JEN GETS FOOD POISONING

Ugh, an inevitable part of being human and living in a world where we don't have to prepare our own food.  I was awoken this morning to the undeniable symptoms of what can only be food poisoning.  Yup, all of THOSE symptoms.  And after following up with the only people I shared meals with, it's been determined that the culprit is likely Friday's date night seafood dinner courtesy of Pappadeaux.

After indulging this weekend on shrimp, scallops, fried alligator, crawfish, and other culinary delights, I'm reduced to attempting to stomach the menu of the fine people at Campbell's, Gatorade, and the cracker factory.  The challenge at this point is going to be to keep the provisions from becoming sacrifices to the porcelain god (not to be construed as commentary on the quality of their fine products).

Thanks to Austin, however, my surroundings have been altered so as to make this as comfortable of a situation as possible.  Sick bay has been set up in the living room in front of our only TV, and all $9.00 of our Netflix monthly subscription is getting used to the last penny. 

So far, I've watched "Bill Cunningham New York" (an awesome documentary about a photographer I've never heard of but can't wait to research more), "The Business of Being Born" (an intriguing look into child birth in the US and a film that has me even more interested in researching midwifery when that time comes for Team Crunkasaurus - and simply fueling "eggy-ness," as Austin would put it), and the last 30 minutes or so of "Star Trek" (because sci-fi IS part of the healing process on sick days).

Now figuring out which movie to catch some late afternoon zzzz's to is about the most effort I plan on putting forth the rest of the day.  Any suggestions?  What are your favorite sick day movies?

APPLE MARTINIS....

...are so 2004.  And yet, "In the Meantime" by Spacehog is still a DAMN good song.

OUR NAME IS fun.

EEEEEEEEEEEEK!  I love sneak peeks!  And Austin and I have been waiting for one for a long time from this band:



Photo courtesy of http://www.ournameisfun.com/



After running their debut album, "Aim and Ignite," sufficiently into the ground (with good reason, and luckily we still have not tired of its genius-ness), Austin and I have longed to see what their second album will produce.  Needless to say, I was delighted to see a little digital gift pop up in my email today - a link to a streaming version of their new single, "We Are Young," featuring the oh so talented Janelle Monae.  Sometimes it pays to sign up for those newsletters, people. :)  (And on a side note, go check out Monae's album - one of the best we've heard for 2011)

After my first listen, so far so good.  But the big question remains:

Are fun. doomed to hit the dreaded sophomore slump a la MGMT? 

In my opinion, likely not.  If lead singer Nate Reuss's former band, The Format, is any indication, then we're likely to see a continuation of the soulfull, catchy, melodic, ELO-esque tunes Reuss is known for.  These guys definitely know how to write a good tune, and having seen them live, I can also say that their live show sounds just as good, if not better, live.  Do yourself a favor and check them out.  You can download "We Are Young" for free via iTunes here.

Feel free to leave us a comment to let us know what you think about fun., or tell us if there are any album releases you're anxiously anticipating. :)

AUSTIN LETS LOOSE

Like the Foo Fighters said, "Well, you know I did it, it's over, and I feel fine."  It's finally all over.  The test is history, and this gave us cause to celebrate.  Yesterday morning, I was parked in the Wells Fargo parking lot by 11:45am, and I waited for Austin in the car with Reel Big Fish in queue on the iPod as a way to set the tone for the rest of the day.  It was apparent by his calm that he had been adequately prepared and there was no doubt that he'll see a passing score in 4-6 weeks.  (UGH!  The agony of the wait!)  As soon as he was in the car, we headed over to the Black Sheep Lodge (while attempting to dodge any ACL traffic on Lamar) for a download session with a few friends and some of the other WF employees that had also taken the test.  

My friend/fellow Studio 563 photog, Lisa, stopped by to have a quick drink, burger, and catch up before heading down to ACL.  It's funny, because she and I seem to have celebrity sightings when hanging out together.  While shooting a wedding at the Driskill a few weeks ago, we saw Robert Plant in the lobby (good eye, Lisa!).  And yesterday, coincidentally while I was in the middle of talking about my new Kat von D lipstick, Jesse James and some of his shop guys rolled up to the BSL, parked right in front of our tables, and walked right in.  That's two, love.  I'm putting in a request for another Foo Fighters sighting - this time a real one. :)

Erin, Austin's coworker and former TGLF coworker, also stopped by before heading out to ACL.  I just HAD to post this photo.  Evil Jeff, this one's for you. :)

We spent a few hours out on the BSL patio before relocating to the G&S on South First.  It had been a while since I had been there, and I was definitely happy to see that they had a pretty good juke box and lots of games, including but not limited to pool, pinball machines, Galaga, and Pac Man.  Uh....sweet.

John and Alex, former Greening Law Firm employees, also stopped by to hang out, share a few laughs, have a few drinks, and congratulate Austin on a job well done.  John even brought cookies from Tiff's Treats.  Now THAT is a good friend. :)

And after what was probably way too many hours and too high a bar tab, we trucked on down to the South Lamar Pluckers for a late night chicken wing-a-ding-ding date with the Cusicks and their friends.  We seriously should have just cut our losses and gone home.  By the time I finished my meal, I could have seriously just crawled up and fallen asleep in the booth.  Austin and I had been up since about 4:50am, so we were ready to put an end to a 19-20 hour day.  I think the sleep deprivation was setting in and making us a bit crazy and incoherent.

With party mission complete, we're spending today at home recuperating with pajamas and some good ol' Texas football.  (We're up 42-20.  HOOK 'EM!)  ::SIGH:: Life is good.

ACL FESTIVAL 2011 - FOR THE BIRDS?

I know we're probably going to be a bit unpopular for this opinion, and that's okay.  But, honestly?!  We're totally over ACL 2011 (even if it IS the 10th anniversary) and consider the line up a bit "meh" this year.  So, no.  We're not going.  Yes, I know we're music junkies/snobs/devotees, etc.  But, we made what we feel to be a well researched decision, and I don't think either of us will regret it.  Here's why:

As I sit here typing, Austin's about 30 minutes into that aforementioned CTFA exam.  He's been studying his arse off for the last 2 1/2 months, and his brain is fried.  Also, I have a pretty big photo shoot on Sunday (details on this to come later), and I don't want to be exhausted for it.  It's a biggie, so I have to be on my game.

Also, the last thing either of us wants to do is fight crowds, be on our feet all day, stand on tippie toes to see bands we've already seen before (we're hobbits, so "see bands" is not quite a literal description of our concert going activities), and pay $7 per beer.  We didn't plan on going this year due to budgeting, but I was given some last minute tickets last night.  And while we considered going, we ultimately decided to sell.  And it's a good thing we did.  My boss gave me the tickets, and she just found out that her husband has to have dental work done to the tune of about $400.  So, $175 will definitely help her out.  And us?  Free money for making the deal happen.  We gotz billz to pay too, yo!

Nonetheless, for those of you that are going, I figured I'd send make a list of tips we found useful in our past years spent at the fest:

1. As a female, bring Kleenex with you.  The port-o-potties are cleaner than most at the festival, but you never want to be caught without the almighty TP after standing in line for 15-20 minutes.

2.  The hand sanitizer goes quickly at the port-o-potties, so bring your own.

3.  Baby wipes are life savers.  Get the antibacterial ones, as these are great for quick cleanups, as well as wiping your hands off a few times throughout the days.  Your hands will miraculously get gunky by way of just being outside among thousands of people in a park.  Also, a good hand washing is amazingly refreshing in the Texas heat.

4.  Bring water bottles.  Period.

5.  Wear super comfortable shoes, but if the Zilker grass is looking as good as it did 2 years ago before the mud saga, be sure to take them off and walk around barefoot.  It's pretty divine. :)

6.  Ear plugs.  As a music enthusiast, protecting those canals is of utmost importance.

7.  DO NOT GET PARTIED OUT ON FRIDAY!!!  Save all of your major beer drinking for Saturday night or Sunday.  Give yourself time to recoup for Monday, or if you're smart, just take Monday off, too.  At least stroll into work a little late.  You WILL be exhausted from all of the walking and heat.

8.  Get a schedule and keep it with you at all times, being sure to figure out which stage is which.  Oh, and bands typically start right on time, so factor in the 10 minute walk from one end of the park to the other if that's where your schedule takes you.

8.  Ultimately, just have fun and enjoy the bands.  I hear Coldplay puts on a good show, and I can tell you that the Delta Spirit is DEFINITELY worth checking out.

Be careful, and openly scold anyone you see smoking ANYTHING.  The burn ban is serious, folks!  Oh, and send my love to Mike Ness while you're at it.

ACL Fest 2008 - We were watching Beck.  Now, THAT was an ACL lineup!

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

So, today's Thursday, which means 2 things - it's the day before Austin's test, and it's reality show night in the Bertrand household. DOUBLE SCORE!  We've got Project Runway (Pro Ru, as we like to call it), Jersey Shore (Planet Smoosh), and the very last ::sniffle:: episode of L.A. Ink (Laink). 

Luckily, Austin's promised not to study tonight, so it looks like he's got a night of freedom to do as he sees fit. Me?  I have to edit a shoot that's due tomorrow. Looks like someone's moving the computer into the living room tonight for some TV action!  (Thank you, Apple, for making the iMac so easy to transport.) 

As an homage to the reality show gods and in the hopes of setting an intention for tomorrow, I'll leave you with this little gem courtesy of the Pinterest gods.

Amen, Tim.  Amen. 

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AUSTIN TAKES A TEST

Since our return from New Jersey visit with the Websters (we're talking July 5, folks), Austin's been studying for his CTFA exam. What the hell is CTFA you ask?  It stands for Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor.  Yeah.  That.  What you need to know is that it's essentially a bar exam for the banking world, and we apparently no longer live in a monogamous relationship courtesy of this exam.  She's become the mistress he spends more time with these days.   Understandably so.  Nevertheless, she's beginning to wear out her welcome.  Come Friday, though, she'll be history and I'll have my husband back...and he'll have his share of the domestic duties again.

So, wish us both luck - luck that he'll pass this test and luck that I'll make it to Friday without ripping out some metaphorical weave. :)