The Bachelorette: Chicago Edition

If you watched Sex & the City as religiously as I did, you might remember the episode where the girls talked about their "Secret Single Behavior" i.e. the secret things we all do when our spouse or significant other is away. Since Mr. Valentine is off to the PacNorthwest for a few days, I will be indulging in the things that I only do when the hubs is away.

1. Watch as much girly entertainment as humanly possible. Here is some of the mindless crap I have watched while my husband is away: 27 Dresses, Bride Wars, My Sister's Keeper, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1 & 2), The Devil Wears Prada (like 1000 times), Sex & the City (naturally), About a Boy...the list goes on and on. I do draw the line at anything starring Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock or Jessica Simpson though. I have standards people.

2. Clean. I love to clean. The dirtier the better. The mister helps as much as he can, but let's get real; the average dude just doesn't clean things well enough. Mr. Valentine would clean everything with 409 and the kitchen sponge if left to his own devices. When he's gone I get to be as obsessive compulsive as I want and it is AWESOME. Incidentally, this is how I clean out the old, worn out undershirts he refuses to toss. I just throw them out when he's gone, buy new ones and put them in his drawers. Best part? He never notices.

3. Shop. (Insert evil cackle) My husband is very good to me and virtually never says no when I want to buy something. (Smart guy) That said, shopping alone is SO much better than shopping with a dude. I can take my time, try on as much as I want, put stuff on hold, stop for coffee and then decide. And no matter what the price I can figure out a way to convince him I needed it. (see aforementioned statement about him never saying no. I have my ways.)

So that is what I'll be doing for the next 4 days, that plus seeing my family & some friends. It'll be fun, as usual, but truth is it's just how I fill my time until my best friend comes home.

The post where I become a kleptomaniac.

Apparently I am a thief. Of ideas that is. When you come to the realization that you are narcissistic enough to start a blog, you think it's going to be super easy. I'm cute! And witty! And interesting! After about 3 weeks you realize that not only is it super hard to think of stuff to write about everyday but that the only living beings that find you that interesting are your mom and your dogs. And they only love me for the kibble.

I am in a fog of writer's block that I can only assume is a result of the vats of wine and cheese I've consumed over the last week. So I decided to steal a feature today from Jaime, author of one of my favorite blogs that you can find here. She's as cute, witty and interesting as I fancy myself and so I've decided to shoplift her "Media Monday" feature here and detail all the media that I am consuming at this moment:

TV SHOW:



Mr. Valentine and I started watching this show when CBS ran the first season. Dexter is a forensic scientist who moonlights as a serial killer. He's by far the cutest serial killer I've ever seen in my life and incredibly creative at dispatching his victims. But don't worry, he only kills "bad" people so he's kind of like Robin Hood. Well, that is if Robin Hood had been a sociopath who listed "dismemberment" amongst his turn ons. I bought the hubs seasons 2 & 3 for Christmas which I am embarrassed to say we are almost done with. It's really that good.

Book:

The Road fell into my hands about 4 years late but it is every bit as good as the many glowing reviews would have you believe. Briefly, it's about a father and son traversing a post-apocalyptic world with nothing but a pistol and each other. You know, light holiday fare. I myself only put it down to pour more wine. Don't cheat by seeing the movie that just came out, read the real thing.

Music:



If you don't own any Wilco, do yourself a favor and get some. Start with "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and expand from there.

Blog:

In terms of blogs that I can't get enough of, this one is currently at the top of my list. Go there for the hysterical recaps of "The Hills" and stay for the surely-I'm-going-to-hell recaps of "Intervention". Comedy gold.

Movie:



I don't go to the movies that often. They're cold, the seats suck and your feet stick to the floor. I have to really want to see a movie to go out to one. The last movie I saw in the theater was "Precious" and holy hell was it good. It's completely depressing yet strangely hopeful and I cried my eyes out. In the effort of full disclosure though, I cry at "The Muppet Christmas Carol" so that might not be an accurate reflection of the film. (That tiny Kermit gets me every time.)

So there you have it. My current media fetishes which paint me as much darker than I actually am. My media Monday isn't quite as awesome as Jaime's but such is life. I'm like Diet Coke. No matter how much you try to convince yourself it just doesn't taste like real Coke.

Are you ready for some football??

Just because me and Mr. Valentine's football teams suck, doesn't' mean we still don't love watching football. We just pretend to be Steeler or Saints fans like the rest of the country. Anyhoo, since our fabulous BFF's C & V are coming over, the meal is a little more substantive than normal, but still perfect fall football food. So here we go:

Blood Orange Mimosas (for the ladies)
Beer (for the dudes)
Em's homemade hummus & pita
Buffalo Chicken Dip (aka "Crack Dip")
Chopped Caprese Salad
Spicy Pork Po' Boys with pickle mayo
Buckin's Cajun Potato Salad

I love Sundays, lets all keep our fingers crossed that next year the Bears & Raiders don't suck.