My New Headphones

I got the JVC noise-cancelling headphones that I wrote about last month for Christmas.

I'm trying them out for the first time right now on the train and I have to say they work really well! As soon as I turn them on I hear a little "shoop!", almost like a suction, and then all the background noise disappears. I highly recommend them!

I'm listening to "Arms of a Woman" by Amos Lee right now on my iPod. Great song, give it a listen.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Finally Leaving Connecticut

I'm on the train right now, carrying both a dog and a cat.

I'm totally Jack Hanna. The only thing that would be better is if I had a parrot on my shoulder.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Most Eligible Pets

Animal Fair magazine named Miley Cyrus' two dogs as their "Most Eligible Pets."

Also on the list are Glenn Close's dogs, Jake and Bill, and Perez Hilton's dog, Teddy.

"Well, this sure is a bunch of bullshit."

"They didn't even call us."

Puppy Love

This is why pets are so great. They love you no matter what.

Bill Gates Is Funny!

Bill Gates farewell video.

What I wanna know is... $7 for a haircut?! Where?!

The Virago Book of The Joy of Shopping

Hey Brits... buy this book!

The Virago Book of The Joy of Shopping by Jill Foulston.

I have to say, I LOVE the company I keep in the first paragraph of the description...

Jane Austen found her sister Cassandra a locket. Joan Didion bought nail enamel and a toaster on impulse. Karyn Bosnak charged $20,000 on credit cards, and Elizabeth Wurtzel got caught shoplifting. George Eliot, for some reason, hated shopping.

As people began to shop more, novelists imagined them doing it. Jane Eyre cringes at Mr Rochester's pre-wedding excess, while Undine Spragg's spending drives her husband to despair. The Girl with a Pearl Earring turns up her nose at some stale meat, Tom Ripley lusts after Venetian leather, and Mrs Dalloway chooses flowers on Bond Street.

The darker side of shopping is here in the letters, diaries and memoirs of those who remember blackmarkets and rations. There are even records from the Old Bailey of audacious and desperate five-finger discounts, and a recent account of brawling at IKEA.

The Virago Book of Shopping revels in the lists, the etiquette and the thrills of finding just the right thing.

This is it. Buy it.

The Virago Book of Shopping is now available in the UK. It will be released in the US in April 2008.

PS - I found out that I was in this book by Googling myself. You'd think the author or publicist would've emailed to let me know so I could write about it on my blog and give them a little publicity, but they didn't.

Ted, On Starbucks

My old (new) friend, Ted Goeglein, is back with a new post of HuffPo, where he discusses, amongst other things, Starbucks.

Maybe it's me, but there's something about a hipster in a beanie ordering a venti triple soy half skim latte one pump low fat caramel macchiato that makes me want to pry open a can of Folgers with my teeth and eat it plain.

Ha ha...

Click here to read more of "It's Too Much" by Ted Goeglein.

Gorgeous Day

Okay so it's 65 degrees outside today, which is amazing, even if it is a little weird for um... January. Still, just because the crazy weather is most likely another sign our planet is warming at a ridiculously fast pace doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy it.

It smells like spring outside, like dew on fresh-cut grass. In a weird way, the smell reminds me of high school. Actually, grade school, too. Why is that, I wonder. Maybe because I went to school in the suburbs and was surrounded by greens, and maybe because I'm still at my sister's house in Connecticut, once again surrounded by greens.* Whatever the reason, the smell makes me happy, makes me feel like I have the world at my fingertips. Which I probably do... as do you.

Sometimes I think we are our own worst enemy. We're the ones who put limitations on what we can and cannot do. We talk ourselves out of taking chances, psych ourselves out of succeeding at the things we do attempt. No one person holds us back more than ourselves... controlling our minds, our obsessive thoughts, our negative thinking is the key to success.

With that, the world is filled with possibilities—you are filled with possibilities. Make it happen... whatever your "it" may be.

*Re: Connecticut... I've been here for two weeks, went home only to get my cat. I need to go back to my apartment—my life—but I keep putting it off. I started working again, though, so that's good!

Two New Favorite Blogs

I'm obsessed with these two blogs. I found them in Technorati's list of the top 100 blogs.

Lifehacker - Tech tricks, tips, and downloads for getting things done.

Zen Habits - Zen Habits is about... achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits.

(Scroll down to the bottom of the Zen Habits page to see a list of the most popular posts.)

Check them out!

A Tasty RED

Unlike this wine, I found a great red from St. Francis Winery called "RED" that's delicious and inexpensive ($10-$12.) RED is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel. It comes in a black bottle with twelve different-but-similar label designs.


Click here to read some reviews, or better yet, go out and get some!

There's No Such Thing As A Dumb Question

Quick exchange with my brother-in-law a few minutes ago...

ME: Who is Roger Clemens?
BROTHER-IN-LAW: I'm gonna pretend you didn't just ask that.

Iowa Caucus

Great NPR article and video describing how the Iowa caucus is different than the primaries and other general elections...

What Goes On During the Iowa Caucuses, Anyway?
by Nancy Cook

The Iowa caucuses are not like the general elections, or even like primaries, where people declare their choices in a secret vote.

Iowans gather in their neighbors' homes, schools, churches or gyms for what's essentially a neighborhood party that lasts for hours.

Republicans choose their candidate based on a show of hands.

Democrats debate and try to build coalitions with other supporters from the same voting precincts. Democratic candidates need the support of at least 15 percent of each precinct to move on to the next round, the county convention. If a candidate is not deemed "viable" — if he or she cannot get the 15 percent — then their supporters are free to form coalitions with other candidates.

Interesting, isn't it? It's like old-fashioned elections.

Watch Ken Rudin's Video Guide to the Iowa Caucuses

Me Loves Flickr

New Year's Resolution #1:

1. Upload all of my backlogged photos to my Flickr account.

Please feel free to add me as a contact and comment on my photos!

Update

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating. I'm still at my sister's house and haven't returned to real life yet. Is it really January 3rd? I still feel like it's Christmas.

I'll be back to normal tomorrow. I must. Must, must, must. This Christmas vacay has been way too long.

XXX

A Special Message From Nora

I planned on posting this yesterday, but Vimeo was having uploading issues so I couldn't do it until today.

Happy New Year From Nora - Take 3 from Karyn Bosnak on Vimeo.
In case you're wondering why I ask her to repeat the phrase "HPN" a million times, I was planning to edit the video using the best version. However, after watching it in its entirety, I couldn't choose just one—they were all too cute.