And counting...

There is a woman named Heidi Merrill, who has taught me a number of important things. The list includes the value of wearing pantyhose to auditions and how to find the energy and motivation to do a show when you just don't feel like it. But with September 8th looming a mere 2 weeks away, the more relevant lesson she's taught me is this:

Make a big deal out of your birthday.

Because, it's your birthday! Why wouldn't you? Now, I know I just had a WEDDING, and that's kind of "all about the bride," but I tried hard to make it "all about the couple." Besides, that was MONTHS ago, and it's time for MORE PRESENTS now, riiiggghhhhttt?? (Flashes of TAMNers, anyone?)

Well, okay. The whole "make a big deal out of your birthday thing" is not really about presents. I just like to make a big deal out of my birthday. For those who will be in Rexburg in early/mid-September, I'll keep you posted on party details. I might back out of this, but I'm thinking about a theme this year. Mocktails (little black dresses, red lipstick, suspenders, and shirley temples)? Masquerade? Harry Potter? B horror flicks from the 50's and 60's? I'll let it percolate for a little while. (You know, in preparation for our children's amazing themed birthday parties. I'll get in the habit of planning them NOW, so that when we HAVE kids, I'll be an expert.)

And I guess if you really WANTED to get me a present, I'd like these things (some more spendy than others):

• A used/cheap electric washer and dryer for our new apartment
• A Mixmaster or Kitchenaid
• 2 simple black poster frames (24" x 36")
• DVD of "Wonderman" (starring Danny Kaye)
• A White Stripes album (anything but "White Blood Cells" or "Elephant"...already have those)
• Set of large tupperware jars for baking supplies (sugar, flour, salt, etc)
• Dinner and movie date with my husband!
• Gift cards to Porter's craft store

Happy birthday, Liz.

The grades your man could smell like

The title of this post may not make immediate sense, but it will after you watch these videos.

Many of you may be familiar with the Old Spice Man. This is the kind of commercial that, if I was a television executive and you presented this idea to me on paper, I would have serious doubts as to its success. But the concept is realized marvelously. If you don't know the ads, take a gander. (And if you do know the ads, you'll appreciate the second video all the more if you re-watch this.)



BA HA HA!!! I love it so.

Okay, now watch THIS:

Escapism

I've got itchy feet lately. It's an inherent Whittaker trait, and even though I'm technically a Chapman now, Whittaker blood still flows in my veins and makes my feet itchy. There's not really anything I need to escape from. I'm just bored. The monotony of nothing but telephone survey centers and endless laundry and dishes is getting to me. And I keep trying to convince myself to LIVE it UP here in Rexburg...but...well, I'm tired of Rexburg right now.

Top Five Places I'd Like to Be Right Now:

1. The San Francisco Bay Area. For the Haight-Ashbury, for Berkley, for my family, for Jordan and Heather's wedding.

2. The beach. Somewhere along the California or Oregon coast. I need to connect to the Pacific Ocean at least twice a year, or my soul starts to fray at the edges.

3. In Utah. Just to be with friends. (Read: Sarah Jagger, I miss you!)

4. Disneyland. Because you just can't go wrong in Disneyland. AND I haven't been there in over a decade.

5. New York City. You could spend a lifetime there and still not quite get to everything. AND my sister is there.

Thank goodness for a camping trip this weekend, Playmill trip soon afterwards, and a motorcycle for the in-between times. Hopefully all of that will assuage my wanderlust.

Oh, and speaking of escape:
Jordan & Heather, Jesse & Kathleen, Annie, Jenny Mae & Matt, Beckah, Shanelle, Sarah, Allison, and other future commune members! I found our house. It's on the California coast, about two hours north of San Francisco. It's only $600,000. It's a little small for all of us, so if you guys don't want to commune, Jacob and I are buying this and living there forever. Y'all can come visit anytime. Wanna see it? You'll die of happiness. Click here.

On the other hand....

I like wisdom.

I made an executive decision, after much debate, that I'd like to have this process done while under anesthesia. If I don't HAVE to be awake, why should I be? Furthermore, I had more and more misgivings about the process at this particular dentist. (They blocked out two hours of time for one wisdom tooth removal? Beckah had all four of hers out in 45 minutes! And mine isn't impacted.) My tooth currently doesn't hurt, and it's not ridiculously time-sensitive, so I decided that this is something that demands a little more research. It'll still happen soon...the next couple of weeks, but under circumstances that I feel a lot more comfortable about.

So I'll be wise until school starts. Ironically enough.

Goodbye wisdom.

One non-impacted wisdom tooth is currently showing signs of decay. And who in the name of Merlin's pants would fill a cavity on a wisdom tooth? So out that entire tooth comes.

I'm actually okay with having my wisdom tooth out. It's just one, and it's not impacted, and the dentist experience has been a good one so far. So I'm okay with that.

What I'm NOT okay with is having to get up and drive to St. Anthony at 7:30 in the morning to do it.

Family love wedding pictures!

When we were waiting for our WEDDING, THAT was a LONG WAIT! And then we had to wait to get the photographic evidence of it. And man. What a WAIT.

But...


...the wait is OVER!!!

Because they're here! On a website and everything. Wanna see the pictures? Click here. More pictures, and hopefully videos, will follow.

The internet is a hypochondriac's worst nightmare.

(Along with House, MD. Although I love it dearly.)

The point is, I'm pretty sure I have Restless Legs Syndrome.

Although according to WebMD and my own hypochondria, in the last year, I've also had kidney failure, diabetes, fibromyalgia, appendicitis, acute angle-closure glaucoma, and several brain tumors.

Restless Legs Syndrome is a real thing, though. I heard about it because a friend and roommate a few years ago had it. So it was the conclusion I came to when I was too restless to sleep.

But whether it's real or imagined, I can't sleep lately unless I do a good 20 minutes of yoga.

Hmph. I'm hoping I can talk myself out of this one.

One picture, two announcements

I'm learning to use photoshop more. Also, I'm very very very happy to wake up to this every morning. Being married is wonderful. And I'm glad I chose this guy.



Isn't he cute?

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Have you been waiting, like I have, for years to see the bio-epic film of Janis Joplin's life?! Your wait is almost over! The film is coming out of the vaults of re-writes and meetings and going into production soon!

But...it's not quite...what I had in mind...

ARTICLE ABOUT THE UPCOMING FILM

I'm still clinging to the hope that if this goes through, she'll surprise us all and be perfect for the role. If she does, she will have my respect FOREVER. Otherwise, poor Pearl is spinning in her grave right now.

But if that brings you down, here's a little something to lift you up again.

WHY JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT CONTINUES TO GROW IN AWESOME-NESS

Very few people would dare to fill the shoes of Donald O'Connor. But Jason here does a damn fine job, in my opinion. I can't help smiling.

Unrelated addendum: I think I found it. I think this is how the blog's gonna look. (For a while anyway.)
Second unrelated addendum: If you haven't checked out The Chapman Paper Sleeve yet, do it! It's awesome! We discuss the White Stripes and recent music purchases.

Experiments

Finally looked into the whole new "template designer" thing on blogger. Re-vamped a bit. This blog may be "changing it's clothes" a lot in the next few days as I see what fits it best. =)


Addendum: This is a diplomatic way of saying that MY BLOG IS HAVING AN IDENTITY CRISIS. (Maybe it's actually me, as a newlywed, and it's just manifesting itself in my blog, but either way, it's only a minor temporary state, and I implore you all to hang in there till everything's figured out. Thanks!)