News by Suz

Not gonna ask again…WHY aren’t you watching Veep?

(via wondrous)

obitoftheday:

Obit of the Day (Breaking): Children’s Author Maurice Sendak

According to the New York Times, Maurice Sendak author of children’s classics Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, and the Nutshell Library (Alligators All Around, Pierre, Chicken Soup with Rice, and One Was Johnny) has died at the age of 83.

Sendak who decided to become an illustrator after seeing the Disney film Fantasia, published Wild Things which was awarded the Caldecott Medal for best illustrated children’s book. He would next illustrate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Zlateh the Goat which would earn Singer the 1966 Newbery Award. He would go on to publsih a total of 16 of his own works and lillustrate over 70 other children’s books.

Over the next five decades Sendak would work with the Children’s Television Workshop and Jim Henson on Sesame Street, Carole King on the television special Really Rosie, and playwright Tony Kushner on the opera and children’s book Brundibar. His last book, Bumble-Ardy was published 2011.

Sendak’s last televised interview was with Stephen Colbert in January 2012. You can watch part 1 here.

Additional source: wikipedia.org

(Image is copyright of Maurice Sendak and courtesy of wikimedia.org)

• BFF: Ok who is Kate Upton and why is everyone talking bout her
• Me: As far as I can tell, she's just a model?
• BFF: Lol borriiinnggg
• Me: Sports illustrated swimsuit edition cover
• Me: She's 19
• BFF: Snap we're next its cool
• Me: Hahaha we're dried up at this point
• Me: Beef jerky
• Me: She's fresh meat
• BFF: Well ill sign us up...we'll be on the next cover dried or not
• Me: Cuuute
• Me: Sports illustrated geezer edition
• BFF: Hahahaha

I’ve been watching this show with my boyfriend and it’s become more and more clear; guys aren’t meant to like this show. Period jokes? EW. HPV? No, thank you. Turning up the music and dancing with your BFF for no reason? W. T. F.

After the most recent episode, I literally turned to him and said, “THIS IS MY LIFE!” I honestly couldn’t count how many times I’ve had a full-on dance party with a group of girls before going out or after a night at the bar. Or how many discussions I’ve had with my friends about gyno visits, birth control, and that time of the month. 

I think it’s still a new idea in popular media that girls can be funny. And even more ‘out there’ is the concept that girls are gross. I honestly believe that some guys like to think girls never go #2. 

‘Bridesmaids’ went there. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler went there in ‘Baby Mama’ and on SNL. And certainly, ‘Girls’ is all about it. But why all the media buzz? Why isn’t this just a normal conversation about a new show premiering on HBO? “The show looks funny.” The end. As opposed to…”Can you believe how funny these girls are?” (Alternatively, “Girls aren’t funny and shouldn’t write comedy.”)

Sure, there are some talks about how the show only portrays middle-class white women, but I wouldn’t say the show ONLY addresses #whitegirlproblems. All girls* worry about getting pregnant or getting an STD or complain about their periods or their weight or their jobs. 

But why are girls putting this show down? Shouldn’t we be excited a show like this finally exists? I haven’t done much searching, but I did find this article from Huffington Post pretty absurd. 

An excerpt from Jamie Etkin’s article titled, ” ‘Girls’ On HBO: 30 Things Girls Don’t Do From Episode 1 And Episode 2”

So, presented without commentary, the [16] most unrealistic moments depicting girls in “Girls’” first two episodes, in chronological order.

Episode 1:

1. Sleep with her leg draped atop of her roommate’s.
2. Keep a cupcake in the fridge.
3. Take a bath with said cupcake.
4. Take a bath with said cupcake, while her roommate half-sits in the tub, shaving her legs.
5. Take a bath, while her roommate half-sits in the tub, shaving her legs.
6. Say, “I need to see your boobs” to someone she doesn’t want to sleep with.
7. Come up with things like the “totem of chat.”
8. List the hierarchy of the “totem of chat” on the street on her way to work.
9. Talk about being a Carrie, Miranda, Samantha or Charlotte in 2012.
10. Talk about the weather or her resume mid-hook up.
11. Discuss your “shape” in front of someone you’re sleeping with.
12. Throw keys down to friends to your apartment a la “Rent.”
13. Pee with another girl.
14. Pee with another girl who she doesn’t like.
15. Fight with another girl who is peeing who she doesn’t like.
16. Hand toilet paper to another girl who she is fighting with who is peeing who she doesn’t like.

Does this girl not have friends? Let me address these one at a time. 

1. I’ve definitely slept in a bed with 2 or 3 other girls and ended up with our limbs intertwined.

2. Um, duh. If I get a box of Sprinkles cupcakes, you better believe I’m saving some of them for later.

3. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten in the bathtub, but I’m not saying I wouldn’t.

4. What if I’m shaving my legs in the bathtub and my friend is eating outside the bathtub?

5. Absolutely. My college roommate never bathed alone. Not that I got in there with her, but I definitely sat in the bathroom and talked to her.

6. Any girl who said they haven’t seen her best friends’ boobs is lying.

7. Maybe not this exact phrase, but it’s been discussed.

8. If I lived in a city where I could walk to work with my friend, then yes, this would have happened by now.

9. SATC references will always be relevant to any situation.

10. Conversation topics do vary; the weather and my resume are not off the table.

11. Literally told my boyfriend yesterday not to grab my love handles.

12. If this was possible from my apt, then yes, it would have happened.

13. This is by far the most upsetting. I know ZERO girls who haven’t peed with another girl in the stall.

14. It happens. I don’t know how, but it happens.

15. See #14.

16. I will always spare a square if need be. Even to my worst enemy.

If I must provide criticism of the show, it might be that Hannah is a little TOO naive. How did she not know guys can’t get tested for HPV? Was that her first visit to the gyno? Did she miss all those HPV vaccination commercials? I wanna be ONE LESS …how catchy.

Obviously, I’m a fan. Whether or not my boyfriend will continue to tolerate it is another issue. 

*If you’re not one of these girls, let me know…

Remember in school when your teacher would tell you to make an acrostic with your name (or, if you went a Catholic school like me, Jesus’ name)? My words were always pretty basic: Sweet, Understanding, Nice, etc. But then there was the letter ‘Z’. What words does an 8-year-old know that start with Z? Zebra, zipper…the end.

Of course, when I asked for help, my teachers would tell me the thing every student hates to hear: Go get a dictionary! Ugh. Damn Webster. And I always ended up with the same word: ZANY

Now, with the power of THE INTERNET, I googled “Z adjectives” and still, there aren’t many to choose from. Zealous, zippy, zesty..

So now, at 24, I’d like to attempt to create an acrostic

S-sarcastic 

U- unique

Z-zany

A-ambitious

N-neat freak

N-nerdy

E-eloquent (I hope)

Zany still sticks. And it really does describe me.

Which is just ONE more reason that my name is NOT spelled SUSAN.

Let’s get right back into it. After an almost 2-week hiatus, I’M HERE! Don’t call it a comeback.

So first off, the Couch to 5K has been put on hold. Apparently, I was right about the treadmill and I not being friends. My knee is JACKED. UP. Like I can’t walk up stairs. My first injury as an athlete! JKJK more likely that the muscle is atrophying. Remember that Seinfeld? SUMMER OF GEORGE!

I’ve been trying to elevate it above my heart with an ice pack, but I sit at my desk for pretty much 8 hours straight, soo….not helping. Oh, you know what else didn’t help? Going to the Rockets game last night and walking up and down stadium stairs! I thought I was going to die. (PS We won! Sorry Kobe!) 

My Lent..thing..is going great! I’ve brought lunch pretty much every day (my company has lunch meetings A LOT). Also, I’ve been cooking new things once or twice a week. SHOUT OUT TO PINTEREST! My latest was a creamy tomato basil soup—vegan! I never would have thought to add avocado! Yummm.

Hmm what else? I’ve been working 10 hours days this week and LUCKILY this week has been super busy. Lots of meetings, luncheons, training, etc. Which may explain why I’m finishing this entry at 5:45 pm on my couch…

YAWN

until next time…

THROWBACK Thursday: Nickelodeon’s “Roundhouse”

Couch to 5K workout #2 was a SUCCESS last night! And I’ve got the blisters to prove it. Unfortunately, the only Band-Aids I have aren’t cutting it. My choices are crayon-shaped ones or Curious George. Cute, yes. Helpful, no. You better believe I swiped some GOOD ones from my office—ointment included!

According to MyFitnessPal, if I keep this up, I’ll lose 7 pounds in 5 weeks. HOLLA! Would LOVE to be slim and trim by bathing suit season.

But this body isn’t going to tan itself! True story: when I was a freshman in college, my roommate and I went to the tanning bed EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I was a nice shade of brown by Spring Break. It was AWESOME. And then my roommate found out she had some cancerous moles because of this and we both STOPPED.

Since then, I’ve only been REALLY tan one other time in my life—when I lived in Spain for 6 weeks. And went to the beach EVERY day for hours and hours.

Exhibit TAN (me on the far right):

and here’s me now…

Exhibit Pale: 

WOW. That is depressing.

Once it reaches 80° —I’m laying out. Shouldn’t be too much longer…

Until tomorrow,

Porcelain Doll

I hate the treadmill. In fact, I don’t like to run PERIOD. Give me zumba any day. Even the elliptical or the freakin stairmaster. But, PLEASE, don’t make me get on the treadmill. 

That was then.

For whatever reason (coughPINTERESTcough), I came upon the Couch to 5K Plan and decided this was THE plan for me. Looked easy enough. 25-30 minutes a day, 3 times a week, for 9 weeks…and I’ll be a runner.

Or at least be able to jog for 20 minutes without seeing the light. 

Pico and I power-walked (with occasional stops to sniff and pee on things) for 30 minutes after work yesterday, until he was huffing and puffing. 

Exhibit A:

After I watched The Voice (and caught up on Shameless), I got the urge to RUN. I dug up my barely-used heart rate monitor and its manual so I could REALLY get into the spirit of things.   

I did a combo jog/walk for 40 minutes. Jog for a minute, walk for 90 seconds, etc. This is kind of an extended version of Week 1 Couch to 5K—they recommend 20 minutes with a 5-minute warm-up.

I. felt. AWESOME. Who said I hated treadmills? And the ones at my apartment complex have TVs built in to them, so I was watching the news for most of the time and then switched to Everybody Loves Raymond. 

Quick side note: I have an already-elevated heart rate. Like, my resting heart rate is ~90 bpm. So, according to my cardiologist, I have to really watch my HR when I work out so I don’t OVER-exert myself. Hence the heart rate monitor. It tells me my target zone for maximum weight loss (135-155) and calculates my calories burned, time spent exercising, etc. 

I also signed up for MyFitnessPal online to track the calories I eat and BURN each day. Yes, I downloaded the app for my phone, too. As it stands right now, I have 519 calories left to eat for dinner (not counting the calories I’ll burn during my work-out). 

It feels good to have a GOAL and it’s going to feel even better achieving it! According to MyFitnessPal, I should reach by goal weight by April 10th. 

Here’s hoping!

Attention: The Voice is on tonight! Battle rounds! I only watched a few episodes of the show last season, but I am hooked this time around! I’m thinking Adam has the strongest team, with Pip being my favorite.

Singing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember (that sounds pretty cliche, doesn’t it?). I was in choir all through middle school and high school and part of the UT choir for one year. I sang in solo competitions, group concerts, musicals, church choirs, and now I hardly sing at all. (insert sad face)

So, let me live vicariously through this show! I often imagine if I had tried out for the show what my biography would sound like. So many of the contestants have these heart-warming stories about singing for their dad who has cancer or almost losing their voice to jaw surgery (real contestants on this show PS) and mine would be something like…

Hi, I’m Suzanne. I like to sing—been singing my whole life. One time in high school, I won a gold medal for singing and I got my letter jacket for choir. I dedicate this performance to my mom who also likes to sing. 

NEXT!

Seriously. Carson would not be impressed with that. 

On that NOTE—get it? singing? music notes?—watch The Voice tonight! Pick a favorite! Get inspired to sing!