screw the hiatus

101 74 things that piss me off

1. slow computers
2. stepping in dog poop
3. gas
4. corn and corn products
5. foodies
6. my messy apartment
7. heat on a timer and lack of a thermostat (not all of us work a 9-5...brrr)
8. my upstairs neighbors
9. mice
10. my landlord (most of the time)
11. sore boobs
12. lack of space
13. lack of work
14. lip service
15. impatient honkers
16. traffic
17. litter
18. clutter
19. noise
20. the ADD that accompanies living in nyc (i need room to think!)
21. our trashcan that never shuts
22. halitosis
23. hormones
24. paying money for crappy food
25. disorganization
26. hangnails
27. bloat
28. waiting on checks
29. taxes
30. disrepair
31. cheesy bands
32. flab
33. lack of motivation
34. dust bunnies
35. split ends
36. grays
37. nuts & gum
38. unfinished business
39. uti's
40. sluggishness
41. impatience
42. the slow tick of the clock
43. peeps who do me wrong
44. wet bandaids
45. pruny fingers
46. stubble
47. lack of a pedicure
48. zits
49. bad dog owners
50. meatheads
51. jerks
52. cheeseballs
53. smarmy men
54. nyc snobs
55. nyc rents
56. pollution
57. provincialism
58. sexism
59. racism
60. lack of free healthcare
61. george bush et al
62. rotten produce
63. know it alls
64. phonies
65. mildew
66. mold
67. must
68. rapid fire text messaging
69. exhaustion
70. insomnia
71. snorers
72. headbutters (biscuit, i'm talking to you)
73. pests
74. unfinished business

(....aah....that's better...)

but before i go (and while i'm feeling listy)...

100 things that make me happy

1. having bdub in my life
2. morning snuggling (and evening snuggling)
3. having a dog who likes to spoon
4. new york on the first day of spring, when the chairs and tables are being put outside at the restaurants
5. the snow that looks all sparkly and windswept, like a sugary blanket
6. mushroom thyme pizza from the brick oven gallery
7. reunions (especially with family and my beach girls)
8. catching up with my peeps
9. composing random and ridiculous songs with the dub
10. making my peeps something delicious
11. fish tacos on a hot day
12. homemade italian wedding soup on a cold day
13. care packages
14. bi bim bop
15. my nephew's imagination
16. my niece's smile once she warms up to you
17. the biscuit's desperate stretching
18. wiles's toothy grin
19. road trips (and getting taco bell-our guilty pleasure- and bdub always saying, "i'm buying!")
20. an icy soda
21. the feeling after a good workout
22. a smooth day at work with fun peeps
23. sunshine (trite but true)
24. lying on the sand in 80 degree weather
25. katherine's back porch
26. ehrrin keenan's facial expressions and tiny little fingers
27. belly laughs
28. a good afternoon at gabe's
29. the mint cookie chai or moon pie tea at the roebling tea room
30. seeing/hearing people i love play music
31. dog runs
32. kick ass delis
33. trader joe's
34. new makeup that fills a void in my kit
35. getting out of the city for a little bit
36. homemade ravioli with fresh tomato sauce (preferably nana's)
37. anything made by nana
38. the security of my marriage
39. woobie's luxuriously soft fur
40. the biscuit's frito-licious scent
41. animals in general
42. starting a new roll of tape
43. opening most fresh things (the first dip into most jars of food)
44. a clean house (my own)
45. a good party
46. a great rock and roll show
47. good wine
48. veggie bacon
49. warm boots, coat and mittens in the winter
50. going down the steps of the subway just as the train pulls in
51. a seat on the train
52. little kids in the seat next to me leaning on me as we ride the train
53. girls nights
54. good naps
55. christopher guest movies
56. green and black's chocolate
57. cheese. any and all.
58. baby pigs. pink ones.
59. clear skin
60. home organization
61. a good book
62. new underwear and bras
63. shitkickers (both the boots and the people)
64. thai food delivery
65. finger food
66. the rat zapper
67. hikes in the woods with dogs
68. the canals in amsterdam
69. the biscuit licking my face
70. guitar hero
71. our back patio in the summer
72. bubble baths
73. a stocked fridge
74. "aha!" moments (not to get all oprah...)
75. personal growth
76. billy bragg's "a new england"
77. guided by voices' "glad girls"
78. the cozy nook
79. evenings of interpretive dance at 89 maujer
80. a good magazine
81. fresh summer tomatoes
82. the photography and recipes on 101 cookbooks
83. the crunch of fall leaves
84. country roads
85. house parties in west virginia in the summertime
86. campfires
87. vegetable gardens
88. puppy freakouts
89. a good game of scrabble
90. female bonding
91. amy sedaris
92. a kick ass massage
93. pedicures
94. a perfect haircut (which includes a great blowout)
95. fresh juice straight from the juicer
96. good eggs
97. time to primp
98. jeff a's utterances (hilarious, true, and cutting)
99. weekends off
100. the smell of coffee (how i miss you...)

101 things in 1001 days

so my hiatus will be broken by this post...i couldn't keep this rad idea to myself.

here's the website that explains the project: in a nutshell, you must come up with a list of 101 tasks you would like to complete within 1001 days. the criteria is that the tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. they also must be realistic and stretching. so here are mine:

PERSONAL:
1- finish this list!!!
2- decide on and buy new glasses
3- repair computer
4- use reusable bags when going to the grocery store
5- go to the farmer's market once a week for an entire season
6- copy all of nana's recipes from her (while cooking with her)
7- join a community music ensemble
8- with bdub, finish lawsuit (get information subpoena as a start)
9- replace running shoes
10- take mom out for a real british high tea
11- make a pushpin travel map for bdub
12- watch less television
13- spend atleast one day a year with individual siblings (0/4)
14- make a toast
15- have a weekly dinner (or other) date
16- live la dolce vita!


FINANCIAL:
17- pay off the car
18- establish credit (use a credit card and pay it off monthly) (<- 768! not bad!)
19- open a savings account and come up with a realistic goal
20- cut back on cable tv services
21- combine cell phone plans


PHYSICAL:
22- see doctor about sciatica
23- go to the dentist
24- attend regular yoga classes (atleast once a week for atleast two months)
25- get acupuncture
26- conceive and have a healthy pregnancy
27- give birth
28- establish a regular exercise routine (3 x/week for atleast two months)
29- get down to 120 pounds
30- get laser resurfacing (or other applicable procedure) to eliminate acne scars/pock marks
31- grow out my nails
32- wear my cute clothes and shoes that just sit in my closet
33- walk the dog daily for a month (atleast)
34- floss regularly (daily)
35- drink more water!


APARTMENT:
36- purge and organize all areas of our apartment
37- figure out a plan for the basement to make it livable and then do it!
38- purge my closet (and restock with better stuff!)
39- add to equine paint-by-numbers collection (2/8) and then frame and hang
40- buy a solid piece of danish modern furniture
41- get rid of all evidence of mouse infestation
42- install a shelf in the bathroom
43- repair front door
44- maximize all space
45- organize books and replace bookshelf
46- replace the @*&$%!ing trashcan!
47- buy a file cabinet
48- corral mail


TRAVEL:
49- go camping upstate or in pa
50- travel to italy
51- travel to spain
52- go to a dog-friendly b & b
53- go snowboarding
54- go icefishing
55- go to dia: beacon
56- take the biscuit to the ft tryon park dog run
57- go horseback riding
58- attend sxsw
59- go on a cross country road trip!
60- go to warhol museum
61- go to brighton beach (russian disco, yes?)


PROFESSIONAL:
62- complete three beauty tests (organize, shoot, get useable prints) (0/3)
63- complete three fashion tests (organize, shoot, get useable prints (0/3)
64- upgrade 50% of products in both hair and makeup kits
65- do a mailing
66- create beauty blog
67- take some lessons to improve hairstyling
68- learn to trim bangs
69- learn to airbrush
70- redesign website
71- get bio up on arthouse's website
72- talk with david about career
73- examine other career avenues
74- pursue a side income


SPIRITUAL/INTERPERSONAL:
75- attend services at the unitarian church
76- volunteer regularly (once a month to start)
77- volunteer with animals
78- silently count to ten when getting frustrated or tempted to say something stupid/mean/thoughtless
79- live more compassionately
80- get the biscuit to become a certified therapy dog
81- spend more time with elderly people
82- pray or meditate daily/nightly
83- stop gossiping
84- forgive those who have done me wrong
85- maintain strong family ties (weekly contact with all relatives)


EDUCATIONAL:
86- take a theramin class and establish a weekly practice schedule
87- bake a souffle
88- make borscht
89- learn photoshop
90- get certified in cpr
91- make homemade tamales
92- make dilly beans
93- sew a cute skirt for myself
94- bake homemade bread
95- take a dance class
96- take a self-defense course
97- finish reading a people's history of the united states
98- read hegemony or survival
99- learn to make cheese
100- learn the tarantella
101- learn guitar well enough to sing around a campfire or to babies


..and now i will take leave of this blog once again while i pursue those things on my list, and some not on my list. ciao ciao!

wolfeinelli on hiatus

that's right peeps...i need to take a lil hiatus from blogging for now (not that i have been an especially active blogger over the last month or so).

the wolfeinellis in the city will come back in a few weeks bigger, stronger, and updated! as for now, please enjoy my most recent fun internet finds:

frugal fashionista
love this blog.. love it. i like to think of it as giving the fashionistas a smackdown in the form of knock-offs and cheap threads. it's deserved. plus, with frugal fashionista, i feel like it helps me to pull together a quick, fun look and channel my inner lindsay lohan or hillary duff when i am feeling old, haggard, and chunky.

and, of course, there is nothing quite as adorable as corn nut drinking a heineken.

enjoy! and much love!

xoxo

gold shoes in heaven

a hundred apologies for the hiatus in blog world. much has happened since my last post: work has picked up a bit, my existential and career crisis has continued, and we have had a death in the family.

brian's grandma wolfe passed away on january 31st as a result of pancreatic and liver cancer. shortly after christmas, she was given the diagnosis and the prognosis of about two months to live. i spoke with a couple of my girlfriends who had both lost their grandmothers to the same types of cancer, and both warned that the deterioration was rapid. at our first opportunity, bdub, heather and i went down to west virginia to spend some time with her.

she had been moved to a nursing home just the day before we got in, and she was none too happy about it. however, nothing in the world lifted her spirits more than being with her grandchildren. this was last tuesday, and the morning after we returned to new york, she passed. we headed back down for the funeral just a few days later.

no one in this world besides betty holliday wolfe has ever made me feel so exotic and glamorous. i remember taking his grandma to the parkette once when we were in for a visit. all it took was ordering bleu cheese dressing for my salad to give her cause to exclaim "oh my!" and grin at me with googly eyes. to be honest, it made me feel a little uncomfortable but secretly i loved it.

she always asked me how i stayed so thin and looking so good, and no one asks me that.

she loved music, and any time she heard it, she'd ferociously tap her thigh and tell tale of when she sang alto with the sweet adelines and wore a gold dress and gold shoes. like me, she also loved glamour.

she made brian crazy sometimes (the "buying a short set at walmart story"--in which she gets stuck in an electric buggy and nearly triggers bdub's fight-or-flight mechanism-- is a story for another time). she could be wildly negative. she hated her building, and claimed that everyone in there gossiped about everyone else...yet many of these residents were at her viewing this week, talking about how she was their good friend. she could be intensely critical.

she was extremely particular about food, refusing to receive meals-on-wheels any more because she didn't care for the vegetables (or any vegetables, for that matter- nothing but meat and potatoes for her). she ate her fast food and hot dogs and burgers like a bird. if after a family dinner you ever complained of being tired or full, she would say, "well, you know what your problem is! you ATE TOO MUCH!!". she drank nothing but coca cola; i think towards the end brian's dad convinced her to atleast switch to rootbeer so as to avoid the caffeine.

bdub's paternal grandfather split when his dad was a boy, and his grandmother raised his dad in what was essentially the clarksburg ghetto. she was poor, considered an outcast at the time, and worked hard her entire life; i don't believe she ever left clarksburg. she was preceded in death by an infant daughter, jack's twin sister, jill ann...and when we think of what can make a person bitter in their old age, of why grandma wolfe could be so negative, how quickly we forget the hand she was dealt in her life.

yet she always loved music. and she adored brian. i believe that he gets his musical talent from her....maybe she is the link that led him to discover his true happiness and passion? the story goes that little brian and his mom and dad returned to west virginia from maryland on account of grandma wolfe's knee operation (who else did she have to help her with her recovery?). perhaps if it weren't for grandma wolfe, they never would have come back to wv....thus the wolfeinelli love story would never have happened.

godspeed grandma wolfe. thank you for always making me feel like you were just tickled to have me as a granddaughter-in-law. may you sing alto with the angels in heaven, dancing time steps and keeping a good, strong beat in your gold shoes.