Is anyone familiar with Wordpress and Bloglines and willing to help me figure out this mystery? Bloglines is not showing my blog as updated even when there is a new post. However, if you manually check for new posts in Bloglines, they are there. (I know, weird.) And yes, the feeds validate and the RSS works. I’ve emailed Bloglines but so far, no response. Thanks!

Also, if you’ve successfully “claimed your feeds” in Bloglines and can help me with that, it would be much appreciated as well.

I think I’m not getting enough sleep. Before arriving at my office at 8:00 a.m. various days this week, I:

• Woke up late. Twice.
• Struggled to put a band-aid on my back. (I had a mole removed last week and it won’t stop bleeding.) Do you know how hard it is to strategically place a damn band-aid on your own back?
• Left my note cards (for birthday thank-you notes) and stuff to mail on my kitchen table. Three times.
• Forgot to put earrings in. Twice.
• Forgot to put a necklace on.
• Grabbed the shoe with the not-broken heel to take to the shoe repair guy.
• Spilled Diet Coke all over the front of my beige pants in the car.
• In an attempt to blot the soda and save my beige pants from dark spots, spilled a bottle of water all over the seat and my leg.
• Tripped, over my own two feet, in front of a cute guy in the parking garage.
• Brought yogurt (but no spoon) and a salad (but no fork) to work. Twice.
• Left my card key in my car. Twice.

It’s almost the weekend. It’s almost the weekend. It’s almost the weekend.

Apparently other people are having issues with Jiffy Lube too.
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The other night, a few of my girlfriends (hi Jen, Marisa, and Ann-Marie!) and I enjoyed dinner at Tender Greens in a really cute area in Culver City. My salad was good, but dessert was even better. The four of us shared two amazing devils food cupcakes (with frosting and toffee crunch topping!) as well as a chocolate brownie with cayenne (!) pepper. As much as I like spicy, I just don’t like it in my desserts. I’m glad I tasted it though.
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I was checking out the comedy schedule on the Bumbershoot website and noticed that UCB is doing an ASSSSSCAT show at the festival. I’m so excited!
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In TV news, Entourage was good good good last week, wasn’t it? Does anyone else watch The Hills? I can’t believe Lauren gave up a summer internship in Paris to stay in town with yuckster Jason. Lame.
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In my own dating news, there is none. DG and I have spoken, mostly on IM, a few times in the past two weeks. He claims he’s super busy with work (yet he’s constantly on IM and Jdate, so whatever) and hasn’t had a day off in weeks and wants to get together when he has free time and yada yada yada. Needless to say, I took him out of my phone and off of my IM list and oh well, I had a few fun dates with him.

In somewhat related news, when did Jdate start putting ads for the Zone diet on their website? And what’s the deal with the e-card thing? How is that different from an email or flirt?

Wow. So. Much. Eating.

Friday
Hit the grocery store then came home and made birthday cupcakes for my friend Jen. Then marshmallows for my dad. Then I went to sleep, exhausted.

Saturday
Slept in till 11:00. Cut the marshmallows (they have to set overnight.) I experimented with cookie cutters and cut out some hearts and decided I will make and sell these for Valentine’s Day, just a heads up. Did laundry. Cleaned my apartment. Bought Guster/Nada Surf tickets from Ticketmaster. (Reserved seats and general admission standing floor tickets were the same price. I bought reserved, thinking we could move to the floor if we want. I think this officially makes me old.) Went to the new Longs Drugs at Hollywood and La Brea only to find they don’t sell Diet Coke in cans. What the hell?

Came back home. Got dressed. My sister came over, then shortly after, my parents arrived. Relaxed with the family for a bit. Handed off cupcakes to Ann-Marie who would then bring them to the birthday celebration I would not be attending. Went to a really loud Luna Park for dinner then Susina for dessert with the family. Came home. Watched TV then crashed.

Sunday
Woke up entirely too early. Got ready while my sister and her boyfriend made their way to my apartment. My mom, sister, and I headed to Huntington Gardens for tea and the gardens while my dad and my sister’s boyfriend saw Superman at Grauman’s Chinese.

We got to Pasadena in near record time, paid the entrance fee, and made our way to the tea room. (It was a very belated Mother’s Day gift.) Immediately after being seated, we were treated to strawberry-kiwi tea and a basket of hot (chocolate chip and raisin) scones. (The second basket had ginger and raisin. Yeah, we finished the first basket.) Then we hit the buffet, which was filled with finger sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, and desserts. Everything was delicious, and we all ate a ton. After stuffing ourselves silly, we walked around the gardens. They were beautiful, but mostly flower-less, as the extreme heat we’ve had lately killed most of the flowers. Lots of pictures here. As usual, the pictures with people are limited to Flickr family and friends. Let me know if I should add you.

Following the gardens and tea, we came back to my apartment and met up with my dad and sister’s boyfriend. We relaxed a bit more, then went to Lucky Devils for dinner. The food (especially the fries) was really good, but the service more than sucked. And, they show really odd surfing and ice climbing videos that didn’t really go with the interior of the restaurant. Anyway, my chicken sandwich came out five minutes after my mom, sister, and sister’s boyfriend’s food, and my dad’s kobe beef sandwich came out about 10 minutes after that. Not good. While we were complaining to the manager, we were informed that the new chef started tonight, a whole four months after the restaurant opened. Not a good sign. I think this is the kind of place I could find myself eating at late at night after a show. Other than that, I probably won’t be back. And, tonight’s lousy service makes Ellen Pompeo’s story about not eating at Lucky Devils sound way more believable.

Sucky service aside, it was a lot of fun spending the weekend with my family and I can’t wait until the construction on my parents’ house is done so I can spend a relaxing weekend down in San Diego with them.

The white dots on my tonsils made another appearance over the weekend (thank you Mono!) so I decided it was time to visit an ENT and have everything checked out. As part of the new patient paperwork, I was asked if I snore. I know I’ve snored in the past, so I checked Yes.

Fast forward to the exam room and the doctor noticing I did not answer a couple of questions. “Has your sleeping partner ever had to leave the bedroom because of your snoring?” he asked me. Umm. Sleeping partner? “I uh, don’t have a sleeping partner,” I told him. “Okay, so you’re single,” he said. “Yes, I am sans sleeping partner. But if you know of any nice Jewish boys, let me know,” I responded. “My wife’s friends are first in line for those,” he said. “Sorry.”

Once my marital/sleeping status was confirmed, he continued with the exam, and after looking in my ears asked me, “You don’t use Q-Tips to clean your ears, do you?” Thinking this was a trick question, I hesitated, and tried to figure out how this was at all related to my sleeping partner-less snoring. “Um. Yes?” I answered. “Never use Q-tips to clean your ears, they’re not intended for that. If you need to, use a hair dryer to dry them when you get out of the shower,” he said. “Your ears need wax like your eyes need tears.”

And so, I left the ENT’s office with three new thoughts: 1) Not only am I single, I am officially sleeping partner-less; 2) I may not snore, as I have no way of knowing since I am currently sleeping partner-less; 3) Q-tips really aren’t intended to be put into small body orifices.

So yeah, my week is starting out well. How’s yours?

*You know how the saying goes, “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” Well, if I snore in bed but no one hears it, do I really snore?

Some recent searches that landed people here:

• how to make a kippah stick on a bald head
• magic shell and penis
• what to know when dating a jew
• girls with small posteriors
• free topless photo of dutchess of york
• secret service wants to fuck hilary
• tonsils swollen shut
• caddy-corner kiddie-corner
• can you fall in love with someone that you are not attracted to from the beginning
• i need red velvet cake mailed to me
• dating a guy whose internet dating profile is still active
• grey s anatomy rabbi cow transplant
• how not to jdate soundtrack

As always, write a story using at least five of the search phrases. And if you’re a new reader, tell me how you got here. Please.

What’s the deal with Pearl Jam’s cover of Last Kiss being played on the radio every damn hour?
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Movie I have absolutely no desire to see: Snakes on a Plane.
Movie I can’t wait to see: The Last Kiss. And no, the above mentioned song is not in the movie soundtrack, so that’s not why it’s being played again.
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I’m curious how many of you read my blog via an RSS reader. Raise your hands please if you do. And if you don’t know what RSS means, have no fear and continue on.
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I picked up a hardcopy of The Onion yesterday in Century City. So awesome.
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Amanda and Adri are training for the 2006 Honolulu Marathon to raise money for AIDS Project Los Angeles. Check out their site, Phat Girls Running, and help them meet their goal of $6000!
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Spoke to DG on the phone the other day. He says he wants to get together again but is working like mad, getting only the mandatory 9 (10?) hours off between days. We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath.
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And finally, I’d like to thank the City of Los Angeles for turning my normally 5 mile, 30 minute commute into a 60 minute commute by placing police officers at busy intersections during rush hour in an attempt to help alleviate traffic. Yeah, didn’t really work.

I’ve been tagged by Nanette!

What were you doing one second ago?
Watching the news; and crying. And wondering what life will be like for the children I hope to have one day. And thinking about how, since last night, airline security in the U.S. is now quite similar to what we experienced flying to Israel on El Al in the late 1980s.

What were you doing an hour ago?
Grocery shopping then catching up with Julie on the phone.

What were you doing yesterday?
Working and playing on the Internet. Then after work, frantically searching LA for mini cupcake liners.

What were you doing a month ago?
Working, getting Strep, and going on a lot of fun dates.

What were you doing a year ago?
Working, going on a lot of fun (and not so fun) dates. Road tripping to Central California. Possibly contracting Mono.

What were you doing five years ago?
Working at the job from hell with the boss from hell who made me cry everyday until I finally quit. And dating the Russian.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Finishing up college and dating The Ex.

Who would you like to tag?
Anyone who would like to complete this. If you do it, let me know!
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Then I got tagged by Keith with this book meme:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.

Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest, then tag three people.

Damn, when did memes get so mean? Anyway, here’s mine:

He didn’t need to elaborate. A suitable replacement would be found. “Or else!” as Tony was fond of saying.

– The Twins of Tribeca by Rachel Pine

And again, I’m not tagging anyone. If you want to do it, go right ahead. If you don’t, well then, you suck. Okay, not really.

My weekend was mellow and nothing terribly exciting went down so here are three pretty pictures to look at instead of a boring recap:

Okay fine. If you really must know what I did, here’s my weekend in short sentences:

Baked cupcakes for Ann-Marie’s friend’s bridal shower. Had a late dinner and frosted cupcakes with Ann-Marie. Did major laundry and apartment cleaning. Watched the first season of The Office on DVD; I love Netflix. Went to the grocery store. Took my Little to Santa Monica where we walked around 3rd Street and the pier. Went to the gym. Did some damage at Express (black skirt which the sales guy told me “would look really cute with capri tights.” Umm, sort of like it did 15 + years ago?) and Banana (jeans), neither of which was on sale of course. Had tentative plans with DG for tonight which did not pan out due to both of us being exhausted; more on that later. And oh, he’s suddenly taken to calling me Hil.

Now I’m going to firmly plant myself on my sofa in front of the TV with a tall glass of my new favorite drink ever, Sprite Zero. Or I may make brownies. I haven’t decided.
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Happy Birthday Eve!

Lasagna, good. Mondays, bad:

• I left my apartment a few minutes late and got in the car thinking I left my flat iron on. I went back upstairs to shut it off only to realize I hadn’t left it on.
• I put mail, a CD, and some papers in my lunch bag this morning then proceeded to put the bag and its contents in the fridge. It wasn’t until I went to heat up my lunch did I notice my idiocy. My coworkers said they were wondering whose stuff was in the fridge.
• I am yet again on antibiotics because the white dots on my tonsils are back. I think I’m keeping whomever makes the Z-Pack in business.

Tonight I am meeting with my Little, her mom, and our new caseworker. I really hope the meeting goes better than my day has gone.

Once again, this post is long overdue. And once again, I’m on a chick lit kick. I recently finished Swapping Lives by Jane Green and am currently reading The Twins of Tribeca by Rachel Pine.

What are you reading? And, if you read a book that someone posted about in the comments in part one, part two, part three, part four, or part five, let us know!

I can’t tell if I’m going to like this new Glamour Magazine blog. (So far, it’s kinda lame.) Basically, this girl posts about her dates, asks her readers a multiple choice advice question, then has to do what they say. And oh, she gets paid for it. Ahem.
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Happy birthday Paul!
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Don’t forget to tell us what you’ve read lately.
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I am loving the new Guster album. Their sound is so much mature, and the horns (in some of the songs) are a nice change.
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I’m going to Seattle in two weeks. Yay!
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I made brownies last night.
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New timewaster.
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And finally, two totally unrelated work items: 1. Someone has been peeing on one of the toilet seats in the women’s restroom. How this is possible, I don’t want to know. 2. I accidentally found out that there will be company-wide layoffs in two weeks but my job is safe.

This weekend, I did a lot of sleeping in hopes of getting rid of whatever it is that keeps infecting my tonsils. So here are the not-so-exciting weekend highlights:

• Friday night, I enjoyed a lovely and delicious dinner at Marnie’s apartment even though a) I wasn’t able to bring homemade marshmallows and b) I felt totally old as two of her guests were born in the mid-80s.
• I fell in love. His name is Surfas, he lives in Culver City, and he is awesome even if he did empty my wallet.
• I found out my cousin in NY just proposed (in Paris) to his girlfriend which means I’ll be making a trip to NYC next year. Woohoo!
• I baked cookies that tomorrow will be eaten by the cast and crew of the show my sister works on. Hopefully I’ll have more news to share on a possible baking deal in the near future.
• DG asked me to do something this weekend but I already had plans. I decided I’m going to pencil him in for around Christmas.
• I accidentally Tivo’d (don’t ask me, my machine has a mind of its own) a bunch of Run’s House episodes. And um, the show is kind of addicting.

And now, it’s Entourage time!

Things that sucketh:

• People who won’t make plans until the last minute, for whatever reason, but especially the ones that do so because they’re afraid something better may come up.
• Other people’s drama.
• People who get in the elevator before the people inside get out.
• The comeback of ugly 80s clothing.
• Flakey people.
• Boys who use IM instead of the phone to inquire about dates.
• White dots on my tonsils. Again and again and again.
• No current dating prospects (aside from IM-using DG).

Things that rocketh:

• The new Guster CD and awesome seats for the show.
• My hair today.
• Next week’s trip to Seattle where I will not only be staying with my cousin, but I’ll get to see his band perform at a concert in the park and visit with my aunt and uncle and go to Bumbershoot.
• Dinner with friends tonight and tomorrow.
• The remodeling of my parents’ house is scheduled to be completed in September which means I can finally go visit them and see Julie and her boys.
• Surfas.
• Car wash in the parking garage and dry cleaners in the lobby at work.
• Season premieres that start shortly!

The end.

I took a look at the TSA site to see what I can and can’t pack in my carry-on. And what did I learn? Well, I can’t bring toothpaste but I can bring KY Jelly. Uhh. Because we all use KY Jelly on airplanes, right?
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This week has seen some good eating with girlfriends. Tuesday night was sushi at U-Zen on the Westside with Ann-Marie and Wednesday night was Buddha’s Belly in my ‘hood with Eve and Marnie. Both were delish and lots of fun. And I even left Buddha’s with a souvenir–a pea from the edamame in my bra. Don’t ask.
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The other day I was getting lunch in the basement of my office building and saw a guy I thought looked familiar. After racking my brain trying to figure out how I knew him, I realized he’s emailed me numerous times on Jdate. Oops.
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Went to the doctor on Tuesday to show him my tonsils and have blood work done. He thinks the reason for my misery is either a) some sort of infection (not good) that will hopefully show up in the blood work; or b) bacteria inside my tonsils (gross, I know) that would require a tonsillectomy. He advised me to go back to the ENT on Friday when the blood work comes in. Hopefully I’ll know more then, because I’m beyond tired of being sick all the time.

Lots of stuff going on:

• Went to ENT at 8:00 a.m. Friday morning. The blood work showed no autoimmune diseases which is good news. However, that means I most likely need to get my tonsils removed. The doctor prescribed me a super duper heavy duty antibiotic (800 mg a day for 10 days!) as a last ditch attempt to get to the bacteria inside the tonsils. This usually doesn’t work, but it’s the last thing to try before declaring surgery a must. I go back to him on September 8 and that’s when we’ll make the final decision. But at the moment, all bets are on surgery. Has anyone had their tonsils removed as an adult? From what I’ve heard, it’s way more miserable than having it done as a child.
• I returned to my office around 8:45, and shortly after settling in, received a whispered phone call from a coworker telling me that someone had been let go. Yep, the layoffs were in full force–fifteen people this time, including a friend from my department. Needless to say, it was a sad day and no one did any work.
• This weekend, I had my Little over for a sleepover. I took her to Mulberry Street Pizza for dinner, then across the street to Color Me Mine to paint pottery (she chose a penguin bank, I chose a cupcake shaped container), then to the market to buy ice cream for dessert and pancake mix (I know, for shame!) for the morning. While at the market, I noticed Magic Shell and asked her if she liked it. She told me she’d never heard of it, and after I explained what it was, she responded, “is it from the olden days?” I told her if she wanted chocolate chip pancakes in the morning she’d better quit asking me if stuff was from the olden days. The agreement was going well until she inquired about the song “Gone Daddy Gone” by Gnarles Barkley. I told her that I had the CD by the Violent Femmes, and she said, “huh?”
• My sister stopped by to pick up a messenger bag I loaned (gave?) her to take to NY where she will be for the next month working on a show that shoots out there. I’m so jealous, and I will give her specific instructions on what kind of dragees I want her to bring back to California.
• I made English toffee.
• I’m leaving for Seattle Friday evening. I wish my trip was later in the month though, because a) my throat is horribly sore and b) the antibiotics are doing a number on my stomach.
• Though he’d disagree (I’m working, I want to see you but I’m busy working), I think it’s time to call DG a victim of The Bus.
• Yes I live in Hollywood; no I did not go to Sunset Junction. I suppose that makes me totally uncool. But I did hit the Hollywood Farmer’s Market so maybe that will help up my cred.

I can’t wait for my trip. And even more, I can’t wait for my throat/glands/body to stop hurting.

Because Thursday is just too far away and I have no witty thoughts or anything exciting going on at the moment.

My Strep test from last week came back positive which is good news (I know, it’s sad when you’re hoping for Strep) because now we know that it is in fact bacterial and there’s a teeny tiny glimmer of hope that the super duper dose of antibiotics will work permanently. And I may win the lottery too, but whatever.

I’m debating rescheduling my trip to Seattle and going down to San Diego for the long weekend instead because I’m not feeling one hundred percent and my energy is seriously lacking. I don’t know what to do about the trip, I am so torn.

And in related to Seattle news, while searching for “what seats on airplanes don’t recline,” I stumbled upon Seat Guru. It’s quite informative!

And finally, thanks to everyone who emailed me about the tonsillectomy!
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Now on to totally unrelated to tonsils stuff. Tomorrow night is my monthly dinner with Jen, Ann-Marie, and Marisa; we’re going to Nook. I had to make reservations two weeks ago. Insane. But it’s so good.
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I was a little disappointed with the Entourage season finale. It just seemed so predictable. Thoughts?
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Am I the only one watching the Gene Simmons reality show on A&E?
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Lately, I’ve found myself saying If I get married… instead of When I get married… and it makes me sad. And it makes me want to slap whomever will follow-up with, Not if, when! You will get married! Shove it.
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I’ve been recruited to volunteer at the annual Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters poker tournament again. However, unlike other years, rumor has it this year a) there is an open bar; and b) the majority of the 200 players are men in their 20s and 30s. Woohoo.

Warning: Boring rambling post. Mainly about my tonsils. But also my ass.

I had to cancel my trip to Seattle. (Fortunately, I booked with Alaska Air and they give credit for the amount of the ticket and charge a $50 re-booking fee, which really isn’t too bad.)

I woke up this morning feeling horrible (or as my sister would say, like ass) and called the ENT. My right tonsil was suddenly bright red and hurt like hell. The doctor switched my antibiotic to an even more super duper heavy duty one and told me if I’m not feeling better by tomorrow afternoon, I need to come back in and get a shot of antibiotics in my ass. (Okay fine, he really said caboose, not ass.) And oh, my tonsils are for sure coming out.

I asked him about the coblation tonsillectomy that I’ve read a ton about on the Internet. He said he has performed it but didn’t notice much of a difference with his patients’ recovery or bleeding so he doesn’t do it anymore. But he did say they have an awesome marketing campaign going on. [ed. note: Nanette, tell your former coworker.] Also, he mentioned that I need to be as bacteria-free as possible for 6-8 weeks before I can even have the surgery performed. At this rate I’ll be old and poor–with all the money I’ve spent on doctor’s visits and drugs I could have bought an iPod. Or two. Anyway, he also said that I should expect a 10-14 day recovery period and should plan on missing at least one week of work. And thanks to the Internet and my obsession with reading up on potential surgeries, I found out that the recovery includes scabs forming and falling off, and me swallowing them. Yummy. Or as the doctor said, protein.

I promise once this bacteria thing is under control and I feel like a normal person again, I will write more interesting posts. Unless you like reading about my tonsils.