if you like silly stories, i have good news for you:

time for a new blog!

THE LIST BY BETH AND ERIN!

started a new blog with my cousin beth. ever since 1994 (when we were 12) we've been keeping a list of everything we thought was funny: quotes, people, stories, etc.

it was always a huge secret and no one was allowed to see it, but those close to us knew it existed and it was some sort of status symbol to be added to "the list" by something you did or said.

we decided the time has finally come to share the funny with the rest of the world. please feel free to check out the blog and become a follower. we will be posting new stories, quotes, photos and goodness knows what else ALL THE TIME!

boy do i love a good sidesplitter!



beth and i, making a music video to "slam" by onyx

inside hotel hot trash: extra extra extra cheese

yesterday, josh made me the happiest girl in the whole wide world. the reason, you ask? A GIANT F'IN CHEESEBURGER.

the back story is best explained in an excerpt from a blog entry i did on april 3rd 2010, almost exactly one year ago: "i have a chip on my shoulder and i need to vent. this morning josh and i went to a garage sale where i saw a craigslist post saying they had a giant plastic mayor mccheese for sale. I KNEW THAT GIANT CHEESEBURGER NEEDED TO BE MINE! i figured the chances of making it mine would probably fairly good, seeing as how there aren't that many crazy people like me who would want a giant plastic cheeseburger in their house. i was even picking out where to put it in my mind. we got to the place and i spotted it on a table and i thought to myself, "damn! i knew it! it was meant to be! just sittin here, waiting for me..." then i walked up to it and noticed that dude had put a $650 price tag on it. he explained it was because it was "so rare." GEEZ! if only i had the foresight to steal a plastic cheeseburger out of a mcdonalds playground back in the eighties!"

cut to present day and THIS is what josh came home with yesterday!!!



it started when i brought up the $600 cheeseburger that was not to be. i said something about it to josh's friend travis, who had spent the nite. josh overheard our conversation and admitted, "oh yeah, i forgot to tell you! i saw one at an antique store a few weeks ago!" i about strangled him! when i asked why he didn't get it for me immediately knowing how bad i wanted one, his response was that it was too expensive at $180. GAH!

i said, "holy crap, i have that in my wallet RIGHT NOW! go get it!" and i sent him off with my fingers crossed while i had to leave for work. i didn't know how i would concentrate at work all day with the suspense, wondering if someone had gotten to it before he could return a few weeks later to claim it. luckily i didn't have to, because he texted me a photo of mayor mccheese before i even arrived at work. i called him and asked if he paid for it yet and he said, "no, its on the floor in front of me."

"hurry up and pay for it before anyone else gets it!"

"uhhh, i don't think anyone else wants it," he told me, and i could hear the ladies at the antique store laughing in the background at the thought of this panicked girl freaking out about her giant cheeseburger. so that's the story, THIS time with a happy ending. and a happy girl!

obviously, i demanded a photo shoot immediately.










(even the cats were excited! i love that as soon as it came in the door, pogo already had her paw on it like she laid her claim)

my fairy monster-mother

i have a fairy monster-mother.

last week, i came home from work and logged on to check my etsy. i had a message from a seller i didn't recognize. they didn't have a shop, had no profile information filled out, had a very plain avatar, and it said that they had become a member of etsy that day. strange indeed. inside the message from them was a simple link to a facebook site. no explanation, no signature, no nothing! i wouldn't have even clicked on it if it weren't for the title of the message.

imagine my surprise when i click on the link and the facebook page takes me to a shop with a photo of not one, but TWO monsters that i adore. i almost hyperventilated trying to figure out if they were for sale and if so how i could get them before anyone else could. long story short, i found out that my etsy shop came up in a google search when the owner of this shop was trying to research what she had on her hands. she was nice enough to create an account just to get a hold of me because she knew i was looking for them! out of thin air, i had acquired a fairy monster-mother! neat!

as if this story isn't already cool enough, it was more than just a pair of monsters -- they were twins!! TWINS!! matching colors but in the opposite patterns. have you ever SEEN such a thing???! two matching monster twins, in great shape, probably kept together since birth. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!






the happy family...


PLUS TWINS!!!


truly a happy day indeed

as it turns out, my fairy monster-mother is linda, one half of the pair who owns and runs this excellent vintage shop in the seattle, washington area called no parking on pike. just LOOK at this place! i'm dying to visit. if you're in the neighborhood, stop in and buy me something!

3-year anniversary plans

**this entry is lifted directly from my other blog, which you can find here! MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY**

the cat is out of the bag: josh and i will be spending our 3-year anniversary in sunny detroit, michigan on a one day, one nite trip to see GUITAR WOLF!!!




actually we're gonna be a little early (our anniversary is a month later), but who couldn't use an excuse to get outta town in the middle of the week every once in a while?!

you may know guitar wolf as rock'n'roll zombie slayers from the movie "wild zero":



or you probably just know them as one of the most badass rock'n'roll bands out of japan. either way, YAY!!! also opening are my pals cheap time, who don't have a cleveland date on this tour and i will happily travel a few hours out of my way to catch.



as if this trip couldn't get any more amazing, i will FINALLY get to meet my internet friend/kindred "sister" spirit, diane of good mourning, glory! and woudln't you like to see something strange? i'm ecstatic!

ironically, josh and i also spent our 2-year anniversary in detroit catching the oblivians and the gories.





while there for the show, we stayed in a cute little town outside of detroit called monroe. we were disappointed that we didn't have enough time to really explore, so maybe we'll end up there again! here are a few photos from last year's trip.




















next year we'll be breaking the tradition and there won't be any romantic detroit getaways for us. on our 4-year anniversary, we'll be GETTING HITCHED!!!

crafty goodness and SHAKE IT UP AND MOVE!

phew! things have been busy around ol' hotel hot trash. and today had some milestones as far as swamp rat photography is concerned. first off, i was lucky enough to be included as a vendor in the brand new local handmade arts/craft store, crafty goodness. its filled with awesome stuff made by fellow clevelanders with their own two hands and i'm in GREAT company! today was the grand opening and i found out that i already sold my first photo at the pre-party last nite! so cool. the store looks amazing and it seems like its going to be tons of fun to visit and see what new things are brewing. and wait til you see what i came home with!!! this ordinary glass beer bottle was altered using a process called "bottle slumping." once the bottle had the shit slumped out of it, it magically turned flat into the most badass spoon rest on earth! isn't this crazy fantastic?!



it was made by one of the co-owners of the shop, who also happens to be a cousin of mine. we're a crafty bunch, what can i say?? if you're in the area, definitely look them up (they're also on facebook!) and stop in sometime!

then i came home from work today to find that swamp rat was featured on the front page of etsy for the first time ever. WHEE! it even got me a sale and some new friends, so that's amazing news as well.

in addition to all the craftiness going on, josh and i have been preparing for the debut night of SHAKE IT UP AND MOVE! we got together with a couple of friends who have similar interests in music and a love for the teen dance cultures of the past to bring a night of free music and fun times. again, if you're in the area, stop by and say hi!!! i'm dj'ing and josh is playing, along with our friends shouting thomas torment, miss firecracker and kitty b shake (all the way from france!!!) its next friday, march 11th and its FREEE!