Living in the home of Penzeys, Milwaukee, I developed my addiction to their products about seven years ago, and haven't looked back since. All of their spices are absolutely fabulous, but YOUR LIFE WILL NOT BE COMPLETE UNTIL YOU'VE TRIED THEIR BRADY STREET SPRINKLE!! Seriously, it's better than sex. (Well, maybe not, but still...) It's supposed to be for salads, but I use it for all of my Italian stuff, instead. I can't stand to have garlic bread without it anymore, and an entire dinner was ruined because I forgot to put any in the lasagna. Seriously, it's THAT good. (Oh, and carnivores should definitely try the Chicago steak seasoning, too. Mmmm...steak!!!)

Jennie, thanks so much for posting this. I have a few former relationships where my behavior still haunts me to this day, and I've never actually gone out of my way to try to make amends in any manner. I'm going to change that, starting now. But even more than that, your comment about wishing that you could go back and stand up for yourself more when faced with inappropriate situations has really opened my eyes. I'm going to do my best to remember that, and to take strength from your words, next time I'm in that situation. I am a strong, independent woman, and there is no reason for me to be involved with men who don't respect me enough as a person to treat me the way I deserve to be treated. Because I, like you, deserve better than that. So, again, THANK YOU!

I'm all about the lavender and crystal barrette. Everything you do is absolutely gorgeous and makes me so jealous of your talent, but that one's purple. So, it wins. <3 you!

I guess I'm unusual and not very sentimental or romantic, because Todd and I generally don't exchange gifts for any holiday. We grudgingly grant each other our favorite meals on our respective birthdays...for me, a steak the size of my head, for him, a Domino's deep dish pizza, but other than that, we don't do a darn thing. With shared finances and relative financial security, if there's something that either or us really wants or needs, we go out and get it without waiting for a holiday to justify the purpose. I'll be the first to admit that I'm extremely difficult to buy gifts for, too. I have no interest in knickknacks or frivolous goodies, and if something is too extravagant or impractical for me to buy it myself, it's pretty likely that I'm not going to want someone else to buy it for me, either. I'm somewhat famous for returning/exchanging more gifts than I keep, just because I KNOW that I can get more bang for my buck than the giver probably did. (I'll make a big exception here for anyone who is ever sweet enough to buy me a Dyson. I desire one more than I desire Jensen Ackles in a cage in my bedroom, but with only one carpeted room, I'll never be able to persuade myself to buy it. If someone else gets me one, though, they'll be my BFF for life.) The last "gift" he gave me was my engagement ring on Christmas Eve of 2003. It'll be pretty hard to top that, anyway.

I can fully attest to the fact that the SmartPop books are brilliantly done. I have the Supernatural one at the top of my wish list, and hope to pick it up within the next couple of months.

So glad you liked SSLYBR, because they are so incredibly talented, I find it astounding that theyre not huge yet. And no, youre totally off the hook as far as Phoenix is concerned, because you actually bothered to try their older stuff. Ive never been big on the whole Ive been a fan longer than you, so Im cooler mentality. Im also totally okay with people not liking a bands older (or newer) material, but I DO get annoyed when so many people will completely ignore the existence of a good bands back catalog. *hugs* and thanks again for reading and commenting!

*swoon* Have I told you lately that I love you?

Wow! You loved every song? Thats awesome! And dont ever worry about being critical of something I post. I dont easily get butt-hurt, and I love hearing different opinions on things. Im kind of surprised that you liked Teddybears, since they are fairly electronic sounding, but Im really glad that you did! Now, you need to check out my second favorite song of theirs and see if you still approve: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYn7rr4yZ9U. I love Obadiah Parker, and would give anything to be able to easily track down his music. Have you watched any of his other videos on You Tube? Theyre all lovely! Oh, and by the way, any love situation with a Latino boy is totally up my alley. Im a total sucker for my brown boys. *swoon* Hugs to you, and thanks again for commenting!!

I keees you back...wiff tongue. ;P

Yeah, I like a lot of different Raveonettes songs, too, but this is the one that first got me interested in them, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Im a fairly big techno and trance fan, so it makes sense that you wouldnt like Covenant and Faithless, and I would. The groove in that particular Trik Turner song just works for me, but Id agree with you on the rest of their stuff. I will admit to being a bit heartbroken that you dont like CAKE, because theyre one of my favorites, but I wont hold it against you. Same with Jem, though you might try some of her other stuff on YouTube if you havent listened to her much. She really is incredible. You get extra-special cool points for liking David Usher, because hes so horribly underrated and almost unheard of outside of Canada. If you like that song, you should definitely check out my tied-for-favorite-song-ever (with The Whos Baba ORiley), St. Lawrence River. Its not at all uncommon for me to listen to that song for days or even weeks on repeat. And YAY for another Gogol Bordello liker! Their music is far from deep or thought-provoking, for the most part, but its a lot of fun, much like Flogging Molly. *hugs*, and thanks for checking these out and commenting. :)

YAY for MSP, Gogol and CAKE!! Im the first to admit that as far as DM songs go, Precious is probably a horrible example of their work. I dont know why I love it as much as I do, but I cant get enough of it. (Then again, my favorite DM song, The Bottom Line, is off one of their least celebrated albums, and is also pretty uncharacteristic, so I suppose it make sense). I guess I must just root for the underdog. *hugs*

I totally understand what you mean. As in, 100,000,000%. (On a slightly humorous note, there is at least one song off each Blue album that I cant stand...from History, Razorblade is that song.) :)

Honey, you never need to apologize about having a long comment. Im very interested in hearing your thoughts, so type away! I will definitely agree with you on Breathing having a similar intro to Sunny Came Home (which I love, by the way). Brandon Boyd IS amazingly sexy, but his body is almost identical to one of my ex-boyfriends, so it distracts me a bit from his hotness. Glad you enjoyed this installment, hon! Oh, and by the way, I do believe that Keane is still coming up on my list. Its definitely easier to appreciate attractive artists, but for me, I tend to be a lot more intrigued by the less-attractive ones, mainly because if they become successful, its JUST because of their talent, and not because swarms of fans are picturing them naked whenever they open their mouths. ;)

HAHA! Yeah, I found Edward Cullens presence moderately amusing in that video, too. I like Twilight, but I dont really *LOVE* Twilight. I still havent even seen New Moon. Im still a bit undecided as to whether E-Type is an acquired taste, or a love him/hate him scenario. So far, Ive been able to get a few of my friends into him, but most of them think Im insane for listening, and Todd gives me hell all the time for liking him and hating Ace of Base. He insists that theyre the same thing, but I just dont see it. *hugs*

I know that I have really, really, really sucked at the whole commenting thing for quite some time now. That doesn't mean that I haven't been reading pretty much ever word you've written and enjoying every morsel of it. Since I don't have kids of my own, and only see my step-munchkin once or twice a month (if I'm lucky), I've missed a lot of the milestones, and have a much harder time relating with a lot of the kid talk on a personal basis, but I still think that this is one of the most poignant entries I've seen anywhere in a very long time. "It's gone like that, and the cruelest joke the world will ever play on you is that what you were so eager to get to will look less beautiful in the moment than where you are now will look in hindsight." I think that concept is true for everybody, no matter what the situation. It's so easy to always be looking forward, and in some cases, always be looking backwards. The present often seems so mundane that it's hard to appreciate how wonderful it really is. Hugs to you, Mike, and Kyle. I'm so glad to see that life is treating you folks well, and I can't wait for the day (hopefully on my next Texas trip) when I make it into your neck of the woods so that I can get to meet all of you and see for myself how awesome the three of you are.