I fulfill many of the stereotypes that one might suppose I would.  I like a lot of the things on Stuff White People Like .  I am a liberal who likes NPR and the New York Times.  I'm a woman who likes to waste money on nail polish.  I don't hold this against myself.  But every once in awhile, someone fulfills that kneejerk image you've built of them SO WELL, that it must be shared, and expressed with glee to the masses.  My dear friends, this is one of those times. Today on my way back to work from lunch, I pull up at a long stoplight next to a truck.  A big, dirty truck.  It has wheels the size of my cubicle, and a choice bumper sticker.  Fortunately, it was a long enough red light that I had time to get a picture.  oh, and a close up of the bumper sticker. Now, we all know what guy we think drives this truck.  In our fantasy it's a guy with spiked hair and an Ed Hardy t-shirt and gold rings on at least 3 fingers.  He hates his beautiful cluless wife, and he&#

Big thanks to Random.org for choosing Dan the first time.  Proof that this is random, since I clearly do not want that picture burned.  But I omnipotently decided that it would be ridiculous if Dan won, so congratulations to...... MULEMAMMA!   You will receive all your hard earned prizes in due time, and I truly appreciate all of you who participated in our first annual Lorraineinspain giveaway!  This won't be the last, methinks.

1.  My Cranberry pie finally won!  After a tragic finish at an ugly sweater party, and being overshadowed by the chocolate pecan pie at Thanksgiving, my Nantucket Cranberry Pie (which I took to the next level with a chocolate cream cheese icing)  got first place at the office holiday party Top Chef competition. I am happy. 2.  I also coincidentally won a caption contest on my favorite horse blog, and for my witty mockery was awarded a gift certificate for horse tack!  As I currently don't have a horse of my own, I'm giving it to Camp K.  I hope my mother and her 3 horses, 2 mules and 2 donkeys forgive me.  But I'm still claiming victory on that one, and relishing in being mentioned on my favorite blog in the same post as my international heroes. 3. GIVEAWAY!!!!  I was inspired by a number of blogs giving away x-boxes, TVs, designer handbags, and gift cards to the moon, but I decided that you don't actually need to be rich to share the love.  Therefore, I am announc

This entire album is the very soundtrack of my trip to Eastern Europe.  It reminds me of many moments from that trip, but MOST vividly, it reminds me of Kiev.  I still dream about Kiev and the monastaries and communist apartment buildings and dazzling trolleys and subways.  And I hear these songs and I am immediately there. I especially recommend Ragged Wood and White Winter Hymnal, but the whole album is another time and place so sweet, so bright, and so unearthly that it makes me want to spit fire at the monotony of a desk job and whisk myself and my dearest love away to the cold and steamy air of the good people of Ukraine and live out our days in a freezing 10th floor cement apartment building teaching english and never looking back.

I love me a good Jaw Harp.  I was looking for a more spectacular anthem during the plane ride to the World Equestrian Games, and though this song seems to have no connection, there's something about Miranda Lambert's twang and the nostalgia of childhood that was all too perfect for a horse kid's dream-fulfilling-trip to the Bluegrass State.   Enjoy.

Okay, Maybe it wasn't unexpected for everyone else, but I don't listen to weather reports.  I prefer either the doom and gloom of NPR, or the happy tidings of Solos Exitos on 106.1, which is currently playing a smattering of Spanish Christmas music. But the good news is that it was a delightful surprise when this morning the campus looked like this.  The students are mostly gone, the few peaceful sounds are muffled by the layer of the Lord's sound insulator. And then five campus shuttles go by, pound my car with black slush, the parking meter nazi is watching me to be sure I put enough change in my meter to keep his preying bloodthirsty claws off my wiper blide, and I almost get hit by a University sidewalk truck. Don't be fooled by it's peaceful columns.  On campus, chaos is eminent. Or at least a parking ticket.  I escaped that one today.  I hope you've enjoyed these ramblings of a working woman.  Merry Snow Day.

1. That lunatic accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart was found guilty, not insane. So apparently he's NOT a lunatic, he's just a despicable human being. 2. I kissed a boy and I liked it. (to mock dan for the fact that he owns cherry chapstick and is the only person on planet earth who did not associate that ownership with Katie Perry's pop sensation.) 3. My crazy sport of 3 Day Eventing is currently considering the possibility of requiring a buckled and approved safety helmet at all times. That would mean the end of the dismal derby hat on Day 1, and safety at all times for all riders. For a sport known for it's danger, it's a delightfully conscious effort. We should have an official answer by next week. 4. Not exactly breaking news, but I did spend my lunch hour at Camp K to help with the "Horses for Heroes" program, in which we invite war veterans to come up and ride, which helps with mobility, PTSD, and, duh, makes you feel good. One of the vets

I promise to get another Traveling Tunes up soon.  In the meantime, here is a playlist that I compiled of various Grammy nominated artists this year who in my opinion don't suck (a la, Justin Bieber is not in this playlist, even if he probably WILL win the best new artist of the year. shudder.) While I find the Grammys to be political and contrived, and giving awards for something as subjective as music to be laughable, I do like being exposed to good tunes I might otherwise miss (especially in more obscure genres) and to see ground breaking artists being rewarded for trying new things (coughmirandalambertcough).  Enjoy.  Disclaimer: Playlist doesn't give me edited version options, and some songs have "adult language."  Make good choicez, yo.  

When I was living in Arlington, VA, I had a catholic roommate.  Said Catholic Roommate was a real Catholic, or perhaps a Less Common Catholic, as she actually went to mass every week,  was a good woman in myriad ways, and would've made the loveliest nun if she hadn't been engaged to (and now married to) a good Catholic italian hunk.  But I digress.  Catholic Roommate took part in Lent of course, and because I have a condition known as "worshipus infectious envious,"  I joined her in Lent, and took on the great task of not eating out for 40 days.  It was hard, I broke down once for a McFlurry on a particularly terrible day of work, but otherwise remained devout and saved a great deal of money in the process. So when Hanukkah came around this year, I reflected on my Jewish Ancestors, pulled out my simple little menorah, and thought to myself, "I ought to do more than light a few candles.  Maybe I should try to be Kosher!" and so began my experiment. I made

Somewhere in the innumberable horse blogs that I check every day, I stumbled upon a link to the logistics company for the World Equestrian Games (that little diddy of an adventure I went to in Kentucky back in October, you may remember me pretty much self destructing with dangerous mixtures of devastation and glee over a 4 day period.)  Anyway, this company is selling off "used WEG" items, including rubber stall mats used by the horses that competed at the World Equestrian Games.  As one delightful equestrian blogger put it: "That is, if you want to own a piece of history by buying something that a French reining horse crapped on." And the answer is of course, yes, yes as a matter of fact I DO!  What makes this awesome is that since I don't have a horse, or a stall for that matter, I always pawn horse items off on my mother to buy for HER horses.  It's a happy relationship. My mother's reply:  yeah, cool, find out how much for shipping to 92084