Give me something to write about!

Feeling groovy

2012-01-20T19:37:00.001-05:00

Actually, I'm not feeling groovy at all. I'm feeling icky. I had some medical testing on Wednesday, and I'm still feeling the effects. Blah.

I'm hoping that in a few days, I'll feel better. Until then, please don't expect too much from me. I'm working on it.

Fine. I failed. Whatever.

2012-01-17T23:32:00.001-05:00

Yeah, totally missing the 'every day' part of blogging every day. Honestly, though, it's a habit that I got out of, and it's challenging to get back into it.

That, and I'm not feeling particularly witty this week.

Have you ever had one of those days where technology just seems to have it in for you? I have. I had three in the past week. Between computer viruses, bugs, and systems that apparently didn't get beta-tested before release, I've done almost NONE of my usual job at work. All of the computer fixing at work has left me rather disinclined to touch a computer at home.

But tomorrow... Tomorrow, I don't have to touch a computer unless I want to. And I get to spend the day laying down. It might not be too bad. :)

Annual Project Update

2012-01-15T13:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I cleaned upstairs, and unpacked five boxes in the guest room/craft storage room (hence the lack of post - I dropped into bed, exhausted). Unpacking my two big boxes labelled "Projects" reminded me that there are a lot of things I need to be working on, so once again, here is the uber-list of things I need to finish:

Cross-Stitch Projects

1. Nora ornaments

2. Mom's Christmas stocking

3. Colby's surprise

4. Unnamed baby announcement

Knit Projects

5. Nora's Riders blanket

6. White/Blue/Green baby blanket

7. Nora's legwarmers

Crochet Projects

8. Pink/white blanket

9. Pink/white/purple blanket

10. White/Blue/Purple baby blanket

11. Star baby blanket

Ongoing Projects

12. Dishcloths

13. Baby hats

14. Lip gloss cases

Planned projects

15. Red fuzzy sweater

16. AY's baby blanket

17. BA's baby blanket

Wow... that's, um... a lot. Excuse me, I'm off to make some stuff now...

Gorgeous!

2012-01-13T22:34:00.001-05:00

*giggle* Today I was randomly called gorgeous. Or maybe it wasn't random, but it was certainly unexpected.

Of course, since it happened at work, it quickly became a topic of conversation, but I'm okay with that. I don't expect anything more to come of it, but it was flattering. And while I was a bit confused when it happened, it makes me smile. What gal doesn't like a compliment?

I understand why patients get cranky.

2012-01-12T23:09:00.001-05:00

I had a doctor's appointment today. It was scheduled for 3:15. I checked in at 3:17, because the parking lot was full and I had to use the next one over.

I got called from the waiting room at 4:20, and moved to an exam room to wait for the doctor. It was 4:57 when I finally saw him, and I was in my car by 5:13. Really? Almost two hours of waiting, and maybe ten minutes of exam time?

I think it's only because the doctors I work for can be just as bad, that I didn't totally flip out. Still, it's really frustrating to wait for more than an hour before talking to anyone but the receptionist.

Days like this remind me to have patience.

Happiness of the day: I found gooey cake at WalMart and had a lovely bedtime snack tonight.

Happy thoughts

2012-01-11T22:42:00.001-05:00

Another short post, mostly because I'm sleepy. Today's happy thought: I now have two valid excuses to go out and buy some really pretty yarn, and then I get to start working on two new knit/crocheted gifts. I love yarn shopping.

The Saga Continues

2012-01-10T22:49:00.001-05:00

Yes, I've been to the doctor about my hand yet again.

It would seem that the purple, cold, numb finger is not caused by swelling, which would have been something fixable with medication.

No, no. It is a vascular thing, so next, I get an arteriogram. Wheeee. This will be an all-day event, full of bloodwork, IVs, injections, and bedrest in the hospital. Did I mention 'Wheee?'

But. I am happy that I got to walk in the fog this morning. It was beautiful.

Learning things

2012-01-09T22:55:00.001-05:00

It's no secret that I've been reading a lot of writing blogs. They all have lots of great advice to offer, and I know that, but in a book that I finished yesterday, I saw some of the advice in action.

Actually, I saw it being ignored. And as a reader, I was irritated. The book was a romance, and for the first 139 pages, it was exactly what I had expected. Then, with virtually no prelude or foreshadowing, the female MC starts talking about magic. Not just in passing, but in such a way that you soon realize that a belief in magic is an integral part of her life.

I've got no problems with magic. I liked the Harry Potter books. I love the magic that Piers Anthony and Terry Pratchett use. I do, however, have a problem with not being told about the existence of magic for 139 pages, and then being expected to accept it without question.

I mean, I believed it every time I read that you need to make sure you set up your world right away. But it was totally different to read a novel where the world-building missed a major piece.

Definitely encourages me to check for that when I do my self-editing!

Two more!

2012-01-08T22:36:00.001-05:00

Yes, we're more than a week into the new year, but I'm still adding resolutions. It's my blog and I can do it like this if I want to.

I resolve to keep track of my resolutions. I looked back at last year's resolutions, and I didn't even remember resolving to drink more milk. Yeesh.

I also resolve to pay attention to the good things in my life. I can get bogged down in stress and negativity, and that's not good. So each day, I want to record one thing in my day that is good or made me happy. Today, I got my bedroom cleaned up, and I'm going to sleep in fresh sheets.

What are you happy for?

How did you spend Ukrainian Christmas?

2012-01-08T00:02:00.001-05:00

I spent it watching Mega Piranha, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, and filming video for Janna! Can't go wrong hanging out with friends!

Gotta say, I love that Tiffany (the 80's pop star) was in Mega Piranha and Debbie Gibson (another 80's pop star) was in Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. They were two of my favourite singers. Aw, who am I kidding? They still are ;) I've always been a bigger Debbie Gibson fan, but even if you ignore that bias, she's a better actress than Tiffany.

So there you have it - two of my guilty pleasures in one post. 80's pop princesses and bad horror movies. Anything else you want to know about me?

You know what helps get a post up?

2012-01-05T23:42:00.001-05:00

Hitting the "Publish" button, instead of just exiting the app. *rolls eyes*

Anyways.

So thus far, I have three resolutions:
1. Intentionally exercise at least three times a week.
2. Blog daily.
3. Read lots, at least a book a week.

Looks not bad, but not really anything that should be too hard. What do they all have in common? Consistency! Yes, that's what I'm striving for this year. And in keeping with that theme, here is resolution number 4:

Post a photo a day in My365 app. I want to do a better job of keeping track of my life, and I think that this app will help. I've been better about taking photos of stuff since I got my new phone, but I hope that this app will encourage even more photos. I think I'm also going to scrapbook more, although we'll see how that works out. Scrapbooking requires a lot of supplies... and I'm running out of room to store my craft supplies!

Another Resolution!

2012-01-04T23:37:00.000-05:00

In 2012, I resolve to read lots! This shouldn't be a bit challenge - I love reading. This past year, though, I've felt as if I haven't done as much reading as I wanted to. In 2012, I will read. I'm going to aim for a book a week, and I'm hoping that it'll be as easy as it seems.

Wish me luck!

Be it resolved...

2012-01-03T22:47:00.001-05:00

To continue with my New Year's Resolutions, I resolve to blog daily. Over the past year, I tried dropping down to three times a week, but it just threw me off, mostly because I'm not always sure which day of the week it is. If I just blog every day, that won't matter!

Plus, it's easier for anyone who follows me - no more guessing if I'll show up online or not ;)

See you all tomorrow!

My poor feet

2012-01-02T22:13:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you stood for so long that your feet hurt just thinking about standing? I'm going to rub my feet and legs now...

In other news, I've got resolution number one: I will intentionally exercise three times a week. I say "intentionally" because I have been known to have a day full of shopping and call that my exercise for the day. It's going to be easier (I hope) because I've been trying to ride my exercise bike each morning. I'm going to do my best!

Stay tuned for more resolutions!

Placeholder

2012-01-02T00:08:00.001-05:00

Soon, I will post this year's resolutions. First, though, I need to figure them out!

It'll be soon, really!

I hate exercise

2011-12-21T21:43:00.001-05:00

I was reminded of that fact this morning. Actually, I've been reminded of it every morning for two weeks now. Yes, I'm doing exercise stuff in the mornings. Yes, I may have lost my mind a bit. But thanks to that extra daily activity, I haven't gained any weight yet this holiday season, so I suppose it's a good thing. My clothes still fit.

It's not that I don't like activity. I enjoy going for a long walk. I enjoy going ice skating. I like playing outside with my dog. I don't mind moving around, really. It's just... exercise. Blah. I get all hot and sweaty and out of breath. I feel icky and tired afterwards. During the exercise, I'm not a happy camper.

However, I have noticed that it makes me a bit more awake by the time I get to work, and I think I might be a little more focused, and I definitely have more energy. So it's a trade-off. It's one I'm willing to make, for now. We'll see if my will power extends beyond the holidays.

You know what helps your Christmas cards get delivered?

2011-12-17T14:10:00.001-05:00

Putting them in the mailbox.

Yeah, it turns out that if you just leave them sitting on your dining room table, they stay there. For some reason, the postman is reluctant to come inside and shuffle through the piles of paper on the table to find the cards. Can't imagine why.

So today, I finally got the cards into the mail. You know, the cards I made in October? Yeah. So much for being prepared ahead of time.

But the cards are in the mail! And with luck, most of them will arrive before Christmas.

Reliving the good times

2011-12-14T20:12:00.001-05:00

I'm on a Joss Whedon kick again - I'm almost done season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I'll follow that up with Firefly, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. And if I happen to get Angel or appropriate gift cards at Christmas, I'll add that one to the lineup, too.

There's just something about these series that touch me. Even in the early, cheesy episodes of Buffy, when they were still finding their way, the characters were easy to identify with. I can see so much of me in young Willow, it's a little disconcerting. But I can see parts of myself in Buffy, too.

And I've never watched a series that can make me cry so much. Sure, I'm a crier. My instinctive reaction to any strong emotion is to cry, whether it's sadness, happiness, anger, frustration... And Whedon's stuff can make me react. It's strong, emotional stuff.

Tonight, I'm watching the episode "I Only Have Eyes for You," and Buffy's emotional turmoil, with the whole Angel-turning-evil-thanks-to-sex thing, reflected in the teacher-student relationship... wow... it just breaks my heart. And I love it. I think this is one of my favourite episodes.

Does anyone out there have strong feelings for or against the Whedon-verse? Or a favourite episode?

Something different.

2011-12-12T21:47:00.002-05:00

While I'm busy moaning about how much my mouth hurts after my fillings, go watch this video. I refuse to feel bad about reading romance novels.

Mmm... cupcakes

2011-12-11T18:38:00.001-05:00

I had a cupcake tonight, and it was tasty. I also had a hamburger and french fries. Tomorrow, I think I'll have some cereal bars for breakfast, and pizza for lunch. And for dinner... soup.

Yes, that's right. Squishy food for dinner, assuming I feel like eating at all.

I really don't want to go to the dentist tomorrow, but I've got a chipped tooth, and it needs fixing, which means a dentist visit. Boo. And unfortunately, the numbing stuff is REALLY effective on me, so I probably won't feel my mouth until the next morning. So it's squishy food time.

*sigh*

What I want

2011-12-04T20:56:00.001-05:00

I think I've finally figured out what I want. After 32 years, I think I've got it. It's not the easiest thing to verbalize, because it's more complicated than just, "I want a piece of chocolate cake." But even if I can't entirely explain it, I think I finally know.

And apparently, I'm not the only one who knows what I mean.

I want someone who feels like this:

And even The Band Perry kind of gets it in the chorus of their song "All Your Life":

Well I don't want the whole world
The sun, the moon, and all their light
I just want to be the only girl
You love all your life

That's what I want. I want someone who will love me for who I really am, not who he wants me to be. I've tried to be everything that someone wants, and being up on a pedestal sucks. It's a long way down, from the ideal to the reality. I'm a real person, and I've got a nice big boatload of flaws. Please don't expect perfection. It's hard enough for me to handle my own perfectionist qualities. I don't need someone else adding to it.

I want someone who has a life of his own and wants me to be a part of it, but not all of it. I don't want to be someone's 'everything.' I've been that, and it's too much pressure. I want him to be happy on his own, but I want to be able to make him happier. I want him to be a whole person, not just 'my other half,' and I want him to feel the same towards me.

So there you go. That's what I want.

Now if I could just find it...

The Saga of My Borked Wrist

2011-11-22T19:54:00.001-05:00

It was the morning of October 22. It was a Sunday, an unassuming kind of day. I was in sunny Orlando, assisting with a series of Anatomy of the Eyeball workshops for JCAHPO. I thought it was going to be a good day.

Partway through the morning, my left wrist ached a bit. I rubbed it and thought little of it until I realized that it was my left wrist. There is generally nothing wrong with my left wrist. My right wrist randomly hurts because back in 1997, I FOOSHed (Fall On OutStretched Hand) while doing pickups in tap class. I was in casts/braces/splints for the better part of a year, and it took several years for me to be able to write for more than five minutes or so without pain.

I thought it was odd, but went on with my day, doing the workshops, then going out for drinks with some of the nice people I met at the conference. The next morning, I slept in, then packed up my bags and headed down to get my car. My bags were heavy, but I carried them all on my left shoulder, so that my right hand was free to fish out my valet stub and pull the suitcase. I thought nothing of this.

The following morning, Tuesday, I hurt. A lot. My shoulder was in excruciating pain, my wrist felt like someone was scraping a serrated blade along the inside of the skin, and my index finger and thumb felt as if I had slammed them in a car door. It sucked. I figured it was because of the heavy bags, so I took some Tylenol, and went on my way.

By Thursday, I wanted to either cry or throw up, the pain was that bad. So I talked to one of the doctors I work for, and he prescribed a course of steroids. It helped a bit, but my index finger was still swollen and purple at the end of the six days, so I made an appointment with a hand doctor. This was just over a week after the first ache.

He poked and prodded and x-rayed. My wrist wasn't broken, which didn't surprise me because I didn't do anything to it. He wanted an MRI, to see if there was a ganglion or other soft tissue issues. He prescribed a wrist brace to use as needed, which I used daily at first, then occasionally once I realized I couldn't do my job with it on. Two weeks, and much pain, later, I got my MRI (last Thursday).

Today, I got the results. Normal. REALLY? On the bright side, no rheumatoid arthritis, no lupus, no tears in tendons or ligaments. On the not bright side, the pain is still there. He poked and prodded some more and declared that the pain at the base of my thumb is due to 'severe laxity' in my joints. He demonstrated on my good hand by moving my carpals around, and bending my finger backwards. Apparently, normal hands don't bend like mine. Makes sense, given that I can also mildly dislocate my shoulders on command.

So to treat that part, I've got a new splint, which I should wear all the time for 2-3 weeks, and if that doesn't help, I'll get a cortisone shot, and if that doesn't help, there's a surgical option, but I'd rather not do that if I can avoid it. Did I mention that I can't take NSAIDs? Yeah, makes the inflammation (which causes the pain) a little harder to deal with.

And that doesn't explain why my index finger is still all purple and swollen and cold, so next up is a non-invasive vascular assessment, which will require more waiting, and if that doesn't give us any answers, the next step is angiography, which is more invasive than the non-invasive test.

Blargh.

So. To sum up, I'm in pain, and it sucks.

Stay tuned.

Failing Miserably

2011-11-10T23:33:00.001-05:00

Yeah. The whole getting-back-into-blogging thing? Not so much.

But I have figured out why! And no, it's not because of NaNoWriMo.

It's because I've got too much going on in my head. There's a lot going on in there, actually, and it's all immensely personal, and I really need to work through it. Problem is, I usually work through my issues by writing. I'm afraid that, if I try to blog too much, I'll end up spilling my emotional guts here, and I'm not sure that I'm ready to do that. I'm also not sure if anyone out there is really interested in it.

So until I either work this stuff out, or decide that I'm ready to spill it all to the whole internet, it's hard for me to blog.

What I'm going to try to do is plan for controlled release - I'll probably share little bits and pieces of my issues, and I'll probably also include several bits of short fiction.

Also, with some of the work-related pressure I've had lately, I've turned into a bit of a bitch, so I may have some scathing things to say about some of the books I've read... But I'll try not to be too evil. I'll keep my comments generalized - I've been reading a lot of self-published crap lately, and I've made some notes. But I've also read some good self-pubbed stuff, and I promise I'll tell you about that, too.

Um... yeah, this was a big, rambling post, but the gist of it is, I'm going to be blogging again, but I'm not holding myself to a schedule until I get into a better mental place. Wish me luck!

I'm back!

2011-11-01T23:17:00.000-04:00

So it's been almost a month since my last blog post... Oops.

I'm going to be lame and blame it on RL getting in the way. I've had houseguests since October 3 (and still do). There was Thanksgiving, and a weekend in Florida for work (which was AWESOME), and now I've done something to bugger up my shoulder (and all the way down my arm to my fingertips), so I really haven't been much for using a computer (typing hurts).

I did, however, discover the voice recognition software built into Windows 7, and I've used it to tweet and to write part of my NaNo novel already.

And yes, I'm doing NaNoWriMo. With a buggered-up arm. And a house full of people.

Yes.

I am crazy.

To top it off, I'm going to get back into blogging properly.

And I don't go to the doctor about my arm until tomorrow, so I can't even blame this bad decision on good drugs. Yeesh.

Expect to see more of me.

Yeah, totally missed Friday

2011-10-09T20:35:00.000-04:00

But I have a perfectly valid excuse - I have a baby at my house! My sister and her fiance and their 3-month-old baby girl arrived on Friday night, and it's been a whirlwind weekend. Any time that I've managed to sit down for more than a few minutes at a time, I've had a baby in my arms. Not that I'm complaining! But it's not so easy to type...

Today we had our big Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and lemon meringue pie. Followed by a hockey game. Well, watching a hockey game, not playing one. Tonight was the Jets' season opener, the first Jets game in 15 years, and it was against the Canadiens. Back in the day, when the Jets were still in Winnipeg, I was a Jets girl, through and through. These days, though, I'm a Habs fan, which made it interesting to watch tonight's game. Either way, I was going to be happy, but I was also going to be disappointed. I found an article online though, that really describes it well: Loren Roberts is another Jets-fan-turned-Habs-fan.

But now that the hockey adrenaline has worn off, and the turkey tryptophan is kicking in, I think I'm going to go pass out for a few hours. And then I might get up for a midnight snack of lemon meringue pie.

Where is the time going??

2011-10-03T23:19:00.001-04:00

I must be getting older. There's no other explanation for the way time just seems to be slipping away without me noticing. For example, today is Monday. October 3. What happened to September?? Seriously, I have no idea where it went! It's just gone... and I'll never get September 2011 back again.

Also, that means that November is just around the corner, which brings NaNoWriMo, and a whole different set of timewarps. If you've done NaNo before, you know what I mean. There's something about such intense creativity that just alters the entire time-space continuum. Also, it makes me very sleepy once December arrives.

And then right after NaNo - er, November - comes December, which brings family time and Christmas shopping, and Christmas itself, and then this year also brings my sister's wedding. It looks like my next chance for a decent night's sleep will be... um... January? Except I know that I'll be doing theatre stuff in January, which pushes a good sleep back until February.

Is there anything important happening in February? It's a short month; do you think anyone would mind if I took a 28-day nap?

Late-night TV

2011-09-23T23:07:00.002-04:00

I remember, back when I was a kid, watching Nick at Night on Nickelodeon. I'm sure that I'm not the only 30-something who remembers that. Back then, it was "Donna Reed," "Mr. Ed," "The Patty Duke Show," and other black and white classic shows. My mom knew those shows, and it always made me think that she was really old (sorry Mom!).

Tonight, I turned on the TV, looking for something to watch. I ran across "Friends," which is one of my favorite shows. Then I looked down in the corner of the screen. There was the Nick at Night logo.

Crap. It's official. I'm old.

Thanks, Nickelodeon. I really didn't need that reminder.

A little bit of statistics

2011-09-19T22:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, not real math-like statistical analysis stuff, because honestly, I don't like that sort much. After dealing with it for my undergrad thesis, I'd rather ignore it until I have to do another thesis.

I do, however, love my blog stats! I've started using StatCounter.com, and it makes me happy. There are charts and graphs and lists, and it's all so pretty!

Did you know that, so far, 757 people have looked at my blog this month? That's just... neat.

I also love the keyword analysis feature. Of course, lots of people found me by searching for "something to write about" or some combination of those words, but there were some more... unusual search terms:
- why does debbie macomber 311 pelican court spell terrible as Teribly
- what's a diagram
- HBP stands for
- ending of one hour photo explained

Really? I swear, I don't remember writing a post explaining what a diagram is... How did you find me, blogglings? Are you someone I know in real life? Did you follow someone's link here? Or were you the one looking for a diagram explanation?

A Weekend Full of Books

2011-09-12T23:28:00.000-04:00

I did a TON of reading this weekend, mostly because I was flying. For as long as I can remember, I've read on the plane. Even when there's an in-flight movie, I'll still read while listening to it.

This weekend, I polished off three books. First up was Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith. It was a free download on my Nook app, published by Revell in 2008. It was not a bad book, but it wasn't really my thing. I felt like I was being given a message on a silver platter, with a big flashing sign pointing at it. I don't mind books that have a message or a lesson, but I prefer to have the lesson be more subtly woven into the story. I also wasn't too keen on the way the relationships between the sisters were portrayed. They felt very cliched, and then too easily overcome. The writing was still a good quality, though I wish the story had continued a little further along. However, compared to most of the other free books I've read, it was great!

The next one I finished was Jane by April Lindner. It was published by Poppy in October 2010. I picked this one up as a 'real' book from the airport in Toronto when I found out my flight was delayed by two hours. I had listened to Jane Eyre as an audiobook last year, after several failed attempts to read it. Even though Jane was set in a modern time an place, it captured some of the same feelings as the book it was based on. There was definitely a constant sense of melancholy, and the voice made Jane sound much older than her 19 years. I believe that this was intentional, and it worked with the history that Jane had, but I'm not sure if I liked it. Does that make sense? It was well-written, it was a clever re-interpretation of a classic, but I feel as ambivalent towards Jane as I did towards Jane Eyre. I think that the character, no matter which setting she is in, just doesn't resonate with me. However, if you were a fan of Jane Eyre, I can see how you would really enjoy Jane.

The last one was Making Waves, by Tawna Fenske. It was published by Sourcebooks in August 2011. I first heard about this book by reading Tawna's blog. I've followed her for about a year now, and I've always enjoyed her posts. Her sense of humor works well with mine, and I think that's part of the reason that I could barely put the book down. I finished it within a day of starting it, and I'm mostly just disappointed that I ran out of words. Juli's quirks are adorable, and they're the sort of weird little habits that I've seen in other people (and myself). The near-misses in the bedroom are intense, and Tawna does a great job of building the tension between Juli and Alex, without overdoing it or making it too cheesy. I like my romance with a good dose of humor, because, really, romance never goes as smoothly as most stories would have you believe. If you like a good HEA, and hot-but-not-too-hot-to-lend-to-my-mother love scenes, and a good laugh, this is a great choice. Of the three books this weekend, Making Waves is the one I'll recommend to most of my friends. In fact, even though I purchased it in e-book format, I'll be swinging past B&N this week to pick up a physical copy so I can start lending it to my friends.

Dragon*Con!!

2011-09-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

I'm really bad about forgetting to let you know that I'm going to be away, aren't I? In case you didn't notice, I was AFK this weekend. Instead of posting on Friday, I was on my way to Atlanta for Dragon*Con! Yes, I really am that much of a geek. And I'm proud of it.

I had a great time - I actually went to several panels, in several different tracks. I'm a very diverse geek ;) I went to the Writer's track, and the Science track, and the Costuming track. And I also went to the Puppet Slam, which was pretty cool.

The best part, though, was getting to see all of my international friends! Two were in from England, two from Scotland, and one from Australia. We were quite the group. The Brits made their own costumes, and they were GORGEOUS! It did make it hard to walk through the Con, though - they were constantly getting stopped for photo ops. Although I did get stopped on several occasions, too, which was really cool!

Wanna see my costumes?

This is my "Veranna" costume. I made it back in 2006, and over the next two years, I added all of the lace and braided trim. It came from a McCall's pattern, I think, but I made a few modifications - adding grommets to make a corset-style back lacing has made it possible for me to fit into it for five years!

This is my Steampunk costume. I ended up getting a necklace to add to the ensemble just a little while after taking this photo. I think, for next time, I'll have to come up with some sort of accessory and coordinating holster. I considered a water gun, spray painted bronze, but I think I need to put some more effort into it.

And, of course, Beeper (the travelling lemur) came along. Here he is, wearing my steampunk hat. It's a little bit bigger on him.

So that's where I've been - off having adventures! I'll try not to disappear again without warning you!

I like it.

2011-08-29T21:43:00.000-04:00

I've been slowly unpacking all of my things into the new house (despite having lived here for almost two months!), and I'm taking my time because I want to actually put things away, not just get them out of boxes. Of course, I've also occasionally been distracted by things that I unpack. One of the things I unpacked this weekend was my NaNoWriMo story from 2007.

It was actually... good. It was, well, weird. It didn't feel like I wrote it. That is, I don't really remember writing it. I can actually pick out a voice, and, well, wow.

I'm not saying it's perfect, not by a long shot. There were errors that I picked up right away, like the MC being allergic to nuts, then getting an almond mocha coffee. Oh, and it's not finished.

But I actually like something that I wrote. And that's promising.

Thank you, Bloggling Brains!

2011-08-27T00:16:00.000-04:00

Anthropomorphism! Yes! Thank you for your help!

And in case you were wondering why I suddenly had the pressing need to know that word, it's because of a conversation I had with my parents. We were chatting via Skype and I had to go so I could take my dog outside before Morris and Adolph came out. Naturally, my folks asked who Morris and Adolph were. They expected me to say the neighbor's dogs, or maybe the random cats that sleep in my yard. No, Morris and Adolph are spiders. Morris spins his web in the corner of the overhang by the back door, and Adolph spins his huge web between the trees on either side of the path to the backyard.

My parents think I'm weird. Of course, then I had to tell them about Cassandra, the spider who spins a web in the backyard from the branches of the big tree to the ground. And Lewis, who has a permanent web in the holly bush out front (all the others take down their webs in the morning).

I don't know if it's a writer thing, or just me, but I name all sorts of things. My car is Ruby. My KitchenAid mixer is Kitty. My blender is Oscar. My grill is George. My computers are Trinsyn, Chionne, and Arra. My toilet paper doll is Nancy. And that's just a small sample.

Tell me, do you name things?

Be My Brain!

2011-08-24T21:36:00.002-04:00

I need your help, blogglings.

I'm trying to find a word. I know this word. I remember doing an entire unit on the concept in high school English. But the word has fallen out of my head, and it's been driving me crazy!

I want the word that means "to give human characteristics to a non-human being or object."

I know it's not personification. I know it's not transmogrification. I think it might be a trans- word though.

If you know this word, would you please tell me?

Thanks!

SNI

2011-08-22T22:37:00.000-04:00

Ah, the sexy new idea.

It gets in the way of the BOI (boring old idea), which was actually an SNI not that long ago. I'm still writing the story in my green notebook, but I have a sexy new idea that is taunting and teasing me! It's not a novel idea. It's not a play. It's not a short story. It's a web video story. Yes, in my head, it's a mini-series that will go up on my YouTube channel. I want to start writing it so badly...

But I'm going to force myself to wait. I will finish the green notebook story (henceforth called Green). I will finish it, and then, while it is marinating and getting ready for a second, computerized draft, I will let myself write the web series. And then I will find actors. And then I will film it. And then I will show it to you.

Be excited.

It's Friday!

2011-08-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

Hello Blogglings! Clearly, this blogging on Wednesday thing is not working out for me... I'm trying to decide if I should just skip Wednesdays and go with twice-a-week blogging, or if I should re-schedule it. Thoughts?

In other news, my house is almost finished! For those of you who don't know me in real life, I've been living under construction for, well, a long time. I've been living out of the basement of my house, waiting for the contractor to finish the work that was supposed to be done on June 16. (Go on, look at your calendar and do the math. I'll wait.) Yeah. Two months later.

But tonight, the painter finished upstairs! And tomorrow, I'm moving my bed! I'm very excited about this. Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of basements? I mean, they're fine for hanging out and watching movies in the heat of the day in the summer, but they're also a haven for all the creepy things, and I can't wait to lay down to sleep without wondering if the spiders will stay in their corners.

And in even more news, go visit Colby! There's a new video up! You should watch it!

Dancing Kid

2011-08-15T22:44:00.000-04:00

So I was on my way to the grocery store tonight, at like, 9:30, and as I was driving through my neighbourhood, I saw this blue glowing light bouncing around. As I got closer, I could see that it was the screen of a cell phone. I got even closer, and I realized that the phone was in the hand of a kid who was dancing.

I'm not talking about just grooving as he was walking down the street. This kid was bouncing up and down, dancing his heart out, in the dark, halfway in the street.

I want to know what he was listening to.

And I may include him in a story. Because really, that's just a really secure person to dance full-out as if no one is watching. (Although I suppose that, until I drove up, no one actually was watching.)

A bump in the road

2011-08-14T09:23:00.000-04:00

I was doing so well! I was writing almost every day, and getting close to the 5k mark. And then...

Are any of you superstitious or OCD? I started writing this story by hand, and I feel the need to finish the same way, at least this draft. It's just how I need to write. If I start by hand in a green notebook with my black Sarasa pen, I need to finish it in green notebooks with black Sarasa pens.

Unfortunately, I dropped my pen in the car last week, and it's hiding under one of the seats. I don't know which seat. And it's been flipping hot out, so I didn't really want to sit outside, digging around in my car. But! It's a weekend, it's early (and therefore not so blazing hot) AND I finally got my garage clean enough to get my car inside, so after I finish this post, I'm going to go recover my pen and start writing again!

On the bright side, not writing things out has given me a chance to play around with things in my head, and I probably have another 3-4k ready to come out. Yay!

Do any of you have these sorts of quirks, Blogglings? I know writers can be a very... quirky kind of people!

Mixed emotions

2011-08-09T22:45:00.000-04:00

I almost cried at work today, and it only took a few seconds for me to figure out why. Here's the deal: back in March or April, I applied to instruct a workshop. In May, I got an email telling me that I was accepted not only to co-instruct one session, but that I would be able to co-instruct all five workshop sessions at this conference. Hooray, right? I was pretty psyched.

Yesterday, the boss-lady gave me the program for the conference so I could decide if there were any sessions I wanted to attend. I got crazy busy and didn't get a chance to look at it yesterday, but today I started flipping through it just before lunch. I found a bunch of cool sessions, and then decided to check out the other workshop sessions. I flipped through to the workshops, and there was my name. Right there, in the program, I'm listed as one of the instructors.

Of course, it made me giggle with glee! And then I had to show a couple of my work-friends, most of whom were not quite so excited as I was. Then I went back to my desk and felt like crying. Why? Why would something that I want to do make me want to cry?

Because I realized that it's still what I want to do. I want to be teaching again. I have never been so happy or satisfied in a job as when I was teaching. And I can't do that now. If I wanted to get back into it, I'd have to go back to school and get at least a Master's, if not a PhD.

Don't get me wrong, I love writing. (And for anyone interested, I'm past the 4k mark on my latest WIP.) But I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I can make a living off of writing. I don't think my novel-length works are quite ready for publication, and even if they were, I don't think I can write fast enough to make a living at it.

I'm feeling a weird mix of emotions right now, but I'm working with it, and trying to figure out what else I can do to keep myself happy. I know that I should put all of my happy-eggs in one basket - I'm going to make sure that I'm doing lots of stuff with the theatre, and doing lots of knitting and crochet and cross-stitch, and cuddling my puppy, and spending time watching bad movies with friends. All of these things make me happy.

And I'm not saying that I'm miserable in my job now, because I'm not. I just don't love it the way I loved teaching.

Hrm. This post was a bit of a downer. But it don't let that fool you! I'm not down, I'm just trying to figure myself out.

Worried about my puppy

2011-08-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

I'm worried. Mia hasn't left my side all day. She has been curled up under the blanket beside me. Any time I get up, she cries and cries until I sit back down. Normally, on a Saturday, she'll wander off into the other room and chew on her toys, but not today.

So tonight's post is short, and I'm going to skip the writing to cuddle with her. Hopefully, she'll feel better tomorrow.

First Draft Ick

2011-08-03T21:44:00.000-04:00

I'm just over 1100 words into my new WIP, and already I'm looking at it and thinking, "I can't use this!"

But then I started thinking about it, and I realized that's the way I work. I write a first draft to get to know my characters. The story isn't going to actually start until probably about 10k, but that's okay. That first 10k gives me backstory. It lets me meet my characters. It lets me figure out their quirks. It lets me realize which adjectives I'm using way too often for each of them. ;)

And when I'm done this first draft? I won't just edit what I've got. I'll do a full re-write.

I can hear the screeches from the plotters out there.

That's just how I work. My first draft is the equivalent of an outline. There may be a few scenes here and there that I'll keep, a few phrases that just stick, but the second draft is, for me, where the story becomes a real story and not just back story. The next edit will look more like what most people probably think an edit should look like.

The important thing, though? Once I sit down and do tonight's session, I'll be around 1500 words, and I'll be on a three-day writing streak. It feels so good to be writing again!

Natural Magic

2011-08-01T22:55:00.000-04:00

I've been on a bit of a Dawson's Creek kick lately. I'm not entirely sure why. At first, I thought it was maybe because I've been considering writing a YA novel, but then I realized that a) my YA idea only goes as far as the first page because my voice has never been right for YA and b) while Dawson's Creek is all full of the melodrama of youth, it's not the most accurate portrayal of young people. Unless you were me, in which case, it actually was frighteningly like my high school years; lots and lots and LOTS of talk and very little actual action.

Why is this important? Well, a few nights ago, I watched the episode where Joey has a date with AJ, the college guy, and they go to watch the aurora borealis. That got me to thinking. It's been close to two years since I've seen the northern lights, and I miss that magical display.

It's funny, because when I lived in Canada, I mostly took them for granted. On almost any clear winter's night, you could see them from my parents' back yard. It was really awesome to sit outside in the hot tub, surrounded by snow and ice, the steam rising up around you, and look up to see the lights dancing. I know, it sounds cheesy to say the lights were dancing, but that's really what it looked like. If you've never seen the northern lights, you're missing out. I'd direct you to a YouTube video, but that really doesn't capture the experience.

The northern lights don't make much of an appearance in the southern US.

And then I started thinking some more. I may have given up the northern lights, but I found some other magic down here. Up until I moved here, I had never seen real fog. I'd seen fog from a fog machine, with that special, sickly sweet cotton-candy smell, but never real, honest-to-goodness, made-by-nature fog. Here, though, there's a lot of fog, especially on these hot summer nights, after a good rainstorm. The fog just lays on the roads, sometimes only an inch deep, sometimes a couple of feet deep. It swirls around, chasing the cars as they drive through. It's a little bit of magic.

Another new experience has been lightning bugs. I had never seen lightning bugs before. I remember the first time I walked outside on a summer night and saw a little green light over by the trees. I blinked a few times, sure that I just had something in my eye. Then I saw another. And another. And then there were a dozen little green lights, flickering on and off, floating around the trees. I just stood there and stared for a few minutes, mesmerized. I don't remember where I was supposed to go that night, but I do remember that I was late. Even now, four years later, I can still lose track of time staring at lightning bugs.

So maybe that's the trade-off. I gave up the lights and motion of the northern lights, but I got dancing fog and lightning bugs to make up for it.

I have an idea!

2011-07-31T22:18:00.000-04:00

After several weeks of utter despair that I might never write again, I have an idea!

I don't know if you can grasp just how happy this makes me!

It's a love story, which strikes me as a bit odd, because I've written off the idea of romance in real life. Of course, I still adore reading romance novels, and stories with romantic elements, so maybe it's not as surprising as I first expected. I may not believe that everyone will find their 'true love' or get a happily-ever-after ending, but hey, it's still fun to read about, right?

I'm really excited about this. I've started writing tonight, and I'm feeling good about it. Even if this story goes nowhere, I'm writing, and that's a very good thing.

Maybe the rest of my life will start to come back together again...

An apology

2011-07-26T22:45:00.000-04:00

I'm very sorry, Blogglings. I've been neglecting you horribly. Unfortunately, this summer has turned to be... different than I had anticipated.

I've got a lot going on in my head, and a lot going on in my life, and I'm not able to talk about it right now. Unfortunately, these things are all that I can think about, so I've been at a loss to come up with blog posts that weren't just total cop-outs.

I'm sorry.

Please, please, consider keeping my blog feed in your favourite reader! I promise, once this big ol' pile of stuff gets sorted out, I'll be in a much better place, and I'll be able to write and blog again (no, I haven't written a word in two months. It's not a good feeling).

Hang in there, Blogglings, and I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, try not to melt if you're stuck in the heat wave that seems to have covered all of North America!

*hugs*

Better late than never?

2011-07-15T23:09:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I suck. My life has been a little crazy lately. First, I've spent the last month trying to move, trying being the operative word. I had to delay moving day by a week, and I'm still not completely unpacked, and it's having a profound effect on my ability to deal with life.

Second, I just got back from a week-long vacation in Canada where I got to visit with my brand-new niece!

She is the most beautiful little girl, and I am completely in love with her. It was sooooo hard to leave her and come back to my boxed-up home. Luckily, my sister is all about the technology, and we've already Skyped several times, and I've been getting 'baby-of-the-day' photos in my inbox everyday, which makes me very happy.

Third, since I've been home, I've been sewing. Many of you have already visited Colby's blog, so you know how awesome she is. This week, I made her a dress. No, not just a dress, a snake dress. For last night's Harry Potter opening, Colby was dressed as Nagini. It was pretty epic. Soon, I shall have photos to share, because it really was awesome.

I know, I know, I shouldn't have abandoned you all like that, and I'm sorry, Blogglings. But I have been busy, and out of town, and it's always been my policy to refrain from mentioning any travel plans online until after I have returned. I am, however, fully back, with real internet and everything at home. Hopefully, this post marks the return of your regularly scheduled blog-reading.

Enjoy your weekend!

I might be an idiot.

2011-07-04T21:40:00.000-04:00

Or maybe I'm just sleep-deprived. You see, in the past week, I've been trying to switch over my cable service, so I haven't had Internet access at home. I can't blog from work (not only is personal internet use frowned upon, many sites are blocked). So what did I do? Nada. I didn't blog.

Today, however, I remembered that my phone, being an iPhone with an unlimited data package, could get online. D'oh. Let's blame this little lapse on being really freaking hot in the past few weeks, and being preoccupied with my sister's pregnancy. Which is now done! She has a beautiful baby girl! So I'm busy being an auntie this week ;)

I'll try to have some photos up, and I'll do my best to a) get my cable sorted and b) remember that I can post from my phone!

It's Wednesday already?

2011-06-22T22:19:00.000-04:00

I should be sleeping
'Stead of keeping
These late hours
I've been keeping

I've been pacing
And retracing
Every step of
Every move

Okay, so those words aren't mine - they're from Emerson Drive's song "I Should Be Sleeping", but they seem very appropriate for my life right now! I really should be sleeping most nights, but I'm far too wide awake. Life's getting, well, busy. And I'm dreaming about work again, which makes my week twice as long!

So instead of reading some sleepy ramblings, I'm going to recommend that, if you're not familiar with Emerson Drive, you go take a look at them, and maybe listen to some of their music. I like it.

twitch twitch

2011-06-20T22:32:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me in real life know that I often joke about having OCD. At one point, in a previous office, my co-workers labeled me with chart stickers because I organized the sheets of stickers. Why am I telling you this?

Because it's an issue.

I find that it doesn't take much disorder for me to become, well, agitated. I can usually talk myself down, or distract myself, but the point is, I need structure. It's funny, because you'd think that a writer or other sort of creative person would not want structure or limits or boundaries, but I can't work without them. I need a deadline (and preferably a close one) to get things done. That's part of why I work so well with NaNoWriMo. There are definite goals and deadlines, so I get my wordcount and get the story done.

When I'm crafting, I often gravitate towards knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, and sewing as 'relaxing' crafts - because they have patterns that I have to follow to make things turn out right. I like scrapbooking and card-making, but I find that I enjoy both of those more when I have a plan, whether it's a challenge template that I've found online, or a design that I come up with before I start working.

Today, I've been dealing with OTHER PEOPLE. OTHER PEOPLE don't necessarily get it. They don't always understand that I need to know what's going on. They don't understand that, when I don't have any idea when a project will end, I get upset. When this goes on for a month or two, I can't sleep properly. I start living on caffeine and sugar, which makes me somewhat less than fun to be around. Overall, it sucks.

So what is the point of this long, rambling post? If you know someone like me, please, please, please take pity on them. Give us deadlines. Give us endpoints. Give us updates! Just don't leave us in limbo. It's bad for everyone involved.

I knew I was forgetting something!

2011-06-18T01:42:00.000-04:00

I went out to watch a movie tonight, then came home and updated my Facebook status to reflect my feelings for the swoopy camera work, then restarted my computer so that it could do that whole automatic update thing. Then I realized that I hadn't blogged yet!

It's late (duh), but I don't want to abandon my blogglings!

So I'll talk about the movie!

I went to see Green Lantern. I have never read any of the original comics that this movie was based on. In fact, the only comics I have ever read were Betty and Veronica comics, and even that was rare. I had worried about whether or not I would like it. A lot of the reviews were, well, not great.

It turns out, though, that I might be the right demographic for all of these comic book movies! Because I'm not overly familiar with the stories (other than what my comic-book-loving-friends have told me), I don't have a lot of the preconceived ideas of what the characters should be like. I don't know how they should look, how they should act, who is a friend or who is an enemy. Because of this, I can sit back and enjoy the movie for itself. My comic-book-loving-friends, however, don't have that luxury.

Bearing that in mind, I ended up liking the movie. The plot worked for me. The actors were, for the most part, well-chosen. I wasn't a big fan of Blake Lively, but I didn't hate her. The effects were pretty cool, if occasionally nauseating in their swoopiness. There was a section in the middle that started to drag for me, and I started to wonder when it was going to end, but then the story picked up again.

And, of course, if there is a gun on stage, the gun will be used. (I can't take credit for that quote - it was totally Tanya leaning over to me at the end of the credits to say that!) And if you don't get what I mean, you either haven't been involved in theatre, or you haven't watched this movie through to the end of the credits.

My final comment is a girly one. Ryan Reynolds looks way better with his deep brown eyes than with the creepy blue ones!

Beta and Critique Readers

2011-06-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

Over the years, I've been part of several writing groups, ranging from informal gatherings where the topic of writing just happened to come up, to NaNoWriMo groups, to critique groups. I've shared my work, and read others' work and given feedback. If there's one thing I've learned, all beta readers/crit partners are NOT created equal. Here are some of the characters I've run into:*

- The Published Writer. You've probably run into him at some point. He's had a short story published in an ezine. Or he wrote a novel that was published by a small press. Whatever it is, he has decided that he is talented. Very talented. So talented, in fact, that you, an unpublished writer, could never measure up to him. Your writing will never be as good as his, because your work is not published. Like his. Did I mention that he takes every chance he gets to remind you that he is published.

- The Emphatic Realist. This fellow writer doesn't quite grasp the concept of the suspension of disbelief. At all. He can't figure out why you've insisted on ignoring a particular historical figure in your historical romance, even though it would not do anything to further the plot. He demands historical accuracy! And that plane you have in chapter three - that style of plane has two rows of seats, not three. Obviously, you haven't done enough research.

- The Genre Snob. He doesn't read anything but one genre. The romantic drivel you've written is completely mindless, as far as he is concerned. And the YA project? Why you're wasting your time on such a pathetic genre is beyond him. Sure, it's okay for what it is, but it's not much. Trying to get this guy to like anything that isn't in his genre is like trying to make my dog eat... umm... okay, that metaphor doesn't work. It's like trying to get a shark to swim backwards.

- The Insecure Crank. He doesn't think that his writing is any good. To see your writing, which is (theoretically) good, just irritates him. He doesn't like the thought of someone being better than him, and he will find every little error possible in your work. He will find errors that don't exist. He will find flaws in every character and setting. He will find tiny plotholes and blow them into gaping chasms. Because he thinks his work is no good, he will not let yours be good either.

Of course, not all critique partners or beta readers are one of these folks! I have met amazing readers, people I trust to read anything I write, and to give me honest feedback.

- The Read-Everything Partner. He will read absolutely everything that is written. Genre, length, style - it doesn't matter. He has a preferred genre, of course, but he won't ignore a story just because it's not his favorite style. His best line? "It's not something I'd pick out on my own, but I liked it."

- The Grammar Snob. He knows the English language inside and out. He knows where each and every punctuation mark belongs. He may not be able to correct flaws in your character arc, but he will make sure that your final draft is polished to a high sheen.

- The Gentle Let-Down. Your story sucks. The characters are one-dimensional. You have no arc. Your plot has holes that a Mack truck can drive through. But he can still point out the good things, like your ability to place a semi-colon in just the right place, and make you feel better about having churned out a big ol' pile of crap.

*All genders have been made male for the purposes of masking identities. If you happen to recognize yourself in one of these readers, chances are good that I'm not actually talking about you personally. But hopefully, you recognize yourself as one of the awesome ones!

Ah, Mondays.

2011-06-13T22:16:00.000-04:00

There's just something about the start of the week that sucks.

I feel like I accomplished nothing at work today. I mean, I did stuff, but I was filling in for someone else, so the stuff I did was her work, not mine. I know that I have at least five boxes of charts waiting for me tomorrow morning, which equals fifty or more charts, depending on how tightly they're packed. So there goes my morning. And by the time I'm through dealing with them, it's time for my doctor's appointment. Whee.

However, I am heading out tomorrow night to a writerly thing with a fellow writerly-type person, which should be fun. Or at least enlightening. I really want to see what the local writing scene is like outside of NaNoWriMo (which, while awesome, is not necessarily a professional endeavor).

Of course, when I started getting frustrated at work today, all I had to do was let my mind wander back to this past weekend. I spent some time with friends who made me feel like life was a movie, and I was playing the role of sidekick (but in a good way!). I got to watch some awesome moments that felt as if they should have been in a movie or a book, and I loved every second of it.

You know, maybe today wasn't as bad as I originally thought it was.

Also, I'm watching a terribly cheesy movie as I'm writing this, which always makes me feel better!

How was your Monday?

Anxiety

2011-06-11T00:11:00.000-04:00

Some days, I feel a bit anxious. I've got a lot on my plate right now. Between work, writing, finishing Baby Bear's present, dealing with theatre drama, dealing with construction malarky, and packing, I'm spread kind of thin these days.

Everyone has different ways of dealing with stress and anxiety. Some people like long bubble baths. Some like a nice bottle of wine. Some like a good book. When knitting isn't one of the causes of my stress, knitting helps. Lately, though, I've found a different source of relaxation - a serial killer. There's something about Dexter that is just... comforting. I know, that's a weird reaction to have. Some days, I wonder if there's something wrong with me...

And then, when I think about it a bit more, I realize it's not that weird. This show is written REALLY well! I'm on my third viewing of the first four seasons, and I'm still impressed with it. There's still stuff that shows up that I hadn't noticed before. It's all so well-thought-out.

I've read the first book by Jeff Lindsey, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and I liked it. A lot. But there's something about the tv series that feels better. Of course, it's a much longer format, which allows for more development of, well, everything. Still, each of the characters has a fully developed arc across each season, and all seasons.

So. Great writing is how I justify finding a serial killer relaxing.

Sara

2011-06-08T21:52:00.000-04:00

Sara stared down at her hands. The sticky, red trails almost seemed to move as she watched them.

"So much blood," she murmured. Shouldn't it be hot? Or at least warm? But her hands were cold, even with the blood on them. Sara turned her hands over. The blood was everywhere. It had left her hands and moved towards her elbows. It had dripped onto the floor.

No, dripped was the wrong word. Dripping was slow, gentle, painless. The blood had poured from Andy's body, even as she had tried to stop it.

The blood had been warm then, she thought. It had been hot, and pulsing, and alive under her hands. It had a mind of its own, ready to escape the confines of a body, ready to see the world.

She had tried. She did everything she knew how to do. Except gloves, came the thought from the back of her mind. She should have put on gloves before touching blood. That's what they had taught in her first aid class, so many years ago.

There was no time to find gloves, though. Sara didn't know if she even owned any. The only thing she could do was try to cover the gaping wound as Andy grew pale. And scream. She vaguely remembered screaming.

"Miss?" The deep voice made Sara jump. She looked up from her hands into a the eyes of someone who had seen this before. "Please, come with me. We need to get you cleaned up."

"It's Andy's blood," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I should keep it for him."

"Andy doesn't need that blood, sweetheart," the man said, sympathy written across his face. "Come on. We'll get you taken care of."

"It's Andy's blood," Sara repeated, looking back down at her hands as the man helped her up, wrapping the blanket more securely around her. "I should keep Andy's blood." It was easier to look at the blood than to remember how the light had faded from his eyes.

She could swear she still saw the blood moving.

Movies and movie theatres

2011-06-06T23:17:00.000-04:00

I was chatting with a friend today, and I admitted a big ol' secret. While I love movies, I don't really like movie theatres. Rather, I don't like watching movies in the theatre.

I know, it's weird. Most people really like the experience - why else would it be such a popular date night? But I don't like it.

Some of it is purely physical - that's one of the few times that I really have to wear my glasses. There's something about the size and distance to the screen that just doesn't work for me. Also, the broad, sweeping camera angles give me mild vertigo and nausea.

Part of it is the price. I hate that, between the ticket and a drink and a snack, it's about $20 a person to see a movie in theatre. If I wait a couple months, I can buy the DVD for $24.99. If I wait a little longer, it's down to $15 or less. So if I'm patient, I can watch a movie in the comfort of my own home, with my very tasty popcorn from my new popcorn machine, without my glasses, for less than it would cost me to go to the movie theatre.

Hmm... putting it that way, I can't figure out if I'm cheap, or just uncomfortable at the theatre.

Is there anyone else who doesn't like the movie theatre, or am I alone in this?

Signs of Summer

2011-06-03T23:22:00.000-04:00

Is there something that signals the arrival of summer for you?

For me, at least these days, the first lightning bug is the sign that summer is here. I saw the first lightning bug of the season earlier this week, and it just made me grin. It didn't matter that temperatures had been in the 80's and 90's for weeks, or that my office planted the summer flowers. It's not summer in the south until I see a lightning bug.

It's funny, because I actually had never seen a real live lightning bug until I moved to the South almost four years ago. I'd heard of them, of course, and seen them on TV and in movies, but I had never seen one. The first night I was outside in the summer, the whole yard was full of them. I just stood there and stared at them, for a very long time.

I'm not a fan of bugs, usually, but these guys are special. There's something almost magical about them, and I still find myself just standing outside at night, watching the lightning bugs flying through the sky.

Getting back into the swing of things. Sort of.

2011-06-02T00:10:00.000-04:00

Today, I took another step towards getting things back on track! I'm always amazed at how much a show can throw off my life. It's like everything else just stops, and I have to wait until the final curtain before I can get myself together again.

Tonight, I went out for dinner with friends. Back in the day, we used to get together every Wednesday night for dinner and TV and board games and fun. Of course, when I was at rehearsal, I couldn't make it, and then other folks couldn't make it, and it stopped for a while. I think, though, that we're all interested in starting back, and that's exciting. I like my friends, and I like spending time with them, so this is a good thing.

On the blanket front, however, I made no progress today. I took my knitting bag to work, thinking that I could do some at lunch, but I just couldn't get myself comfortably arranged. Working with three balls of yarn at once, I find that I need a big ol' chair or couch to spread out on, so I don't get tangled or have the yarn hanging out on the floor. So I'll just have to knit extra fast tomorrow to get caught up with my 2 rows/day minimum.

In other news... um... well, I've got a Sekrit Projekt that I'm working on, but I can't tell you about it! But it's going well so far, and will take some skills that I haven't used since high school. When it's done and delivered, I'll share more. :)

I'm ba-a-a-a-ck!

2011-05-30T21:41:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right, after almost two weeks away, I have returned!

So what was I doing to keep myself so busy I couldn't blog? Well, I'll tell you! I was at the theatre. A lot. Like, every night. I just finished stage managing a show, and it kept me out until after 11 every night. Back in the day, when I was all young and stuff, that wouldn't have been a problem. Now, though... my usual bedtime is 10, so being out till after 11 is problematic, to say the least. By the time I'd get home, take care of Mia, get my stuff together for the next day, and do my night-time tooth-cleaning-face-washing-wind-down routine, I was hitting the hay after midnight.

But the show is now finished, and it was a fabulous success!

Today, being Memorial Day, was a day off from work, so not only did I not have to go back to the theatre, I didn't have to go to work, either! It was glorious! Of course, I woke up at my usual time. The light in the summer makes Mia wake up much earlier than I'd like, and she won't let me sleep. Since I was up, I decided to have a productive day. I did 7 loads of laundry, knit 14 rows of Baby Bear's blanket, packed two more boxes, watched Julie & Julia, The Pursuit of Happyness, Mona Lisa Smile, and Fame, and the first four episodes of Season 1 of Dexter. Wow. I also made lunch and dinner, walked the dog several times, and vacuumed my living room.

Oh, and I've been working on a new story. It's not on paper (or screen) yet, but I'm ironing out some details in my mind, and I should have something tangible very soon. It's nice, doing some more writing. I've been on a reading kick lately, and it was a nice break from writing, but I'm ready to dive back in.

What about you, blogglings? What have you been up to for the last few weeks?

2011-05-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

Dear Blogglings,

I'm sorry that I dropped off the face of the internet for the last week. Life suddenly got crazy busy, and it really just slipped my mind. Of course, it doesn't help that I've had no concept of what day of the week it has been, either. Yeesh. I was so tired that on three different days, I woke up in the exact same position I fell asleep in. How do I know I didn't move? Well, the blankets were undisturbed, and my arm was asleep from laying on it!

This week isn't quite so crazy, but it's still a bit overwhelming. Today was definitely a Monday, and the computers at work seemed to know that. Given that things are still a bit crazy, I'm going to stay on hiatus for the remainder of the week. It's not fair to you lovely blogglings for me to do half-assed posts. You deserve a full ass. Hmm. That didn't sound right.

I shall return next Monday, full of tales of my crazy two weeks. Or perhaps I'll just make stuff up. We'll see which turns out to be most interesting!

Until next week!

1-2-3-4

2011-05-15T16:50:00.000-04:00

One arm bruise.

Two scrapes.

Three cuts (not scrapes, because they bled a teensy bit).

Four mosquito bites.

The result:

Check out the new grill! It took a couple of hours, but my dad and I managed to assemble it ourselves! And we even tried it out - it was perfect! I'm pretty excited about trying it on my own sometime... to make pancakes. Yes, pancakes. My grill has a griddle. It's made of awesome.

I like shiny things

2011-05-13T23:20:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I had a Pampered Chef party. It was a lot of fun - I'm such a sucker for those sorts of things! I've had Partylite candle parties, Stampin' Up parties, Tupperware parties... I was even a Tupperware lady for a while. There's just something fun about group shopping like that.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm not alone in my shopping in that sort of setting. There's less guilt about buying stuff when everyone else around you is doing it, too. Peer pressure, I suppose, can affect a thirty-something just as much as it can affect a teenager.

Of course, the yummy food and wine at Pampered Chef parties help!

I'm pretty happy with what I got, though. I am now the proud owner of an actual double-boiler, not just a mixing bowl that doesn't quite fit over my pot! I also now have an actual spice rack, rather than just a Tupperware box that sits on the shelf. (But don't worry, I have a use for that Tupperware!)

Can you tell that shopping is a weakness for me? Funny enough, I don't write many characters who have that weakness, and I don't really like reading about characters like that. Hmm... if I were a psychologist, I'd probably have lots to say about that...

Someone watching over me

2011-05-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

There is someone, somewhere, watching out for me. Or for Ruby (my car).

A couple of days ago, there was a weird clicking sound coming from the driver's side front tire. When I looked at it, I didn't see anything. A few days later, Ruby got wobbly. My dad was riding with me, and he got worried and insisted that we take the car in to the dealership. We did (well, he did, I went to work), and it turns out that the tire had split, the other front tire was close to splitting, and both rear tires were getting thin. I'm lucky I didn't die.

I'm also the girl who drove to the dealership with her engine held on by only two bolts. On the same side.

And just a few weeks ago, I barely missed getting hit by an idiot running a red light. I don't know how I managed to get so lucky. I'm grateful for it, though.

And I've learned my lesson - if my car starts doing weird things, I'll take her in right away!

May the Fourth be with you

2011-05-04T23:46:00.000-04:00

So today is National Star Wars Day, and I don't know how to celebrate...

I feel like I should do something.

I think I'll put on Episode IV and fall asleep to the sound of Darth Vader. Sounds relaxing, doesn't it? Of course, the sound effects will probably meld with the Mexican food I had for dinner and result in absolutely insane dreams. Actually, that sounds fun!

Happy Star Wars Day!

Just a few notes

2011-05-02T21:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Target,

You know who has size 5 feet? Short people. You know who can't see the top shelf? Short people. Please make sure that the dude who sets up your shoe area is aware of this fact. If I have to jump up to see what's in the box of shoes, chances are, I'm not going to bother. You're pretty much guaranteeing business for Payless.

Vertically challengedly yours,
Danielle

*****

Dear Sunbeam,

While I appreciate that you manufacture one of the only hot-air poppers I've been able to find, if my options are a) eat no popcorn or b) pick up burning hot kernels from all around my kitchen before my dog can find them, I'm going to just go without popcorn. More kernels ended up randomly flying around the room than ended up popping and landing in the bowl. Please talk to your design team and suggest that they fix this issue.

With flying popcorn,
Danielle

*****

Dear subconscious,

Please please please please stop playing the same scene in my mind every time I close my eyes. I didn't like seeing it the first time, and I don't like replaying it. It's not pretty. And it makes me a little bit nauseated.

Sickeningly yours,
Danielle

*****

Dear HEA,

I swear, I haven't forgotten you! I promise! I've got a brand new notebook all ready for my next draft, and I promise that I've been thinking of you. It's just, with this new house, and a show, and work, and a very loving puppy, and a baby blanket to finish, and about a million other little things, well, I've been busy. But I will make time for you soon. I promise.

With love and procrastination,
Danielle

*****

Dear Lindt,

You make the best chocolate ever. I love you.

Melting for you,
Danielle

Oops.

2011-04-30T08:08:00.000-04:00

Let's just say that yesterday did not quite go as planned... Sorry about missing my usual post! Life got a bit in the way.

Anyway.

If you're reading my blog directly rather than through a reader, you'll notice that I've changed my look. I got a comment on Wednesday that the old layout was hard to read. I hope this is better! I'll probably do something a little snazzier in the future, but for now, you should be able to read my posts more easily.

In other news, I'm about to go off and do some heavy lifting - it's spring cleaning time at the community theatre where I volunteer, so we're emptying out the basement, cleaning, then refilling it. Believe me, it's necessary. At this point, no one really knows what's down there at all... It's kind of scary. So wish me luck!

And if you don't hear from me Monday, it's probably because the theater rats ate me. Or the ghost got me. One of the two.

Some things should not be explained.

2011-04-27T22:12:00.000-04:00

Warning: this post contains spoilers about the movie "One Hour Photo." If you're thinking of watching it, and you don't want to know about the ending, come back and visit on Friday.

I've had "One Hour Photo" in my DVD collection since 2003. I've started to watch it several times, but it has always bored me, and I've turned it off before the halfway point. Yesterday, though, I managed to sit through the whole thing, if only because I've decided that I have to finally watch every DVD in my collection. (There are about six more I need to watch to reach that goal.)

I didn't enjoy it. Robin Williams was good at playing a creepy guy, but there just wasn't enough going on for me. What really drove me nuts, though, was the ending. At the end, Sy (Robin Williams) has been arrested and is sitting in the interrogation room with the detective. He asks about the detective's family, then goes off on this insane little spin about how good fathers don't make their children do dirty things and take photos of it. Basically, it felt like the writers were justifying Sy's sociopathic behaviour by saying he had a bad father.

Seriously? Was his father sitting there, telling him to go and terrorize the couple? No. Did his father mess him up? Sure, but he's still an adult and he's made his own choices. I really felt like this was a cop-out. Lots of people have shitty childhoods, but they don't all turn into crazy people. I don't want to essentially be told that it's okay that he did this, because his daddy was a bad man. It's not okay! Don't feel sorry for the sociopath! Don't tell me that it's not his fault.

I've seen similar endings in a few books that I've read (although I can't think of their names off hand - I'll add something in the comments if I remember later). It's similar to the whole deus ex machina concept, although almost in reverse, if that makes sense. I will accept when a writer tries to make me feel sorry for a victim. However, once that victim turns around and uses his problems to become the one who is doing wrong, don't expect me to have the same reaction.

It also feels a bit, well, lazy. "I can't think of a good reason for him to be all crazy-like. Let's just make him an abused child." Um, yeah. Because nothing else makes people crazy. Believe me, I know a sociopath or two, and they didn't have horribly abusive parents. They're just that messed up on their own. I think they get off on the chaos they can cause.

Anyway.

The point is, I didn't like the way the writers chose to end the movie. I think it would have been better to just end it when the cheating husband came home and his wife stared at him from across the room as the police protection packed up and left. The explanation of the crazy seemed unnecessary.

Sometimes I surprise myself

2011-04-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

I just spent four hours waiting for the gas company to come, and no one showed. Grrr.

In other news, I ended up staying up later than planned last night to watch the end of "William & Kate" on Lifetime. I know, I know, it was cheesy and gimicky, and I didn't plan to watch it! I just happened upon it as I was searching for something to fall asleep to, and it caught my attention.

I know that everyone seems to have an opinion about the royal wedding these days (probably because it's this weekend, right?), but I don't really have a lot to say about it. I'll probably watch it if I'm home at the right time - I remember watching Charles and Di when I was a little girl - and I think it would be fun to see. At the same time, it's not essential for me to watch it.

Also, I'm kind of getting tired of TLC's Wedding Week specials. There's nothing wrong with weddings, but a wedding should not be the be-all, end-all goal for anyone's life. I'd rather be watching, well, almost anything else at this point, and it's only Monday. Luckily, HGTV isn't airing wedding stuff, so I'll spend the week watching home improvement shows.

Watching home improvement shows is actually a good plan because... I've got a house! Yes, that's right, I will soon give up the apartment dwelling lifestyle, and be stuck doing all of my own repairs... Um... Hm... *reaches for the remote in a panic* Must watch more HGTV!

Let's do the time warp!

2011-04-20T23:20:00.000-04:00

This has been such a weird week... actually, it's been a weird month. I swear, the week has started out with three days' worth of Mondays. Not just any Mondays, but particularly long Mondays. It's been bad enough that I haven't been able to figure out what day it actually is without looking at my watch AND my phone, to make sure that one of them isn't lying to me.

Then, just as I'm resigning myself to the Monday-ness of the week, Thursday and Friday zoom by and suddenly it's Saturday. Wha?? So for the last month or so, my week has been: Sunday, Mooooooondaaaaaaay, Mooooooondaaaaaaay, Mooooooondaaaaaaay, Thursdayfriday, Saturday. It is making me all sleepy.

I'm trying to figure out why the days have been so weird. At first, I thought that it was maybe because I'm trying to get up early three days a week to exercise. The problem with that theory is two-fold: first, I've only been doing this for two weeks, not for a month. Second, I'm doing the exercise thing Monday-Wednesday-Friday, not Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday (or Mooooooondaaaaaaay-Mooooooondaaaaaaay-Mooooooondaaaaaaay). So I've got no idea.

Is anyone else experiencing this disturbance in the space-time continuum, or is it just me?

A letter from my body

2011-04-18T22:21:00.000-04:00

Dear Danielle,

We want to preface this by saying that we love you. However, after today, we're not quite sure how you feel about us. The poor legs are exhausted! You started the day with Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease, and it was hard on them. And then you wore your Sketchers Shape-Ups all day! Don't you like your legs? Or your feet?

And let's not forget your poor skin and back! What on earth possessed you to start hauling tree limbs around? We understand that there were nasty storms this weekend, and that your yard was full of debris. However, you apparently forgot that you're allergic to everything with leaves, and now your hands and arms are covered in little welts from brushing up against pine needles. Next time you decide to do yard work, please stop and think for a moment, then go put on work gloves and long sleeves. And instead of hauling the 18 foot tree limb over to the curb by yourself, GO ASK SOMEONE FOR HELP. Dumbass.

Of course, we can't ignore your brain. First, you wake up early to exercise, which is really screwing with it. Then, you spent the day doing statistical analysis. Can we say ouch? Granted, you did give in and provide some extra caffeine today, but your teeth aren't all that impressed with the extra dose of sugar.

In closing, please be nicer to us tomorrow, or we'll go on strike, and you'll have to lay in bed like a vegetable.

Love,
All the parts of your body

P.S. Here's a picture of the pile of yard debris that was hauled to the curb today, including the 18' tree limb. It doesn't look nearly as impressive in the picture as it did in person. There was a lot of debris... and still is, but it will require a wheelbarrow to bring it to the front yard. Also, it will require work gloves and long sleeves. And some assistance. Sorry, body.

I saw a play last night...

2011-04-15T23:05:00.000-04:00

And it really got me thinking about the distinction between the play and the performance. I saw "My Fair Lady," and I enjoyed the performance. Henry Higgins was well-cast, and I only caught his southern accent poke through the British one once, which is quite impressive, because I've heard the actor speak, and his southern accent is quite obvious (at least to me). The woman playing Eliza was fantastic. The dancing was good, especially for community theatre (although I could definitely see a difference between the couple that I take ballroom classes with and the rest of the cast!). The costumes were beautiful, and the set at this theatre always amazes me - it's a small stage, but they definitely make the most of every inch. I really had a good time, and I liked the performance!

However.

I don't like the play.

The ending of it was, well, unsatisfying. I really felt like there were a dozen things that needed to happen between scene 5 and scene 7 (the final scene) for the ending to make sense. Although I suppose some of that is because of the time period it was set in... It turns out that I'm way more of a feminist than I ever thought I would grow up to be! But it just didn't make any sense, the complete turnarounds made by the two main characters in that last little bit.

And there was a random character, Freddie, who was, well, random. He sang two songs about how wonderful Eliza was, but he didn't serve a purpose that could not have been filled by another, existing character.

Hmm. Can you tell I'm in an editing phase?

A quick one

2011-04-13T23:07:00.000-04:00

Hello blogglings!

It's been a long week, so this is a short one. I have done a bit more work on the blanket for Baby Bear, and I even managed to find my camera, so here's a picture!

Section A: 10/10 rows completed
Section B: 90/90 rows completed
Section C: 21/111 rows completed
Section D: 0/90 rows completed
Section E: 0/10 rows completed
Total length: umm... forgot to measure!
Percentage complete: 39%

But you can start to make out the logo now!

Have I mentioned I don't like Mondays?

2011-04-11T21:55:00.000-04:00

I started off my day heading to the dealership for brake issues. Luckily, it wasn't anything major, and I managed to get it all fixed and get to work before 10. Still, starting that late threw me off. Then, I found out that the pager company had apparently left me messages that I never received last week, and when I tried calling back, I had to leave a message. When I finally reached them (late in the afternoon!), they told me that they had discontinued pager service in our area. Blah! On the bright side, that meant that I got to turn the problem over to the boss lady.

I ended up with a huge pile of paperwork left on my desk at the end of the day, which will be waiting for me tomorrow.

I went to audition tonight, but because there were so many females auditioning, I didn't get a part. Instead, I'll be stage managing, which I like, but which will keep me awfully busy.

I did get to talk to my sister tonight, which was awesome, but it was pretty much the only high point of my day.

I'm just feeling blah, and that has resulted in a very blah blog today. Sorry, blogglings. I'll try to have a better day tomorrow and Wednesday!

I'm proud of myself!

2011-04-08T23:55:00.000-04:00

I went to the dentist yesterday, and I didn't cry!

Yes, I realize that, for most adults, this is a normal occurrence, not something worthy of celebration. Well, I'm special.

For years, I've had severe dental anxiety. It was not good. I didn't go to the dentist for 10 years, because I was so terrified. Visits to the dentist have been the bane of my existence. When I was a child, I had a series of horrible experiences with hygienists. My teeth are very close together, and it's hard to get dental floss between them, even when I'm being super-gentle at home. These hygienists (and I never seemed to have the same one twice) were brutal. They didn't care that I was crying and bleeding. They told my mom that it was because I wasn't taking good care of my gums. I still firmly believe that it was because they were SLICING UP MY MOUTH.

I had all four wisdom teeth removed at once, under general anesthesia, because my dentist at the time was quite certain that if I only had one done, I wouldn't go back again. And if I just had local anesthetic, I would never go back to a dentist. Ever.

Not long after I moved, I chipped a tooth. I was tempted to just leave it, but it was rough and uncomfortable, and I realized that I really did need to see a dentist. I ended up calling the dentist that everyone in my office sees. I got an appointment right away, and started panicking immediately. By the time I was in the chair, I was hyperventilating and squeezing the stuffing out of the stuffed bear I had tucked into the pocket of my hoodie. (Yes, I brought a stuffed animal. Like I said, severe dental anxiety. The bear helped a little.) He started working on the tooth, and it broke all the way through (not his fault - it was just a defective tooth, hence the original chip). And do you know what that meant? That's right! Root canal!

I freaked out. I was crying in the chair, and the poor dentist was trying to reassure me, but it wasn't working. He did a temporary filling, and set me up with the uber-dentist to do the root canal a few days later. (I can't remember the title of the root canal guy - cosmetic dentist? Dental surgeon?) By the time we pulled up in front of the office, I was already sniffling. Tears were running down my cheeks as I filled out the new patient paperwork. By the time I was in the chair, I was full-out crying. I feel sorry for the poor technicians who had to deal with me. I really don't remember much after that, other than more tears and squeezing my bear.

Slowly, though, over the last three years, I've gotten better. At first, I was still sniffling and hugging my bear during all of my cleanings and exams. Yesterday, though? No tears, and the bear stayed in my purse. I totally blame the awesome dentist and hygienist combination for this change! Since seeing this dentist, I've had the same hygienist for every visit. Charlotte knows me, and knows my mouth, and she can distract me and laugh with me while she's doing the cleaning. The flossing part still sucks, but she's careful and she knows that's where I can get upset, so she usually launches into a story about something to keep my mind off of it.

So yes, it's a big deal that I didn't cry at the dentist yesterday. Let's hope this pattern continues!

Blanket update: I've managed two rows. The pattern now runs from one edge of the blanket to the other, and I've got to twist strands every 2-4 stitches, so it's taking about an hour per row. It'll be a while...

It's Terminal.

2011-04-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

Wow, that title sounds way more ominous than I had intended... Anyway, here's a post about one of my non-writing problems!

I can't sleep. I've had this problem for a while. Years, actually. I talked to my doctor about it, and he told me that I have 'terminal insomnia.' It sounds way worse than it is. It's not going to kill me (not any time soon, at least). It actually refers to the fact that my sleep 'terminates' - I wake up.

I've done a bit of research, and it actually sounds like 'middle insomnia' is a more accurate diagnosis, since I wake up several times, and usually end up going back to sleep in fairly short order. I was surprised to see that the main cause is thought to be anxiety or stress. I'm actually feeling way more relaxed in the last few months than I have in a while. My doctor suggested that it might be allergy-related - as I get all icky, my nose and throat don't let air pass as easily, and I might not be breathing properly.

Lately, I've been waking up about three times a night. It's been remarkably regular. I usually go to bed around 10, and fall asleep around 10:30. I'll wake up around 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, and 6:30... which is ten minutes before my alarm goes off! That part really sucks.

But then I did more research, and I found this pretty graph, which indicates that a standard sleep cycle is in the neighborhood of 2 hours long. And I've been waking up about every two hours... So now I'm wondering just what is going on in my head to make me wake up every time I get into that lighter sleep phase. Maybe that's when I'm suddenly more aware of sounds outside? Or my dog's movements? Or my sniffling? Hmm... much to think about.

Meanwhile, here's the update on Baby Bear's blanket. Yes, I've only done 4 rows since last time. And those four rows took 2 hours, because I'm still new to this whole knitting-with-multiple-colors thing. And I've lost my camera, so no photo tonight :(

Section A: 10/10 rows complete
Section B: 90/90 rows complete
Section C: 15/111 rows complete
Section D: 0/90 rows complete
Section E: 0/10 rows complete
Total length: 17.5 inches
Percentage complete: 36.9%

The Future is Now!

2011-04-04T23:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I attended a baby shower in Canada, from my comfy chair down in the US. It was kind of awesome. My sister and I hooked up our computers and I was able to watch her open all of her presents via Skype. It was more than a little awesome.

I remember, growing up, when video phones were a thing of sci-fi movies. It was a crazy thought, that anyone could use videos to have conversations. And now? The newest iPhone does it portably! Holy cow!

I'm all about the technology - I've been online since... well, let's not admit how long I've been online. Point is, I love the way tech is evolving, and I can't wait to see what's next, even if I can't quite afford all of the latest toys. Funny thing is, though, the more time I spend around hi-tech gadgety bits, the more time I spend on the rather low-tech crafting hobbies I have.

And speaking of crafting, here's the blanket update:

Section A: 10/10 rows complete
Section B: 90/90 rows complete
Section C: 11/111 rows complete
Section D: 0/90 rows complete
Section E: 0/10 rows complete
Percentage complete: 35%
Total length: 16.5 inches

Feeling foolish?

2011-04-01T22:29:00.000-04:00

Normally, on April Fools' Day, I'll run across some really great pranks online. This year, I didn't see many, sadly. I did see several amusing announcements, though! I loved Nathan Fillion's, though the possibility of Castle getting cancelled made me worry for a second. Kiersten White's and Lynn Viehl's blogs made me giggle, too. And I'm left wondering if Blogger's new "View" thing is an April Fools' joke... it doesn't seem, well, useful.

Oddly enough, no one at work pulled any pranks or jokes or anything... unless you count the guys who came to install the new furniture, then left, saying that the tabletops were cut wrong, and that they'd be back Monday. Except for the part where that wasn't a joke.

Also, some of my Canadian family and friends got a prank from Spring. It snowed.

I can't remember the last time I was on the giving end of an April Fools' joke. While I can be witty or even amusing on paper and in real life, I just don't have the right kind of funny to pull off a prank.

What about you, blogglings? Did you find anything good out there today? Did you pull a prank?

Finally! Finished a few!

2011-03-30T23:13:00.000-04:00

This week has been, well, crazy. I'm feeling pulled in a dozen different directions, and I've been multitasking beyond my standard capacity at work, but that's okay. I went out shopping last night, and in addition to buying the pillowform I needed for one of my projects (see below!), I bought a new notebook. There's just something that feels good about a new notebook. I used to be a Moleskin gal, but lately, I've been using the Ecosystem notebooks and loving them. I'm feeling the need to write by hand, and I'm about to start the re-write on HEA, and it just felt right. So the new version will start out hand-written in a pink notebook. Very princess.

I've put the blanket for Otter/Baby Bear on hold, mostly because I tried doing the color-blocked section, hated the way it was turning out, and ended up frogging ten rows of blanket. Otter, you'll appreciate this - I'm using Grandma's needles for the blanket! Our grandma was notorious for getting almost all the way done with a project, realizing she had made a mistake somewhere earlier, then ripping out the whole thing and starting again. I didn't rip out the whole thing - I kept the first 100 rows, so it's not too bad. But I'm waiting until I have time to go to the yarn store and ask for advice on how to proceed.

In the meantime, I've actually finished two other projects. The first was a birthday present for a friend - Matt bought a sock monkey for Brie, and wanted her name embroidered into a tattoo on its arm (like those commercials where the toys went crazy - do you remember them?). I've been putting it off for months, but tonight, I finished it! It wasn't hard at all, and it didn't take long to do, but I just didn't get around to it. Now, though, it's off the list!

The other project I finished (at 10:30, which is after I wanted to be in bed, and has delayed this post) is a sweater-turned-pillow. I started this one YEARS ago after finding this awesome yarn. Unfortunately, I didn't get enough to actually finish the sweater I started, but I really liked the pattern. So I modified it, and voila! Years later, a knit/crochet pillow cover. I'm pretty happy with it. And there's just enough of the yarn left to make a simple scarf or something small. Maybe.

So that's what I've done while waiting impatiently for the weekend.

Dream a little dream

2011-03-28T22:13:00.000-04:00

Before I forget, if I were you, I'd head over to read what Theresa had to say at edittorrent today - I was relieved to find out that I'm not just being a snob, I'm using the phrase properly! And yes, I'm a grammar geek.

And now, onwards with my own stuff!

I had some truly messed up dreams last night. I don't think I ate anything crazy, and I fell asleep watching one of the movies that I've watched hundreds of times, so I can't figure out why I had these dreams...

In the first one, I was at a restaurant downtown, and I was eating spaghetti (and twirling it with a spoon), and one of the doctors from work was sitting there, staring at me like I was crazy, because I was twirling my spaghetti. Then I woke up.

Then I fell asleep again, and I dreamt about a prison, where there was a group of women who were in this big room, wearing very unattractive orange jumpsuits. They were doing prison-y things, like hanging around and sitting on tables, until suddenly it was time for them to shower (GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!). One girl went in, and turned on the water but got distracted brushing her hair, so the next girl couldn't get her shower in time. The second girl, who was inexplicably played America Ferrara, was stuck standing outside of the bathroom in a terrycloth bathrobe (which was waaay too nice to be prison-issue). She got in trouble with the guards for not having a shower. As she was getting hauled off, swearing that it wasn't her fault, I woke up.

Then I fell asleep again, and my next dream starred Charlie Sheen. I was hanging out with him somewhere warm and sunny, beside a pool. Next thing I know, I'm in the pool, and sliding towards the deep end as Charlie warns me that there have been unattended children in the pool, and that I should watch where my feet go when I touch the bottom. Before I got to the bottom of the pool, I woke up.

Weird, no? I really can't explain the random celebrity cameos, especially since I don't watch Ugly Betty, and I haven't watched Two and a Half Men for a while. And I've got NO clue why a doctor was watching me eat spaghetti.

So tonight, I'll be watching Castle, eating chocolate, and crossing my fingers for some less weird dreams.

I love Buffy.

2011-03-25T22:49:00.001-04:00

Let me just say, you guys are awesome, blogglings! Thanks for the well-wishes in the comments and via text. I'm still sniffling, and my eyes are a bit itchy, but now that I've got my allergy drops, things are better.

Last night, I finished watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer again. I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've watched the whole series through, and it made me cry again. I think that's the mark of a good story - even though I knew how it ended, even though there was no element of surprise, even though I knew who would live and who would die - I had an emotional reaction to it. I connected with the characters. I could identify with their flaws, and I admired their strengths. Joss Whedon's world, the Buffyverse, was filled out. It wasn't just a random town with a bunch of demons thrown in. Buffy wasn't just some girl with superpowers. Spike wasn't just a blood-sucking fiend. Every character, even one like Anya, who was supposed to be almost one-dimensional because she was an ex-demon who didn't understand humans, every one of them was real to me. The writers on the show were consistent and true to the characters. If they hadn't been... I don't think I would have cried. Again.

My favourite part, though? I loved how the end of the series felt like the end of the series, but not the end of the characters lives. Granted, I now know that Joss went on to create a series of graphic novels that continue the story, but still, I didn't get the feeling that, once the show ended, the gang would go and rent an apartment in LA and sit around doing nothing.

And speaking of the Buffy graphic novels... I'm so disappointed that I can't read them! I tried. I picked one up at Barnes & Noble, and I tried, but my brain just doesn't like graphic novels. I feel all ADD, and I can't follow the flow, and it is incredibly disappointing!

But not as disappointing as hearing that there's talk of a new Buffy movie, and that Joss Whedon won't be involved. Seriously??? I'm a hard-core fan (you may have figured that out on your own...), but if Joss isn't involved, I won't be watching the movie.

Tonight, there is no photo of the blanket in progress, partly because my camera is running low on battery and I can't find the power cord, and partly because, well, it looks the same, just longer. But here are the stats:

Section A: 10/10 rows complete
Section B: 86/90 rows complete
Section C: 0/111 rows complete
Section D: 0/90 rows complete
Section E: 0/10 rows complete
Balls of yarn used up: 3
Total length: 13.25 inches
Percentage complete: 30%

And tomorrow, I think I'll head to the yarn store to get some professional advice on how to do the different colours...

I want to scratch my eyeballs out of my head

2011-03-23T21:40:00.000-04:00

I have allergies.

This isn't, like, news to me. I've had allergies for most of my life. And actually, the older I get, the more I seem to develop, which seems totally unfair, since the rest of the world apparently outgrows allergies with age.

Somehow, I managed to avoid most of the pollen issues that everyone seems to have in this area for my first three springtimes. Unfortunately, this year, it's getting to me. I'm having a hard time telling, though, if it's true allergies, or just due to the ridiculous levels of pollen in the air. Every morning, my red car looks yellow. And I've washed it twice in the last week.

In any case, my eyes are so itchy tonight that I can barely keep them open, so I'll be retiring now to listen to audiobooks and knit some dishcloths (because I can - and will - literally knit those with my eyes closed), and I'll try not to rub my eyes too much.

Man, if only I didn't spend my days working with eyes and knowing how bad it is to rub at them!

Day 5:
Section A: 10/10 rows complete
Section B: 62/90 rows complete
Section C: 0/111 rows complete
Section D: 0/90 rows complete
Section E: 0/10 rows
Balls of yarn used up: 2
Total length: 10.5 inches
Percentage complete: 23%

More POV musings and a new tracking thingy

2011-03-21T21:50:00.000-04:00

After writing about possibly trying the first-person POV last week, I feel like the universe is sort of conspiring to make me try... In my blogroll today, I came across this post about first-person. The whole thing has been marinating all day as I've been working on other projects at work, and I think I'm going to do it.

Well.

I'll try the first chapter or so. We'll see how it feels. The thing is, I've already started mentally rewriting it, and it feels good. I just need to try it on paper and share it with someone else, I think.

In other news, with Otter's maternity sweater done, I've moved on to Baby Bear's blanket. However, I work best when I feel pressure, so I'm creating pressure by posting my progress here. Until it's done, at the end of each blog post I'll be including the current progress of each section of the blanket, the number of balls of yarn used up, and frequent photos. If that doesn't motivate me... well, then the blanket won't get finished :)

Day 3:
Section A: 10/10 rows complete
Section B: 32/90 rows complete
Section C: 0/111 rows complete
Section D: 0/90 rows complete
Section E: 0/10 rows complete
Balls of yarn used up: 1
Total length: 7 inches
Percentage complete: 13.5%

Booooo! And also, first-person POV

2011-03-18T22:43:00.000-04:00

I was on a streak! I read two awesome books in a row, polishing each of them off in a single day. I was on a roll! I was ready to keep on going!

I picked up book number three, and just before the halfway point, the MC did something so stupid and out-of-character that I had to put the book down and walk away. Argh! I'm actually pissed off at the book right now, and it's been kicked under the bed. The stupid thing wasn't the only bit that irritated me, though it was what made me stop reading. I noticed that this book was really dated. The references, which would have been pretty current when it was published in 2007, just seem, well, dumb. And in ten more years, they just won't make any sense at all. Note to self: don't reference too much pop culture, or your book will get really old, really fast.

All three of the latest books (the two awesome and the one under the bed) had one thing in common - they were all written from the first person POV. Up until I read The Duff by Kody Keplinger, I had not read much that was written in first, and what I had read was chick-lit style (which I really enjoy, but it's not serious stuff (usually)). These days, there's more and more popping up, and I'm starting to find myself more open to reading it. I'm still not sure about things written in first-person present tense, but I'm working on it.

After reading these books, I started thinking about HEA, and the full re-write I'm going to start very soon, and I think that a first-person POV might actually be just what the book needs to feel right. It focuses entirely on Princess Jane (formerly Princess Martha Louise), and I really didn't get into much of anyone else's head in the first draft. I think I'll try the first couple of chapters and see how it's feeling. This might be what I need to feel better about the story. Wish me luck!

And I thought I didn't like mysteries!

2011-03-16T21:47:00.000-04:00

It turns out that I just don't like crappy mysteries!

I started reading Lisa and Laura Roecker's The Liar Society at lunch yesterday. I've been following their blog for months, and I enjoy it, so I made sure to bring a lunch that wouldn't be hard to eat while holding a book in my free hand. That was an excellent plan. I ended up coming back late from lunch because I didn't want to stop reading. And I took the book with me on my 15-minute break. And since it was raining when I left work, I sat in the car for a half-hour and read when I got home before I went inside. And then I curled up on the couch and read until my ride showed up to take me to dinner - with three chapters left! As soon as it was not-really-rude, I wrapped up dinner and hurried to my bedroom to finish the book. So I read the entire thing in a day. And I'm sooooo glad I did!

As I've said, I've followed Lisa and Laura online for a while, and I've found them really funny and entertaining. While I'm not a mom and I can't related to any of their kid stories, it hasn't mattered, because they still connect with me. I can say the same thing about The Liar Society - I'm not a teenager anymore, but the book connected. I loved the character of Kate. She was messed up and human, but lovable nonetheless. Her flaws were reasonable, and she made perfect sense as a girl whose best friend died a year ago. But even though she's got this whole 'damaged' thing going on, by the end, I got the sense that she would grow up to be okay. Not perfect, because who is? But okay, which is more than a lot of people can ask for.

I wasn't sure what to make of a lot of the male characters in the book, but honestly, that's exactly how I felt about the guys I knew back in high school, so it worked for me ;)

Also? LOVED the Latin throughout! I took some Latin, and I have a degree in Classics, so it totally thrills me every time I see it used in 'real life.' The other thing that it reminded me of was The Jewel That Was Ours by Colin Dexter. The subject matter was totally different (adult vs. YA), but it was the only other mystery that I've really enjoyed, and it [coincidentally?] also had lots of Latin and Classical references throughout.

Which brings me back to the title of this post: I have read so many mystery novels in the past year, and disliked all of them, that I was afraid I wouldn't like The Liar Society based on that. I was soooooo wrong! If you like funny, strong, normal(ish) female characters, you should go out and get this book. I've already got a list of people that are getting copies for birthdays/Christmas/Easter/Tuesdays!

Turn signals and other options

2011-03-14T21:48:00.000-04:00

I realize that some people are busy. I realize that not everyone feels that they have time to do everything that they want to do.

HOWEVER.

Some things are not options. Like turn signals. Using a turn signal to indicate your intention to change lanes or turn a corner is the law, people. IT'S THE LAW! So when you suddenly swerve in front of me without using your signal, don't get all huffy when I honk at you because you almost hit me. It's YOUR fault, Mr.-I-don't-think-traffic-laws-apply-to-me.

Also, when you run a VERY red light (as in two other cars went through the red light before you did), don't give ME a dirty look for almost getting hit by your crazy-driving-ass!

/end rant.

National Crafting Month

2011-03-11T22:13:00.001-05:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard by now about the earthquake in Japan. I hate how useless disasters like that make me feel. Maureen Johnson, though, isn't being useless. Check out her blog, and think about donating. ShelterBox seems, to me, to be a brilliant idea! If you're like me, trying to figure out some way to help from halfway across the globe, this could be your answer.

Now, on to my own stuff...

Did you know that this month is National Craft Month? That's what the big sign at JoAnn's told me yesterday, and I'm pretty psyched about it. If you haven't gathered from my other posts, I'm a big crafter. BIG. So it stands to reason that I should have BIG plans for this month.

So far, I've finished Otter's sweater, made her a card to go with it, a birthday card for Tanya, two back-up birthday cards, SIX bridal shower cards, three general cards, worked on Mum's cross-stitched Christmas stocking (for next year!), finished a dishcloth, and finished three more squares for my picnic blanket. And we're not even halfway through the month.

My goal in this National Craft Month is to finish up at least one of my other outstanding projects. I'm thinking the picnic blanket will get targeted, if only because I want to go on a picnic before it gets too hot out. Of course, the Hufflepuff scarf is another good candidate. Once one of those is finished, I'll move on to the next round of baby gifts (do people ever stop breeding??).

And, of course, I'll still be reading and writing.

Speaking of reading, I'm still working my way through Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. Today, when I sat down to open the book at lunch (because that's still when I do most of my reading), I realized that I'm almost done. It still doesn't feel like I've actually made any progress, if that makes sense. There was a lot of the story that was presented as dreams/memories, and I think that's why I feel like I'm still waiting for the story to get going. It's not dragging - I just feel like I'm waiting to get to the conflict, but the number of pages left makes me feel like I should expect the resolution soon. Once I'm finished, I'll be able to give you a better impression. I hope.

And speaking of writing, I sat down to continue editing "Happily Ever After" and realized that I need to just start over. But that's not a bad thing! The first draft let me get everything out. Now, I can start working on the story using the characters as I knew them by the end. Wish me luck!

YA has changed since my day...

2011-03-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

"Back in my day..."

Isn't that something my grandpa used to say? Yeesh. I swear, I'm not really that old! But to be honest, things have definitely changed since I was reading "Young Adult" books.

At work, we have this locker upstairs. It's full of the most random collection of books. I have no idea why it's there. I have no idea whose books they were. But every once in a while, when I forget my book at lunch, and there's nothing else to read in the kitchen, I'll grab one of them.

Lately, I've run into a lot of books by Caroline B. Cooney. I remember reading The Face on the Milk Carton when I was in junior high, and I got to thinking about the other books I read back then. I read some of the Sweet Valley High series, but I wasn't a big fan. However, I was a HUGE fan of Lurlene McDaniel - Six Months to Live, I Want to Live, Sixteen and Dying... I owned the entire Dawn Rochelle series, and most of the One Last Wish series, and I read them over and over and over again. And that just might have been the extent of my "Young Adult" reading. Honestly, back in the early 90's, there wasn't nearly as much to choose from. The YA section of my local library was made up of four shelves (not four shelving units, just four shelves) buried at the back of the regular fiction section. I read through that in one summer. It didn't take long for me to switch over to 'adult' books - I ended up a sci-fi/fantasy fan.

These days, though, there's sooooo much out there! And so much of it is aimed at girls! Now don't get me wrong, boys should have something to read, too, but I would have loved most of this stuff when I was the age of the target audience. Fourteen-year-old-me would have adored Twilight, even though I can't stand it now.

The content is much different, too. True, the whole paranormal thing has taken off like wildfire, but even with contemporary YA, things are different. The most obvious thing I can point out is sex. When I read Young Adult books, there was no mention of sex. At all. Kissing was a HUGE deal. Now, in books like Kody Keplinger's The Duff, it's not unusual for teenagers to have sex. In fact, it's accepted as normal. The Twilight series has sex. It's as if today's authors actually connect with their audience and don't try to paint them as their parents see them... which is not to say that's what authors did fifteen years ago. I just don't ever remember really relating to any of the characters in the books I read. Of course, that could be because I didn't have cancer and wasn't dying...

Fun fact: for years after reading Lurlene McDaniel's books, every time I had a bruise that I couldn't explain, I became absolutely convinced that I had leukemia and I would die a beautiful and tragic death. Now, however, I realize that I've become such a klutz that, unless bumping into something dramatically impedes my forward momentum, I don't even feel it. I just accept the bruises and wear long pants.

Letters to things

2011-03-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

I am totally snagging the awesome letter-writing-stylings of Kiersten White. You should go check out her blog, because she is really cool. And short! And her book, Paranormalcy, is a New York Times Bestseller (which I feel very guilty about not reading, because I read her blog faithfully, but I just don't like reading hardcover books - they don't feel right in my hands - so I'm waiting for the paperback edition).

And now, on to the letters!

Dear Spiders-who-look-like-dryer-lint,

   I know it's still a bit chilly outside. However, I would appreciate it if you would STAY OUT OF MY BEDROOM. I would also appreciate it if you would stop lurking in the basket of clean-but-unmatched-up-socks. There is very little that freaks me out as much as reaching to pick lint off of the sock I want to wear, then realizing the lint has legs and is moving towards me.

Arachnophobically yours,
Danielle

Dear Clean-but-unmatched-up-socks,

   I promise, I haven't forgotten you. I just had a lot to do this weekend, and getting you all back with your partners will have to wait until the rest of the laundry is washed and dried, the dishes are done, the carpets are vacuumed, the guest room is decluttered, and Otter's sweater is done.

Until my downtime,
Danielle

Dear Otter's sweater,

   Yes, I realize that you're a maternity sweater, and that we're on a deadline. I'm working my hardest to get everything else tided up, so I can work on you without getting you covered in dust or spiders or mis-matched socks. I'm not avoiding you, really! I can't wait to get back to enjoying our time together.

Hurrying through the dishes to get to you,
Danielle

Dear mean pug at the dog park,

   Don't bite my dog!

Snappishly yours,
Danielle

Dear Blogglings,

   I hope you've enjoyed my outbursts at (mostly) inanimate objects. I hope to finish reading another book to review soon, so we can return to a more writer-ly focus here. Until then, please enjoy visiting some of the awesome blogs I follow by clicking on the "Links" tab above, or just clicking on this link to Kiersten's blog.

Always (trying to be) entertaining,
Danielle

Where do I go?

2011-03-04T23:25:00.000-05:00

I've been busy today! I added the "Links" section to my blog, so you can see the places I visit when I'm surfing the web. The thing is, while I have close to a hundred blogs that I check out on a regular basis, I rarely comment on any of them. It's not that I don't like what I see - on the contrary! I love what I see, and I keep going back for more.

Unfortunately, it seems like most bloggers post either during the day (while I'm at work), or at night (while I'm asleep). There's nothing inherently wrong with these times (she says as she types tonight's blog at 11pm). Because I work in a medical office, we've got a fairly tight internet policy. While I can get away with reading one or two blogs for fun while I catch up on the latest medical news, I can't read all of the ones I want, and I certainly can't wander off and comment on them. When I do get a chance to make comments (usually after work), a lot of what I wanted to say has already been said, and I hate to comment with something like, "Yeah, I agree with Mr. X!"

What does all of this mean? Well, it means that the awesome people that I admire probably have no idea who I am.

Except for Lisa and Laura Roecker. They know who I am now. *squee!*

Do you know who they are? You should go check them out! Now! Go! I'll wait here until you get back.

Welcome back! Did you have fun over with LiLa? I'll bet you recognize the book below (since you clearly followed my directions and went to visit their blog!).

I went out and bought this book just after it came out (on March 1st). Turns out, I wasn't the only one. Another friend of mine, who is friends with Lisa and Laura on facebook, posted a photo of herself buying the book at our local bookstore, and I commented on the photo, saying that I had bought it, too.

Next thing I know, I wake up the next morning with a friend request! How cool is that??

Really, though, I think it's more than a little awesome that someone (well, two someones) that I have been admiring for months thought it would be a good idea to contact me. And it certainly doesn't hurt that they're uber-talented.

I'm planning to start (and finish) The Liar Society this weekend. I would have started it the same day I bought it, except I had three other books in progress, and that's my upper limit for multiple-reads.

Oh, right, there was one more thing! The new list of links is a work-in-progress, mostly because I follow so many blogs that I can't stare at the screen long enough to put them all up at once. Because it's so long, I don't think that many people will just go to that tab and start looking at all of them, all at once. So what I'm going to do is, every week or so, post a blog about these other blogs, and why I follow them. That way, you can a) get an idea of what they're about and b) get a bit of an idea about what I like to read.

Until next time, blogglings, have a nice weekend! And don't forget to visit Lisa and Laura Write!

Let's Take a Trip

2011-03-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

A guilt trip, that is.

I've gotta say, I'm tired of people trying to send me on guilt trips. Hello, raised a Catholic here! I've got lots of experience dealing with guilt! I've even felt guilty for not feeling guilty about things. How's that for a brain-bender?

Thing is, I'm completely capable of feeling guilty about things on my own. I don't need (or want) someone else to try to make me feel guilty about something. See, that has got an effect that is probably quite a lot different than what the person wanted.

Let's say that Bob wanted me to do something, but I had already made a commitment to Joe to do something at that same time. I'm going to honor my commitment to Joe, while feeling a little bit guilty about not being able to lend Bob a hand. However, I'll get over that guilt because I'm only human, and can only be in one place at a time (though it would be cool to be able to be in two places at once!).

Now let's say that Bob was unhappy that I had decided to honor my commitment and do whatever it was that I did for Joe instead of doing what Bob wanted me to do. Bob decided to try to make me feel guilty about not doing his thing, telling me how hard it was to do without me, or how much easier things would have been if I had been there, or maybe just repeatedly making pointed remarks about how long it has been since he's seen me around doing things with him. He's hoping that, by making me feel bad about not doing what he wanted me to, I'll give in next time and do what he wants.

Ha. No, actually, here's what he's done: he's made me mad. Like I said, I'm plenty capable of feeling guilty on my own. But to have someone try to force it on me? No way, buddy. Now, next time Bob asks me to do something, I'll make up a reason not to. And if he tries guilting me again? Next time, the reason will be something really lame, like "I have to relace all of my sneakers, sorry."

'Why am she telling us all of this?' you may ask. Well! I have an answer that's related to my blog! I want to incorporate this into a story somehow, but I'm not entirely sure how. I like the first-person sort of style for it, I think. It seems more, I don't know... familiar? And I think that guilt is very hard to show from a third-person POV.

What I'm really looking for are opinions - would you want to read about someone like this? What about someone who is like this, but doesn't consciously realize what she's doing? Is this more of a female trait than a male trait?

All opinions/suggestions are welcome!

Winners!

2011-02-28T20:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I took almost a month to actually post this... but I did indeed pick a winner from the comments left on this post!

Because there were only two comments, I decided to go with odd vs even, with commenter 1 being odd and commenter 2 being even (makes sense, right?). And the winner is:

Brad Jaeger! I'll be contacting you via email to figure out how to get your gift card to you. Congratulations!

And even though there weren't a lot of comments to choose from, it was fun for me to have a little contest, so expect to see more in the future. Any suggestions for a good reason for a contest?

I won something!

2011-02-25T22:35:00.000-05:00

That's right, I won! My writing got me a prize! That's the big secret I've been keeping for, like, a month. It wasn't some big (or little) writing-related prize, though, but that's not the important thing.

I won a makeover through Xenos hospitality! I signed up for a retreat, and because I signed up early, I won a chance to enter for a career makeover. All I had to do was write an essay telling them why I thought I would be a good candidate, so I did just that.

Before - You can't quite see it here, but my hair is almost down to my waist.

The experience was AMAZING! I started off with a consultation with Karen Hughes of Image Assets. We spent the entire day together, and I learned what colours look best on me, the types of clothes I should seek out and the types I should avoid, and lots about skincare and what would be the best type and colour of makeup to wear.

Next, I got started with my empowerment coaching with Beth McKinnon of NowBeth. I really had no idea what to expect from this coaching - was it going to be some weird new-agey thing that didn't make any sense? No! It's actually been very helpful. Beth was able to help me figure out what is important to me, the values that I seek, and then set some goals for various aspects of my life to help incorporate those values. She's helping me to figure out what I want, and a way to get it.

After that, there was more on the outside - I got my teeth whitened with the ZOOM laser whitening system at Macon Smiles, with Dr. Sheila Shah. That was... interesting. I saw some 'during' photos, and I think that if I had seen those earlier, I might have thought twice about getting it done! But I'm really happy with the result.

I also got a new haircut at Chadwick Hudson Salon. You know, I had always thought that hair was just hair. It sat on my head, and while I sometimes did pretty things with it, it was mostly just, well, there. This cut, though... wow. It's changed how I feel about myself, I think. I love that I cut off enough hair to be able to donate to Locks of Love - it felt good knowing that someone else could benefit from this wonderful gift I've been given. Losing more than 10 inches of hair has been a big change, but I love the new cut! It's been so easy to style and take care of. I was afraid I'd have to spend a lot more time on it, but I was wrong! LOVE! (Have I mentioned how much I love the new cut? And the colour?)

I got new glasses from Primary Eyecare Associates, too. While I only really use my glasses to watch movies at the theatre, or to drive at night, it was still fun to go and pick out a new pair. Their selection was great, too, which made the decision harder!

Finally, I got to have a "Shop Like a Rock Star" party at fab'rik boutique. That was just all sorts of fun! It was like playing dress-up, but more grown up. I picked out a few things that I liked, then the salesperson picked out tons more, based on what I liked, and how things fit me. I ended up finding way more than I could really afford to buy, but their prices and selection were great, so I know that I'll be back again (and again, and again!)

After - MUCH shorter hair! And a happier me! Seriously, couldn't stop grinning that night!

It really has been an amazing experience - I hope you can all go to visit the Xenos website and check out the video as soon as it's up. I'll let you know when the whole process is available to see.

A few more things crossed off my lists

2011-02-23T23:11:00.000-05:00

I've finally finished listening to the Librivox recordings of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. That took... a while. Five volumes, each with 40-70 recordings. Yowza. As I listened to it, I remembered why it took me an entire summer to read the book while I was in high school. It wasn't that I'm a slow reader. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), Hugo tends to be more of a historian than a story-teller, which results in a book that isn't particularly interesting to me for large chunks. There were, like, nineteen chapters on the battle of Waterloo. And three on the history and anatomy of the sewer systems of Paris. All I really needed to know was that Jean Valjean was in the sewers. It didn't make any difference to the story that he was in the section that was built under... um... someone's reign. See how much it mattered to me?

But the heart of the story was good, and when he got on a roll with story instead of history, I was captivated. There were times that I would sit in my car for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes after I got home, just to hear the rest of the section. I think, though, that it will be another fifteen years before I reread it again.

I also finally finished the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Wow. I've been working on this series since I picked up the first book almost fifteen years ago. I reread the series every time a new one came out, up until the last three. At that point, I knew that the series would be wrapping up, so I waited until it was finished to read the whole thing once more. I started again over the summer, and this weekend, I finished the last book.

I'm feeling a bit, well, ambiguous about it. The ending fit the rest of the books. It worked out well, and it tied together whole chunks from the beginning that I was wondering about. There were some bits that didn't make sense, and all of the characters have a tendency to deliver monologues rather than actually having discussions with one another, but aside from that, I enjoyed the series. It wasn't nearly as over-written as I found the Wheel of Time series to be - I stopped reading at book 7, and I've had no desire to pick it back up. At the same time, it's sad, because I've waited so long to find out what happens, and now that I know, well... hmm.

Can you tell I've been making up for lost reading time? I also finished Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. It was in the cupboard at work, so I picked it up and read it during my lunch breaks. It was okay. It wasn't as if it were poorly written. It was actually the story that I didn't like. She wrote it well, don't get me wrong! Rebecca (the MC) just made me uncomfortable. I think it was the situation that she had managed to get into that didn't sit well with me. Please, don't skip this book just because I didn't enjoy it - as I said, it was very well written, and the characters were nicely developed, and it is clearly a book that many others have enjoyed.

I've started reading Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. I read Wicked years ago, and loved it. Of course, I also loved Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister and Mirror, Mirror, so I'm expecting to enjoy this one. I'm only about 50 pages in, but I'm liking it. I'll give you a final verdict when I'm done. :)

I was going to start listening to another audiobook, but I found the most random-ass mix cd in my car, and I can't stop listening to it. I'm pretty sure that Otter made it for me - it's labeled "Princess/Disney Mix," and I was expecting a few songs from The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. Instead, it's got the standard princess songs, mixed with the soundtrack from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, Shrek, Peter Pan and some other craziness, all in one. There are 148 tracks!! So I'll be listening to it for a while before I switch back to a book.

And that's what I've been up to! (Well, partly. But you have to wait until Friday to hear about the secret I'm keeping.)

Bad, bad blogger

2011-02-21T23:18:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I've been a bad blogger this past week. Please forgive me, blogglings.

The thing is, there's this really cool thing happening in my life, but I'm supposed to keep it secret-ish until Thursday. But all the pieces have been coming together this week, which has been a) keeping me busy and b) making me think of nothing but this super-fun secret.

So tonight's blog sucks, and Wednesday's will probably suck, too, but FRIDAY! Friday will rock, because I'll fill you in on all of the awesome!

Stick with me, blogglings, and you'll see the awesome secret for yourselves, I swear!

D'oh!

2011-02-14T22:33:00.000-05:00

I had a great post all planned for tonight, but it fell out of my head. I have a good excuse, though - I've misplaced my phone.

I went to send a text message, and my phone wasn't in the outside pocket of my purse. Or the inside pocket. Or the back pocket. Or the big main part. Or my jacket pocket. Or my uniform pockets.

Now, I remember checking my messages just before the end of the day, because I got stuck at work late. I suspect I may have set my phone down on my desk and just forgotten it there in my rush to get the heck out of there before I got asked to do something else.

Unfortunately, my whole evening has been sort of overtaken by this whole missing-phone-thing. I'm actually quite worried about tomorrow morning, because I use it as my alarm. I'm hoping I don't oversleep... because even if I do, I can't call my boss to let her know!

Yeesh. This sucks. Stupid no-phone.

A Little to the Right

2011-02-09T23:24:00.000-05:00

I walked outside with a friend tonight, and as we stepped out, she exclaimed, "Shit, it's raining!" - which is exactly what I was thinking.

Except it wasn't.

As we stepped out from under the awning, we didn't get wet. Not even a little sprinkle. But we could clearly hear the rain. We looked around and realized that it was raining. To our right. About five feet to our right.

That was just weird. Weather is made of crazy this year, I think. How about you, blogglings? Any crazy weather just to your right lately?

"Chalk-flavoured candy and $30 roses", or "Why I hate Valentine's Day"

2011-02-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, I said it. I hate Valentine's Day.

I think everyone is entitled to one hated holiday, be it Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Arbor Day... whatever. My hated holiday is Valentine's Day.

There are a lot of historical reasons for this, which I won't go into here. Suffice to say, I've had a great big pile of really crappy Valentine's Days, from failed fondue nights to a guy who decided the best gift was a half-assed, last minute email, after making a big deal about how he loved to celebrate the holiday and thereby convincing me to make a big deal about it.

The other major part of the hate comes from how freaking commercial this holiday is. It's the most ridiculous thing! Flowers that I can normally get for about $10 suddenly skyrocket to $20, $30, or more! Now don't get me wrong - I love flowers. LOVE. To the extent that I'll buy myself a bouquet every couple of weeks, just because they're pretty. But from the middle of January until almost the end of February, I have to stop, because the prices shoot up like crazy.

And the candy! I've never been a fan of cinnamon hearts, but they're everywhere. And while I appreciate the cute idea of those little candy hearts with messages on them, most of them taste like chalk. And the ones that don't? They're twice the price of the chalk-flavoured ones.

In summary, I don't like Valentine's Day. If I could avoid it, I would never celebrate it again. Unfortunately, it's everywhere. Excuse me while I go buy the expensive, non-chalk-flavoured message hearts.

Long, long, long, long week.

2011-02-05T01:57:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks that just kept going and going and going? It felt like you never got to take a break? That's what I had this week. I was actually afraid that it was going to continue on into this weekend, but one of my obligations was postponed, so I may get a chance to just sit and knit for a bit (because just sitting still would be, well, weird).

I've got to say, I'm over this whole rain thing. It's been raining almost constantly for most of the week. Gray, dreary skies do not make for happy people, and not-happy people are just no fun. Also, rain makes it less than pleasant to go to the dog park.

Last Sunday, I took Mia to the dog park for the first time. She was a bit freaked out when we got there, because we drove. Well, I drove, and she rode in the car. She's not a big fan of cars. But we made it there in one piece, and headed straight for the small dog section. I figured, since it was her first time, and since she was still recovering from Bella (hi, Otter!), the small dog section was our best bet.

I let her off the leash right away, but she didn't go too far at first, which was a good feeling for me. She wandered around, sniffed at some stuff, then came back to me. It looked she had managed to get a piece of foam stuck to her lip with all of the sniffing, so I reached out to wipe it away. It wasn't a piece of foam. No, it was drool. For the next half hour or more, Mia drooled and drooled and drooled. And also wiped her face on my pants.

It was the weirdest thing! I've never seen her drool like that before! I really wish I had managed to get a photo, because it was just crazy-looking. As she relaxed, though, and started playing with the other dogs, the drooling decreased, so I figured it was just her being freaked out by something new.

Maybe by next weekend, the weather will have dried up, and I can take her again. And maybe get some pictures of the epic drool.

Woman on the Edge!

2011-02-02T23:03:00.000-05:00

*twitchtwitch*

You know how on Monday I talked about how I do too much? Yeah. I was right. And while I enjoy being right, the thing that I'm right about kind of sucks.

Because I have, like, eighty bajillion other things that HAVE to get done (i.e. they have deadlines between now and Sunday), tonight's blog is going to be the thing on the list that gets short shrift.

To all of my blogglings out there, I apologize. I don't think there are many of you out there who are hanging on my every word, waiting impatiently for my next post, but if you are - well, cool! And I'm really sorry that I'm not more useful tonight.

I'm off to cross more stuff off my list, so that hopefully Friday's blog will be filled with less suck and more Yay!

Great Expectations

2011-01-31T20:20:00.001-05:00

I know that I'm an over-achiever. I'm also pretty hard on myself, and after yesterday, I think I may have to lower my expectations.

Here's the deal: on Sunday evening, I was lamenting the fact that I hadn't accomplished anything all weekend. I thought about it for a minute, then realized that I did get some stuff done. I wasn't sure if it was enough, though, so I sat down and made a list.

baked and frosted a cake
vacuumed (with some help!)
washed one load of dishes
washed, dried, and folded four loads of laundry
hemmed curtains (which are, like, a mile long and curvy)
made a sample scrub cap from two different patterns that I sort of merged into one
wove in ends and finished eight dishcloths
made french toast
went grocery shopping
went to dance rehearsal (about 2 hours)
went to theatre rehearsal (about 4 hours)
ripped four cds to my computer and updated my music software
took Mia to the dog park (more on that later!)
changed my sheets
changed my nailpolish
took out the garbage

And all that is in addition to hanging out with my SO and going out to eat a couple of times. When I sat down and looked at that list, I realized that I did a lot. A LOT! Especially considering that I had two rehearsals, plus an hour or so at the dog part, plus shopping.

So maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I think the problem is that I keep looking at all of the things are still left to do, unfortunately. But I'm going to work on it, because I'm tired of feeling like I'm not good enough. Wish me luck!

Random free stuff!

2011-01-29T16:42:00.000-05:00

Apologies for missing my post yesterday - it was a crazy day, and I ended up being out super-late. However, today's post might make up for it!

Yesterday, one of the ladies at work gave me a bottle of wine as a thank-you for helping her with an uber-project (started on Jan 3, finished on Wednesday!). It was really sweet of her, and totally unexpected. Then another one of the ladies came in and dropped off a book for me. It was a book of knitting patterns, and it was a 'just because' thing - she saw it and thought of me.

That totally rocked! I love random free stuff!

And I'll be that a lot of you like random free stuff, too! So today, I'm gonna pay it forward and give away random free stuff. If you comment on today's post before midnight next Saturday (February 5th), you'll be entered in a draw for a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card!

How's it going to work? Next weekend, after midnight on Saturday, I'll use a random number generator to pick from the comments on this post. I'll announce the winner here, and then I'll email you to figure out the details of how to get your prize to you. Sound good? I hope so!

Happy commenting!

I don't know if I liked it...

2011-01-26T23:24:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I went to see Black Swan. If I had to categorize it, well, I'd probably lose my job. I saw a review of it in a magazine (sorry, I can't remember which one!), and they called it a "psychosexual ballet thriller." Um. Is there another movie in that category? Because I can't think of one.

Anyways.

I still can't decide if I enjoyed the movie or not.

Here's the deal: I wasn't a big fan of the cinematography. There was a lot of hand-held, bouncing around type shots, and I don't do well with those on a big screen. They just mess with my head and make me want to close my eyes. However. They really contributed to the whole 'descent into madness' thing that was going on, so I understand the choice to do it that way.

There were a bunch of things that happened in the movie that made me cringe. I'm trying not to give away any spoilers, but suffice to say that there were several instances of bloody body parts (such as ballerina feet - although Natalie Portman's feet weren't nearly as disgusting as most ballerina feet) that made me feel a little icky. Or a lot icky. Again, though, I'm pretty sure that was the reaction that the director was going for, so it worked.

The choreographer/artistic director's accent reminded me a lot of what I had seen of Andre Lewis, the artistic director for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, so it made the character more realistic to me. Of course, all I've seen of M. Lewis was his pre-show talks, so please don't interpret this as me claiming that M. Lewis is ANYTHING like the character in the movie. From what I've seen of him, M. Lewis is a very respectable man, and I think he's got a remarkable vision for the Ballet.

The movie was much more sexual than I had expected, but it wasn't gratuitous - it all served to move the story forward, or to reveal more about the characters. The ending... well, I'm still not sure how I feel about that. I'm a bit confused about the physiological possibility of it. But hey, it's art, so I'll accept it.

I liked the movie. I liked the plot, I liked the characterization, I liked how I got drawn in. I LOVED that the Swan Lake music was used throughout the whole thing, even in the Chemical Brothers song in the club scene.

I'm just not sure I enjoyed it. There were a lot of cringing moments, and a lot of things jumping out from behind people (which I don't like).

But it was good! I think that, if I were more of a fan of thrillers, I would definitely have enjoyed it. As it is, I will settle for "I liked it." And I'll probably watch it again, except next time, it will be on my TV, with all the lights on.