to be best friends with them.

hm. i think they're like a 'vintage blues rock' band. i don't know. it's a very good sound.

like, sometimes, when i listen to JET, they have a kind of vintage sound. particularly my fave, 'Skin and Bones' which makes me think of The Rolling Stones... but i can't figure out which song.

and Blood Feathers has kind of the same vintage sound that JET has, but with more blues.

(i think.)

maybe i should stick to designing them t-shirts.

i also think they should embrace the feather design.



there's a nice one. THAT against a light blue shirt with red lettering would also be cool.

i don't know. i like the thought of light blue and red for this band. they have teal and red on their website, which i am also fine with, seeing as i am the #1 fan of teal in the world.

but....i still kind of think light blue.

hm. i like this.

i wonder who runs the Blood Feathers twitter. i hope it's the band. they only have 259 followers. ok - we need to get that number up, folks. and only 794 friends on facebook. that needs to come up too.

i like this band. i have a good feeling about them. they need to play more gigs. they need to come to Boston. i think Boston would really like this band.

OR!!!! Northampton. they need to play the Iron Horse. yep. that's it.

Blood Feathers - if you're reading, get your manager to book YOU HERE. the kids will love you. great town. i've seen Lisa Loeb and Ben Lee at that place and it rocks!

have i seen anyone else there? hm. i don't think so. although, i thought there was more.

anyways! yep. that's where Blood Feathers needs to play.


i feel like maybe Blood Feathers is the Paper Tongues of the blues-rock genre. and Paper Tongues would be like...an eclectic-rock band.

(i still really don't understand "eclectic rock," but it just kind of makes sense when talking about Paper Tongues.)

i feel like both of those bands are very different. i don't know why i compared them.

ANYWAYS.

wow. i've done a lot of Blood Feathers promoting tonight. and i've been enjoying their record the whole time! it ended the first time around and i said out loud,

JULIE: What?! Nooo!!!

and i played it again. i think it's one of those records that you can listen to on repeat all day and not get tired of.

like Crash Kings.

ALRIGHT friends! it just started pouring out. i feel this appropriate for the Blood Feathers talk.

they're like, a 'so-humid-it-rains' band.

ooooo that's kind of perfect! whoa. it's like, warm, and sticky outside and then it starts to rain. YEP.

THAT'S Blood Feathers. wow. i'm really impressed with myself.

- the 'so-humid-it-rains' description of Blood Feathers
IS AS GOOD AS
- the 'wink and a nudge' description of 'You Got Me' by Crash Kings

ooo i love it. their next record should be called 'Humid.'

AAAHHH i'm so excited!!

OK. it's currently 3:41am. saturday morning. i have to be awake by like....9am. i should leave here by....9:30? 9:45? maybe 9:45. no, maybe 9:30.

alright. i hope you are still having a good night. I AM!

talk to you later!!!!


<3

"it's been a long time, sweet tea."

1. i don't know if you remember this. but i do. a few weeks ago (just as i was starting season 2 of The O.C.) i went into Walgreen's and had an encounter with a boy who looked like Zach on The O.C. he played Summer's boyfriend.

i went in to walgreen's again tonight and saw him again!!!! and this time we talked for a while about my green hair...

WALGREEN'S BOY: I'm really diggin' the green in your hair.
JULIE: Hey, thanks!
WALGREEN'S BOY: Was it for St. Patrick's Day?
JULIE: No!!
WALGREEN'S BOY: (laughs) Just cause you like it - that's awesome. Have you had it for a while?
JULIE: Kind of...I think I'll re-dye it soon, because it used to be way more teal.
WALGREEN'S BOY: (laughs) And now it's just....green...
JULIE: Yeah!
WALGREEN'S BOY: Well, it still looks awesome.
JULIE: Thanks.
(then i bought conditioner for color-treated hair)
WALGREEN'S BOY: Ah! This is what keeps the color in.
JULIE: Yep.
WALGREEN'S BOY: You don't dye the rest of it though, right?
JULIE: No, it's just for the green.
WALGREEN'S BOY: Well, it must work.
JULIE: It does!
WALGREEN'S BOY: Just try not to think about what chemicals it's leaving in your hair...
JULIE: Ahhh! I know.... you just can't think about it.
WALGREEN'S BOY: Well, have a great night.
JULIE: Thanks! You too.

um, how excited was i about this? very excited. this boy is super cute. and he TOTALLY looks like Zach from The O.C.

here is Zach:




what a cutie, right?!?!! RIGHT!

anyways. that was exciting.


2. BLOOD FEATHERS. if you'll be in NYC on 19 May and feel like checking out a good show: GO SEE BLOOD FEATHERS!!! they are performing at The Mercury Lounge with Apollo Sunshine!!! i don't know much (or...anything) by Apollo Sunshine, but i do know that some (or all?) of their members are from Andover, MA. and we all know what great musicians that town produces - so they must be good!

and this comes FULL CIRCLE because, speaking of great musicians from Andover, CRASH KINGS are performing at The Mercury Lounge on 23 May. and i'll be there! just a few nights after Blood Feathers! OH HOW i wish they were performing together again. i would enjoy seeing them play again.

BUT! we can all enjoy A FREE DOWNLOAD of one of their tracks! Blood Feathers, that is. great band. great music. and i meant to post this when the band posted it on their twitter - but here is a great video of them performing ANOTHER great song, 'Sweet Tea.'

so, please everyone check out those songs. and check out Blood Feathers if you're in the NYC area on 19 May. or, even if you're not in the area - dude, drive to see them!

(i just said 'dude' and i never say 'dude.' sorry if it was weird.)

but, i'm gonna send you the link to their site again (here it is) so that you can read more about these good looking guys. you can also find their tour schedule there so you can find a show near you. mostly shows in PA.

*and a note about driving to PA - don't take either the 202 or 206 during rush hour. i think those were the road names. and if you do - the directions will tell you that it will take like, 19 minutes when really it will take you an hour. SO PLAN ACCORDINGLY. you don't want to miss Blood Feathers if you're coming from the north.

i think that was an important message.

yeah alright!!!! that was an awesome piece about Blood Feathers. i think you would really like their music.

actually - i'm not done talking about Blood Feathers. i just realized that i've spent all this time talking about them - and we don't even know who they are!!! let's meet Blood Feathers:

Ben
Drew
Mickey
Sam
Patrick
Tracey

hi guys! they are Blood Feathers.

if you're wondering what REAL Blood Feathers are - i just looked it up.

Blood Feathers (non-band): brand new feathers that come into a bird during the molting process. all birds get blood feathers! and no, you're bird won't bleed to death if one of these feathers breaks. BUT, if you're a bird owner, you should be prepared for this situation in case it happens.

if your bird breaks a blood feather: hold the bird down. you can use cornstarch to stop the bleeding!!! call your local avian vet!! if it's in the middle of the night and your vet isn't open (cockatiels are most likely to break blood feathers in the night because they are scared of the dark) then you must remove the blood feather yourself.

you will need hemostats or needle nose pliers. find the break in the blood feather. position the tool as close to the skin as possible and with a FIRM YANK, pull out the blood feather in the DIRECTION IT IS GROWING.

and then be sure to give your bird lots of love and attention!!!

but remember, blood feathers are simply just new feathers growing in. every feather needs a blood supply! once the feather has stopped growing, the feather follicle closes up and the blood supply inside the feather dries.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!! i found this great information here. perhaps i just eased the mind of any blog reading bird owners who were nervous about all this talk of blood feathers.

SO NOW we know about Blood Feathers the great Philadelphia rock band!
AND WE ALSO know about blood feathers on a bird!

great. this blog is so educational.

and now knowing this information about what blood feathers are, it makes the Blood Feathers name less gross and more beautiful. just think about what it must be like to grow a feather. that sounds really cool. think about a feather growing out of your arm RIGHT NOW. whoa.

Jennifer Meyer Maguire should design special limited edition feather necklaces for the band. remember that feather necklace that both Bar Rafaeli and Kate Winslet were wearing? that were both a gift from Leo DiCaprio? that were designed by Jennifer Meyer Maguire? YEAH! there should be special Blood Feather Feather necklaces. maybe they would have red stones?

i like it. if this actually happens, i should get a free one. i don't think the whole feather should be red stones. maybe like, just one or two. yeah. i liiiike it. i will be a full 100% supporter of this idea.

if Blood Feathers teamed up with Jennifer Meyer they would be super famous. because all the celebs wear that jewelry! oh man. i need to make this happen.

does Blood Feathers have merch? let's see...THEY DO! and i actually really like that t-shirt! a lot. and that necklace would look super hott with the shirt.

the only thing i'm worried about are the prices.... that shirt costs $15 - which is a good, reasonable price for band merch. those necklaces probably cost like, $1500. and i don't think most people bring that much cash when they go see a band. hmm.

maybe it could be a shirt + necklace bundle! with a cd!

shirt + cd + necklace = $30!

what a steal! clearly i need to be head of the Blood Feathers Merch Street Team like, pronto.

wow. i thought i was done talking about Blood Feathers a long time ago. but then i just kept going! it went from promoting one of their free tracks to me offering to be head of their street team! yikes!

so, go back and get that free download. and watch that video on youtube.

AND THIS concludes the Blood Feathers portion of the program.

:)


3. during this entry, Robert Schwartzman tweeted that he was currently broadcasting live on 'ustream.' so i had to take a break and go watch his broadcast. what a hottie. he talked about being excited for touring with HANSON.

omg. i think about that tour and i have to remind myself to keep breathing. have i said that before? i think so. and it still holds true. HANSON + ROONEY!!!! ooohhhhh man.

they're playing like, 20 miles south of Boston, though. lame. why not just play boston? eh, i'll still go. with kara! i convinced her to come.

ooohhhh i'm so excited. i'm really excited for the new Rooney record. 8 JUNE!!!!! i think? yes.



4. i thought i had other things to tell you about.

5. it's currently 11:05pm. i still have to eat supper. AND do folding of papers. for work tomorrow.

6. YES i have to work tomorrow. "work" but not actually get paid for it. ah well. such is a bad economy. and i have to get up early.

so, we're having this fundraiser for Hannah House on 22 May (i'll be at Earthfest!). it is an auction of chairs that have been painted by local artists. they are all really pretty and one of a kind! and so as advertising for this event, we are displaying a chair at two local businesses. and tomorrow my job is to bring the chair to these places and then go pick it up again.

AND! tonight in preparation - i went to iParty to get balloons!! to tie to the chair! to make it more festive. i got 7 balloons:

- orange
- hott pink
- red
- lime green
- purple
- yellow
- hmmmm i can't think of the last color.....
- OH! normal pink :)

so tomorrow morning i have to bring the chair, balloons and handouts to the Hanover Co-Op at 10am. pick it up at noontime. bring it over to the Lebanon Co-Op. pick it up at 4pm.

and while i'm waiting for the chair to be done advertising, i will go to three businesses and pick up donations for this fundraiser. 2 places in NH and one in VT. cool.


7. OH! i wanted to tell you that if you are reading this from the actual BLOG and not through facebook - you will notice that i have added a very important advertisement to the top of this page. a CRASH KINGS ON JIMMY KIMMEL advertisement.

MONDAY! 10 MAY! don't forget!!

i took that advertisement from the Crash Kings facebook page. it was in their 'sweepstakes' tab. which, made me amazed that they now have a sweepstakes tab. you can win tickets to the Kimmel taping on monday.

OR! you can watch from the comfort of your home. aahhhhhh the thought of Crash Kings being in my home really makes me happy.

OMG I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM ON TV!!!! how awesome will it be?!?! so awesome.



OK. i feel this has been a good entry. i'm excited about the info i posted.

have a great weekend! a great saturday! i'll talk to you later :)


GOODNIGHT! be well! drive safe! take care!


<3, Julie

RUBY THURSDAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY TUESDAY!!!!!

our little girl turns 6 years old today!!!! i can't believe it! i remember her first night with us in maine. she had to sleep in kara's room with the door closed because her older sister WAS NOT HAPPY that she was there.

she is such a great cat. a great companion.

we started the birthday festivities wednesday night, because i couldn't wait any longer to give her the new treats. she LOVED them!!!

and then she woke up and had a normal breakfast on thursday morning. but not after many birthday hugs and kisses. then she took a nap immediately after breakfast.

and i was pretty impatient. i couldn't understand why she wanted to go back to sleep when there were presents to open!!!!!!

but, i waited until she woke up. and then i gave her the presents!!!!!! she got:

1. a very soft pink hanging thing with a jingle bell and fluffy thing hanging from it
2. three new catnip mice (the red one is her favorite so far)
3. catnip turtle, affectionately named Baby Buck

and of course, just like a mom - i took pictures of the whole thing!!!!!


RUBY TUESDAY'S 6TH BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!!!



here she is with the red and pink mice. this photo is kind of a weird angle...



here she is with Baby Buck!!!! he'll be sleeping with us in the bed from now on. i decided that. that way Baby Buck can meet big Buck. and it will be the cutest sleeping arrangement ever. isn't he so cute?!?!



here is Ruby with all her new presents! that's the pink thing she got. and of course, no toy measures up to that leopard print thing, which she drags everywhere around the house.





SOOOO MUCH PLAYING!!!!! she turned into Sleepy Tuesday after the party, and had to take another nap. i almost had to take a nap myself, i was tired from all the excitement.

what a great birthday. i can't decide what to give her as her special birthday dinner. at first i had said tuna. but i don't really feel like eating tuna tonight. i guess i could open the can, give her some, and put the rest in the fridge. yes. that's what i'll do.

oh i love birthdays! they are the best day of the whole year, because without them - you wouldn't be here. YES YOU!


alright! i hope everyone is having a lovely evening!!!

i'll talk to everyone later!!!!


<3

"we're gonna ride again wooaahhh"

1. there has been a big controversy in the Crash Queen community. it deals with the lyrics in 'Come Away,' the beautiful song about winter. some of the Crash Queens thought the lyrics were,

"come away on this winter's day, we're gonna rock and rolllllll."

while others (including myself) thought it was,

"come away on this winter's day, we're gonna ride again wooaahhhh."

it was a BIG ISSUE. lots of 'tweet debating' back and forth. lots of listening to the song with headphones and the volume jacked up. LOTS of video watching, staring closely at Tony's lips. (which, is something i do on a normal day, so it wasn't that hard.)

and FINALLY, my fellow Crash Queen and great new friend Christina asked the Crash Kings themselves what the lyrics were. they responded with this tweet:

"does it sound like 'rock and roll'? No, it's ride again."

AH HA!! i knew it. BUT, after hearing the other side's strong debate for "rock and roll" i was beginning to understand where they were coming from. and although i was still pretty sure it was "ride again" there was a strong point.

and so the debate was settled. it IS, "we're gonna ride again woooaaahhhhh." and now i can sleep better.


2. in continuing with the Crash Kings news, Ryan went to a show in Austin this past monday night and got some super freaking hott videos. i have enjoyed watching these videos probably way too many times. and i find that i do not need any alcohol on Cinco de Mayo because i have these to watch. and yes, i am drunk by the daytime.

--- ALL ALONG: this song is not on their record, which is a sad thing. but, a happy thing is that Ryan got this SUPER AWESOME recording of it. and if you don't want to watch the whole thing, only watch from about 3:55 on. ESPECIALLY when the CROWD GOES FREAKING WILD at 5:40.

(kara, you should watch this video because i think you like this song because i've caught you singing it sometimes. :) )

--- YOU GOT ME: this is the song made of sex and sweat. the "wink and a nudge" song from that great article. and if for some reason you DON'T want to have a sexy day, then just watch from 3:20 on and enjoy a super great Crash Kings jam sesh. i THINK i can be objective and unbiased here and say that even if you're not a Crash Kings fan - the end of this video is an example of just really good music. around 4:33 or so, you can barely even seen Tony's fingers because they are moving so fast. man, he is just KILLING that piano! like, DESTROYING it.


oh man. i can't wait for my next Crash Kings show on MAY 22!!! aahhhh sooo long. but! there will be two in a row, cause we're also driving to nyc on the 23rd. SO, it will be a good fix.

AND THEN HOPEFULLY, i'll be seeing them in Chicago at the beginning of june. OOHHHH i hope so.

let's see. what else can i tell you about today?


3. i bought a new cutting board today from Kohl's. ever since i moved in, i had these plastic cutting boards from IKEA. they were teal, so they rocked. but, they were flimsy plastic and recently started to smell. like gross bacteria things.

so! i went out today and purchased a very nice bamboo cutting board from the Food Network collection at Kohl's. i tried to get a non-Food Network collection one, but apparently the Food Network has taken over all kitchen appliances. they had no others!

i also bought some spring kitchen towels. yes. to display in the kitchen. not for use - just to admire. i felt like my mom. but, this is a good thing because i love when she sends me kitchen towels. the ones i bought today don't really match each other. i REALLY wanted this orange and teal one, but they had none to match. so, i just bought another one that had orange and teal in it. they're both very bright, vibrant colors. and i've never been one for matching anyways.


4. i also had to go into the West Lebanon Super Huge Pet Store and Aquarium. it's called something like that. i'm not too sure. i went there on a business mission to pick up a donation for Hannah House. and i had to wait a few minutes for the manager to come out, so i started poking around in the cat aisle.

and!! i bought a super cute catnip TURTLE for Ruby Tuesday!! i've already named the turtle Baby Buck!! now we both have a Buck!!!! i am SO EXCITED about this you have no idea.

she'll get her new toy (along with two other toys i bought her last weekend. and a new bag of treats) tomorrow, because TOMORROW IS HER BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

that's right, my little Ruby Tuesday turns 6 YEARS OLD tomorrow!!!! i have been so excited about this all week! i bought her three new toys, plus a new bag of all natural treats.

(okay, so i couldn't wait any longer today because i was so excited and i had to give her some of the new treats. she loved them!!!)

but tomorrow is the real party!!! i think i might have to open a can of tuna at some point so she can have all the juice. she doesn't like eating the actual tuna, just drinking the juice. which, seems pretty gross to me.

also, maybe i'll give her her own tiny dish of pomegranate blueberry frozen yogurt. she LOVES it!!!


5. okay, so me and my new Crash Queen friend Kristen*

* FRIENDS MADE THROUGH CRASH KINGS = 5!

were just tweeting back and forth about some pretty serious stuff. she asked the question, "who is your favorite crash king?"

possibly the hardest question to be asked. harder than any math equation. or any existential matter. JASON. MIKE. TONY.

in a nutshell, i said, "when i first saw them, it was between Jason and Tony. i love drummers, but i also go crazy when Tony wears the red plaid shirt. but then whenever i see Mike in person i just want to touch his face all the time because he looks so soft. but, i guess i would say Tony, because his smile just lights up a room. and the red plaid shirt doesn't hurt either."

PHEW.

then we were all talking about our favorite lyric. so naturally, i had to listen to the whole record to decide.

i decided on:

"you're gonna light me up in a way i could never explain"

because lots of heart melting happens at that point. :) but then i said that my favorite PART of the whole record is the second verse of '14 Arms.' ooooo it's great to crank that part in the car. or anywhere, really.

ANYWAYS. this is just self-indulgent blogging that is happening right now.

anybody else think this week is going by REEAALLLLYYYY SLOW????? yes. it is. i'm right.

this afternoon i was sitting around waiting for something to happen, and i actually said (without realizing it, i promise), "i can't believe it's only wednesday."

but then! the day didn't seem so bad because i had slipped a Crash Kings lyric into my everyday speak.


hmm.

i got 'Precious' in the mail today. i'm going to watch it tonight. i think today is National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day. or, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Day. or something like that. curious that it also happen on Cinco de Mayo?? yes. that is curious.

hmm. i guess that's all. i thought there were other things i wanted to tell you.

OH! today, i pulled into the parking lot of the sketch movie theater in my town to get a picture of the sign. the WIMPY FURR sign. and i did! but now i can't get it off my phone because of all the broken things.

BUT HOPEFULLY, i will be able to show you because it rocks. and i was so happy to have proof!!! i know you must think i am lying because something that strange and funny could never be real, right? WRONG! i have proof. it's just in my broken phone.


UM. OKAY. in tweeting with the Crash Queens some more, i have just learned that the OTHER JULIE, west coast Crash Queen Julie, has kissed Jason on the cheek multiple times. i have asked her for detailed instructions on how to make that happen.

and now i'm going to go crazy with excitement if i keep blogging. SO! i'm going to leave! and not drink any more coffee.

have a GREAT evening! have fun, be safe!!!! talk to you later :)


<3

hott things, etc.

so, amazing things were happening on The O.C. last night. NOT ONLY is there more tension between Ryan and Marissa (brought on by Johnny, obviously!), but there were some SUPER HOTT moments that i had to share with you via screencaps.

oh boy, how i love the screencap function.

the first amazing moment pretty much right at the beginning of the episode.

OKAY, we're going to play a game. the game is called, "FIND THE HOTT THING" and i'll show you a picture and you have to find the hott thing in the picture.


LET'S GO - FIRST PICTURE:::




this picture features Summer, Seth and Ryan walking down the halls of the Harbor School. is that the name? Harbor? Harborside? whatev. It's the three of them - and there's something hott jumping out......



UM, IT'S THE RED PLAID SHIRT. Seth Cohen is wearing a red plaid shirt!!!!! HOTTTTTT!! Seth is the character obsessed with bands like Ben Folds Five, Death Cab for Cutie, Rooney, Bright Eyes. i love him because he is soooo funny. like, he's kind of hilarious. and he's obsessed with going to Brown University in the fall.

sitting next to him on the couch is Summer Roberts. Seth and Summer are dating. and they are the best couple ever. AND, i think they dated in real life while the show was going on - which makes it 100 times better.

SO - FIRST AWESOME THING = red plaid shirt featured on The O.C.

WIN.


The second awesome thing came right before the show ended. there's this new character, Matt, who is vice president of The Newport Group, which is the real estate empire that Kirsten's dad built. Kirsten didn't want to become president after her father died, but her husband Sandy did. and Sandy chose a vice president in a nice little guy called Matt. he's young and maybe not so reliable, as we found out in this episode. (he went to a strip club the night before the big presentation, therefore screwing up the presentations and losing the big sale. aw man.)

ANYWAYS. i never noticed - but he is a super hottie. during the part where he apologized to Sandy for screwing up the presentation, he walks into the office wearing (get ready)..... a V-NECK SHIRT.

now, i never knew how attracted i was to guy's wearing v-neck shirts UNTIL seeing him on screen.

let's take a look.....



WHOA. i rewatched this part and my body temperature jumped like, 80 degrees. INSANE. right!?! how sexy!

let's get a bit closer....



AAAHHHHHHHH MATT!!! who knew?!? ooooo yeah. i like that a lot.


such pretty boys on The O.C. i'm very happy i started watching. sometimes it gets super annoying and frustrating because of all the drama.

and it doesn't even seem like all this drama is even needed. it's all like, mis-communication issues. just really unnecessary stuff. ah well. such is life on Newport Beach.

i predict that Julie Cooper and Neil Roberts might have a little something....?? am i right!?

ok. it's tuesday. i slept for a reaallllyyy long time last night. AND i went to bed early. like, 2am.

ok, it was more like, 2:30am. i guess that's not very early.


OH: so here's the deal with my phone....within HOURS it deteriorated A LOT. so, i went to the ATT store yesterday afternoon.

i spoke with Jeff. he was a nice guy.

JULIE: Hi. So, I've had this phone almost a year and recently I haven't been very happy with the way the touch screen works. I can't get it to respond when I touch it.
JEFF: What have you tried to do to fix it?
JULIE: I've tried recalibrating it a bunch of times, but it doesn't even do anything when I try and do that.
JEFF: Have you tried taking out the battery?
JULIE: No.
JEFF: (goes into this long speech about how taking out the battery is this great reboot type thing and how basically, taking out the battery fixes everything.)

so we tried it. took out the battery. put it back in. turned the phone on. tried the touch screen.

JEFF: Wow...okay, I see what you mean.
JULIE: It didn't work?
JEFF: No.....wow, this is really non-functional.

AND SO, ladies and gentlemen, ATT is sending me a new phone. for free. FOR FREE!!!! the same phone, which is a bummer because i didn't really like that phone to begin with, BUT HEY! now it makes the expensive price of buying the phone seem not so bad - because now i'm getting a new one for free!

i spoke with Marcel on the phone (actually, Jeff let me use his blackberry) for like 20 minutes figuring out the whole thing. he was asking me if there was water damage, etc... i had to do an inspection of the phone to make sure everything was in good condition and that it wasn't MY fault the phone was broken.

and it totally wasn't my fault.

so, i left the store happy. because i won't have to deal with the broken phone anyways.

SO HERE'S THE DEAL: until the phone comes, i can't really make any phone calls because i can't get into my contact section. IF I KNOW YOUR PHONE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, i can make a phone call. but, that really only applies to my house and my work. and my mom and kara.

I CAN text message. sometimes. so, if you text me and don't get a response it may be because i can't get to the screen to make a response text.

I CAN answer phone calls. BUT, the phone has now decided when and when not to make sound, so i cannot guarantee that the phone will ring.

hopefully the new phone will be here by the weekend. and i will let everybody know.

i don't think i'll have to transfer phone numbers or anything. because it has that thing that saves everything. which my old phone didn't have, so i still don't understand how it works or what it is.

anyways!

speaking of phone calls, i JUST got a voicemail saying that there is a UPS package downstairs for me!!!! and i have no idea what it is!!!! i didn't buy anything, i promise!!

ok. hope you all are having a great day!! it's a tab blustery here and i am enjoying that.


<3!

40 minutes!

that's how long i have left of "work."

there's NOTHING GOING ON. omg. in 8 hours there have been like, MAYBE 10 phone calls. there's nobody else here, except in the daycare. IT'S SO QUIET.

i worked on the website for a while, though. well, maybe like, an hour and a half. got a lot accomplished, so that's good.

it's kind of crazy. this quiet.

ANYWAYS. just wanted to update you on my work status. i can't even tell you what i've been doing because it has been NOTHING.

i have to go drop off two bags of clothes at the Listen center this afternoon.


OK. LET'S SEE.

oh! i'm excited about this weekend because i'm going home! home on sunday for mother's day and then i'm staying until tuesday and kara and i are going to have a

CRASH KINGS ON KIMMEL PARTY!!!!!!

Kings on Kimmel. that's what we'll call it. it'll be a blog party too, don't worry. OH this will be a big event.

and i'm warning you now: as this event gets closer, there will be promotion. OHHHHH yes. non stop everybody-must-watch-them-on-kimmel promotion. nonstop.

oh, i have a sad story. it's sad, but i think you all will make it through.

i was in the grocery store yesterday - and they were OUT of the coconut coffee which i am obsessed with.

YES, i already needed to restock on the coffee because i drank the whole bag already. so i went to the coffee aisle and there was the sticker - but NO COFFEE. ohhhh i was bummed. so i had to get french vanilla instead.

AND, while i was at home i was able to get a fancy type of coffee creamer that we do not have up in these parts. CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY!!!! so mix that with the coconut coffee and you have:

Chocolate Coconut Raspberry Coffee.

oooooooyyuumm. sooo good. i love mixing flavors! i should become a person who mixes flavors. are those real people? like, ANY company in the world would call me and be like,

BIG COMPANY: Hi Julie, we're coming out with a new flavor of ice cream and wanted to hear your suggestions.
JULIE: Mocha ice cream with raspberry swirl and chocolate chips.
BIG COMPANY: It's perfect!! Your check is in the mail!!

so great!!


just watched the Crash Kings '#1 and drivin'' video on youtube. oh, that video is a great piece of film. 23 glorious seconds that will not waste your time. that's a blog promise. it's just the video that tony took while they were driving in ol' blue after they found out Mountain Man was number 1. hence the title of the video, '#1 and drivin'.'

oh, i was just going to tell you something and then was immediately distracted and now i forgot. i even opened up a new tab, and i can't figure out why. hmmm.

recently, as in today, i have become twitter friends with WEST COAST CRASH QUEEN JULIE!!! she's like a total celeb in the Crash Kings world. and i'm really excited. and i don't know if you noticed, but we have the same name. therefore we are both really awesome.

OH I KNOW what i was going to tell you!!!!

i was going to tell you that after all my complaining and stressing about the weather - it's not actually that hott after all. and i opening the new tab to go online and check the weather! so i'll go do that now. hold on.

ok, sorry. i got distracted again. it's the twitter!!! and all my new great friends. ok. back on track.

it's currently 73 degrees here. NOT BAD. not bad at all. i'll take it. in fact, i'll take a whole summer of that. and 0% humidity too, please.

alright. it's 4:03pm.

i'm very excited right now. in tweet talking with all these wonderful people who also love Crash Kings and get just as excited as i do about them.

but now i guess i'll go home. up the two flights of stairs.

ok, i'll talk to you later. i might take a nap. i haven't decided. because i'm thinking about maybe not going to the post office and getting the next O.C. disc. because if it's in my house, i'll have to watch it tonight. and that means not sleeping.

hmm. maybe i'll just go drop those clothes off.

ok!! hope you have a great evening. :)


<3

flowers in her hair

no, i'm not wearing a flower in my hair today. but, i should be. why didn't i think of that this morning?! aw man. that would have completed my outfit nicely. i don't mean completed, i mean complimented. actually, i mean both.

so, let's see. i have a list of things that i want to talk about. i think it's gonna be good.

shall we get right into it?! we shall??? GREAT!


::: i'm at work right now. let's define work:

JULIE AT WORK: sitting in the staff office. ate a bowl of chocolate cheerios. drinking coffee. playing on laptop.

yeah. i came down last night and did two full hours of cleaning. nice, right?! i cleaned the inside of the fridge and the freezer in the staff office. GROSS. but, the cool air felt very nice since it was about 90 degrees in my apartment. i ended up taking ALL the shelving out of the fridge. like, even the part that holds in the drawers. and i hardcore washed it all in the sink.

then i did a load of laundry.

then i dusted all the furniture in all 6 bedrooms, including the woodwork around the windows. that was hard, because the windows are tall. and even standing on a chair i could barely reach.

then i cleaned the inside of the microwave in the kitchen.

then i did some vacuuming.

and that was it! great.

i knew that i wouldn't want to do all that cleaning so early in the morning. and i was right. especially because i only got three hours of sleep last night.


::: yikes! only three hours of sleep! yes. eh, it's okay. i work from 8-4. then i have to make a run to the post office. and possibly out to buy a window fan for my living room. i have one in my bedroom and last night that was where i ate supper and brought my laptop in to watch The O.C. it was hottt.

so, after i finish those few errands, i might take a nap. that sounds nice. ALTHOUGH, what i really should do is try and stick it out the whole day, so i can go to bed early tonight, so that i can get up for staff meeting tomorrow at 12:30pm.

and now it's time for a reality check:

dear julie,

i noticed that above you mentioned the phrase "go to bed early" when talking about yourself. really? REALLY??

love, julie

yeah, okay. so i never go to bed early. here's what will happen, despite my plan.

- i'll take a super long afternoon nap and then won't be tired to go to bed until around 5am.
- i'll sleep until noontime and then be tired all through staff meeting.

i'm so predictable!

but my "shortened version" of my horoscope made me happy. it reads,

WHEN YOU FIND YOUR DREAM, YOU WILL WANT TO HELP LOTS OF PEOPLE FIND THEIRS.

sure. why not?!


::: i was up late last night talking to my new friend Christina. we are Crash Queens and therefore "practically sisters." we were tweeting back and forth like it was instant messaging or something. it was fun. and made me really happy that i have a new friend.

::: ALSO, remember Jo who Ryan and i talked to outside The Paradise for a while? (she was also the girl who let me and kara borrow her Sharpie at Great Scott.) well it looks like she'll be coming with me and Ryan to NYC!!!! the day after Earth Fest! SO FUN, right!?

::: NEW FRIENDS THAT I HAVE MADE THROUGH CRASH KINGS = 3.


and now for an update on the ongoing saga of the sign letters for the sketchy movie theater in my town,

::: in past weeks in the list of the movies on the sign it has said, WIMPY FUNERAL on the same line to advertise the movies, 'diary of a wimpy kid' and 'death at a funeral.' these two words seem unfortunate together. it's like, "aw, really? you had to put those two words together on the same line?"

i mean, OKAY, so they can't afford to buy a new set of letters so they can spell out the whole film title. but then they have to go and put 'wimpy' next to 'funeral.' i'm not sold, but i'll take it.

SO YESTERDAY, i was driving by, expecting to giggle at the Wimpy Funeral, as i have done every other time.*

*similar to driving past The Chateau family italian restaurant on I-93 in Andover, Massachusetts. makes me giggle every time. a never-fail smile-starter.

and i looked up to the sign and saw this:

WIMPY FURR

um, what? FURR??? that's how people are supposed to know you are showing Death at a Funeral? really? REALLY LEBANON CINEMA?!?! oh come on. let's look at that again:

WIMPY FURR

and at the very bottom of the long list of things that just don't make sense is this: last time i checked, the word FUNERAL only had one R. it's not even like it was, FUNR. two R's just don't make sense at all!

but as soon as i saw that sign, AS SOON as i realized what was going on with those words i thought,

JULIE: Oh man I can't wait to tell my blog friends about this!!!

i'm not making this stuff up! it just happens to be great blog material, in my opinion.

FURR. it's just crazy. if i had unlimited money supply i would totally buy them some new sets of letters. heck, not even unlimited. if i had MORE money, i would do it.

ah, but like i said, it's great blog material. :)


SO. it's 10am. the house inspection people from the state will be coming anytime now.

it's also very cloudy. i actually had to turn on the light.

and that means i have 6 hours left of work. i'm going to do some website design once i get a little more awake.


::: ooooo episode of The O.C. last night!! so juicy. this gang of hardcore surfers REALLY REALLY wanted to fight Ryan. the whole episode was this huge, 'should i fight them, should i not fight them?' it was crazy. BUT, in the end, he decided to "use his head instead of his fists" and did not end up fighting the surfer gang. life lesson! don't fight the surfers. it was beautiful, really.


::: when i was packing for work last night and this morning i realized i was kind of packing for the end of the world. for my 8 hour shift at work i brought:
- my laptop
- 2 magazines
- a book
- mug of coffee
- box of cheez-its
- box of cheerios
- soy milk

WHY? why did i bring the whole container of soy milk to work with me?!?! i don't know. it's crazymaking. i felt like i was preparing to go into a bomb shelter. nope. just two flights down to sit in a room all day.


::: so, i'm staring at this children's book right now called, 'On the Night You Were Born.' i cataloged this book last week. we have a total of 8 copies. and the cover is this seemingly suggestive picture of two polar bears doing some kind of dance move. i'm not too sure about that picture, folks. what do you think?


::: i'm also cold right now. i put on my cardigan that i brought with me. oh yeah, i also brought a cardigan with me to work. and i have the ceiling fan on. and i'm cold, but i don't want to shut it off because then later tonight when i'm hott and sweaty i'll wish i was cold.


::: OH. i know what else i possibly need to do today. but probably not today, but sometime soon. GET MY STUPID PHONE FIXED. now, i don't like using the word 'stupid.' but this phone is an exception. ugh it makes me so frustrated. the touch screen has totally gone to crap. last night i couldn't set my alarm because touching the screen was doing nothing. i tried shutting off the phone. sliding it up and down. CALIBRATING IT. i can't tell you how many times i've calibrated it this week. MANY TIMES. and sometimes that doesn't even work because it's like, "touch the dot on the screen as it moves" and i touch the dot, but it doesn't recognize it.

UGH. i am not a fan of that phone. it worked great at first. and it's just about a year old. Samsung Impression is what it is. would i recommend it? no. no i would not. it makes me very untrustworthy of touch screen phones.

and kara has the same phone as me and she was just able to get a brand new one because her screen was all messed up. her's was really weird, though. like, it would change colors and distort the picture. and to me, this is a testament about how the phone is great at first, but them goes to crap after a year.

and the phone insurance runs out in june. so, i'm going to try and get it replaced before then.

SO - because i couldn't set my phone alarm*

*which is unreliable anyways because the other day i woke up two hours after the alarm was supposed to go off. and i checked the phone. the alarm WAS going off, but there was no sound. THE ALARM PROBLEM has been a constant.

i had to set my ipod alarm clock, which meant that i was not able to listen to any lullabies while i slept. which wasn't so bad, because i had my window fan going anyways and i wouldn't have really been able to hear the lullabies anyways. BUT STILL.

dear samsung impression people,

your crap phone has caused me to be unable to listen to my nighttime lullabies due to the constant problem with the alarm. and now the touch screen. think about THAT!

love, julie

but, a note regarding the lullabies: i enjoyed listening to the 'Resistance' by Muse version during the day. but at nighttime, while i'm laying in my dark room - it's kind of scary.

AND ALSO, i wanted to clear something up. i mentioned that the two new lullabies i bought were from the 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star' lullaby collection. now i know what you must be thinking,

YOU: But Julie, I thought you bought the 'Rockabye Baby!' collection.

and YES. i do. i have bought from both collections and love them all. the Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star seems to have more up-to-date rock songs turned into lullabies. so that's why i think they will be the ones to release Crash Kings.


so, it's 11:10am right now. i think i'm getting more tired as the day goes on. it's pretty quiet here today.

once the afternoon gets here usually the time passes more quickly.

the last time i worked a shift in the house we had a newborn baby here! and it was the week after the Crash Kings Roadtrip Weekend. and i got to keep the newborn baby overnight. and he was so tiny and sweet!

apparently the house inspection people need vaccination papers for Ruby Tuesday. this bums me out. yes, she's vaccinated. but i just wish that my personal life and my work life didn't overlap this much. ya know? there's just no privacy.

okay. i think i'm going to eat some Cheez-its and work on the website now. it's coming out awesome! i love it. i just love looking at it and thinking, "yep. i picked all this out." i can't wait to show it to you once it's all done.

alright. i hope you are having a great monday and are more rested than i am.

also, last night while reading that awesome article about Crash Kings, in the section when he was talking about 'Non-Believer' he posted some lyrics and said that they are "probably the most poetic lyrics on the record." and yes, i've heard these lyrics a million times. but, seeing them in written form was a new experience and it was like i was seeing them for the first time. and i was taken aback by how beautiful they are....


“Always letting go could bring you closer
Leaving doesn’t mean that this is over
Don’t forget about the things that make you feel free”


<3

"a wink and a nudge"

I PROMISE that this will be quick because it's 3:17am and i have to be awake in FOUR HOURS to go to work. and i'm not even really close to going to sleep. well, i guess i am. i just have to write this real quick.

SO, there is this awesome guy who writes this great blog about music. and he wrote a blog about CRASH KINGS. and there is another person in this world who loves blogging about Crash Kings and that person is me.

i was very excited to read this article. FIRST, Crash Kings themselves sent out the link in a tweet, but i didn't click on it. and then two days passed and i forgot about it. but then i went to the Crash Queen's facebook page and they had posted a link, so i read it.

OH MAN. best Crash Kings article ever.

this guy - this blogger - IS AWESOME. not only is he awesome because he now loves Crash Kings, but he seems like he knows a LOT about music.

ALSO - he posted ONE OF MY videos in his article! a video i took from the show in Clifton Park, NY!!! of Carry On! i was super excited to see that there.

(that link will take you to the article.)

he goes through every song on the record and describes how awesome it is. AND, does a breakdown of what he thinks the lyrics means - which is really awesome and funny.

(let's see how many more times i can use the word 'awesome' in this post.)

and not only is he awesome and funny, but he's RIGHT. there were many times in the article where i was like, "YEAHH!!!!!!"

like when he was talking about Mountain Man and he said,

"...even after you’ve heard the chorus for the 5th time it still doesn’t seem like they’re beating you over the head with it. Not my favorite by far, but I’m also not tired of it."

i was like, "YEAH! Mountain Man isn't my fave, but every time it comes on - i'm still really excited!!!!"

brillz.

BUT THE BEST, was when he was talking about 'You Got Me,' which, if you haven't picked up on - IS A SUPER SEXY SWEATY DIRTY SONG. that i love.

this is what he says about 'You Got Me,'

"There’s a sexy, dirty, funky vibe in this one, and coincidentally the lyrics follow suit. Great bass riff to go along with nicely accented drums (and some more furious tambourine). It’s Mary vs. Jenny in this one, and the oft-repeated phrase is “I think you got me where you want me, woman!” He intimates some dirty deeds (”Jenny… she does it for me, she’s going down, going down, going down tonight”) and it seems like there’s a wink and a nudge and we all know what’s going on."

A WINK AND A NUDGE?!?!?! i read that line. i laughed. i read it again. giggled. then i said aloud, "um, could there be a more perfect way to describe that song!!!?" and the answer is no. it's totally a 'wink and a nudge' song. OOHHHHH I LOVE IT.

because we allll know what's going on. OH. love it. and sooo sexy. and...dirtyandnasty.

today it was super hott outside and it was just horrible. and i was driving and You Got Me came on my mix and i said, (aloud, again)

JULIE: Ooooo what a hott sweaty song for a hott sweaty day.

AGAIN: listening to that song and watching Mike sweat is maybe the best thing ever.

also, i talk to myself a lot. aloud. is it ALOUD or OUT LOUD? i don't know. i will google.


ok, so in my googling of ALOUD and OUT LOUD, i can't quite come to a decision. i think it's because i am a bit too sleepy. here's what i think i have learned:

- they are not interchangeable like say, 'whilst' and 'while.'
- i'm not sure if i used 'aloud' the right way.

that's what i learned. i guess it would have made a difference in Twilight when he says,

ROBERT: Say it. OUT LOUD.

wait, robert is his real name. what's the twilight guy's name? oh!

EDWARD: Say it. OUT LOUD.

or,

EDWARD: Say it. ALOUD.

out loud definitely works better there.

ANYWAYS. i don't care about this right now.

THE POINT IS: go read that fine piece of blogging. and! watch my video that he posted in the article! i'm excited about that.

ok. 3:42am. have to be up at 7:30am. uugghhh. and i know i'll just be sitting around all day at work. that makes it even harder.

alright, have a great monday. the week is full of possibility!!!! love it.


<3