So Much to Say. . .

. . . and yet I realise that most successful posts are short and sweet.

It snowed a whomp-ass lot of snow here. We've gotten maybe 9 or 10 inches and I think it's still going. Naturally, I was forced to get my stuff on and go play in it today. I mean, how could I not? So whilst MuNKi wrangled the snowblower and cleared the driveway, I built snow forts with the kids. Pictures will have to come tomorrow, but it was pretty good weather for it, since it was 34-36 degrees F while we were out there. We've really got to get one more big pair of gloves though, because one of our "pairs" consists of 2 left hands, and Mollusc wears the same size I do now, so at first I wore one of Fishy's gloves and one of the 2 lefts, which got cold in a hurry, and then MuNKi gave me the other big set and wore a giant Air Force mitten and an oven mitt. ^_^

After snow play, it was time to make Buckeyes, since the garage is perfect for the setting-up process in this weather. I have to stop making those. They're so yummy I'm forced to eat them even when I'm full.

From there we proceeded to a fabbo supper from MuNKi's new cookbook (it was even the recipe shown on the cover there) and a viewing of some episodes of Red Green (another of MuNKi's Christmas presents.) I have to say that I really am benefitting from his gifts as much as he is. ^_^

Oh, and we had a fabbo trip to WI last week. We were spread pretty thin over the various familial units at times, but it was a great adventure all around, and we even got together with our friend Frank Sommers and a bunch of his girls, upon which he presented us with 2 copies of Going Great White. (Insanely clever people will click on "Buy DVD" in that linked page. ^_^ ) MuNKi and I watched it tonight and it's a scream! It totally kicks Best of Show's ass. I mean TOTALLY. MuNKi and I are credited, so we can have our own IMDb pages if we want, though MuNKi will have to use his middle name or something, since his has already been sucked up by another famous actor. ^_^ It was funny and cool seeing ourselves in a film. ANd, yeah, I want to do it again. :)

I keep getting stuck and unstuck in my novel. What a painful, yet alternately joyful process. :-P

Oh yeah, and we're down to just the one car now that MuNKi's work has reclaimed the work Jeep. Bummer. And I lost his cell somewhere in WI, too. Possibly in a snowbank. At least it was broken, so it's not a hugely huge loss. Or so I tell myself. I dunno what he's gonna tell the folks at work, though. Urf. Well, screw 'em for taking his car away. That's like a massive pay cut, so yeah, screw 'em.

Sink, Dollar, Sink!

So was it bad of me to root for the dollar to sink so that my payment from Xcite books in British pounds would be worth more? ^_^

The new book of short stories (including mine) is out.

Shameless Spam

Wa hay! It's shameless self-promotion Wednesday! That's the book my story is in. Xcite press has asked me to solicit Amazon reviews for it, so if you like that sort of reading, check it out. ^_^ (click the pic to go to Amazon)

Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel

My sis is on the news AGAIN! :) If you click on this and scroll down to the bottom right where it says "Featured Videos" and then click on the Madison Area Music Awards link, you can see my sis and 2 of the other Getaway Drivers (Bob Manor on the left, Steve Pingry on the right) performing "Won't Ask Why."

Cool!!

We actually SKIPPED our class and sparring tonight in order to go see a bat presentation. Why, why, WHY did I not think to bring my camera? Wah! There were some cool bats there, and the last Batguest was a 1 day old "big brown bat." She was teensy. And very, very cute. I am SO putting up a bat house. (Yes, this is HIGHLY encouraged by bat conservators.)

Some Batfacts:

Bats are responsible for pollinating agave plants (Tequila!) and saguaro cacti. In fact, they are the ONLY pollinators of the saguaro. Additionally, bats are replenishing the rainforests (not so much here in MI, though) and they eat 600 to 1,200 mosquitos and other bugs per hour!! A few cities around here have passed resolutions asking homeowners to put up bat houses in order to help stop the spread of West Nile disease.

If you want to learn more about bat conservation and bathouses, or if you'd like to help out by sponsoring a bat, check out the OBC. Or go here for lots of fun Batfacts.

I kinda think the OBC should team up with these guys. Don't you?

Unfailing

When I was in 3rd grade I failed art class. (I think I've probably mentioned this before.) It turns out I suck at macrame (because, really, who cares about succeeding at that?) and crocheting. I remember my parents being somewhat befuddled as to how to treat my abject failure at the finer (or perhaps duller) arts. I come from two parents who always did well in school, and with the exception of that big old F, I always did, too. Usually effortlessly. Thankfully, my parents apparently found themselves unable to make a big deal out of it, and even though I thought that perhaps this failure should shame me, I couldn't get it to really bother me because deep down, I knew it just didn't matter.

But in the back of my mind, for almost 30 years now (cringe), I've also felt that, ultimately, I couldn't let the yarn win. So tonight I made my first Granny square. It took several different web pages of instructions, but I did it. And it really wasn't all that hard.




I also uploaded a bunch of pics tonight that I'd been putting off cropping and uploading, so tomorrow should finally be a photo-heavy post.

This afternoon I finished Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (yes, I cried) and I started The Colour of Magic. (My library even has the proper English version -- hooray!) I'm about a third of the way through. It's very amusing. I've bought other Discworld books but then put off reading them for fear of wrecking them by not doing them in the right order. Now I've got my hands on #1 there's no stopping me.

I know that Wednesday is supposed to be Anti-Procrastination Day, but I guess I put it all off until today. ^_^

Expanding and Contracting

I got my first contract in the mail today. (Some of my other stuff has paid, but there haven't been contracts before now.) They're paying me £50. While this is not enough for me to begin living an expansive lifestyle, I'm pretty excited. ^_^

Things I'm Afraid to Post About. . .

. . .in case of offending. But I have this thing about doing things that scare me. Like riding the scary bike at COSI.(a variation on this theme)

I got an acceptance letter from an editor today. One of my tawdry stories will be in a book.

I have invented the anal bead rosary. Brilliant, eh? Anyone want to help me patent it? ^_^

My short posts do much better than my long ones, so I'll leave it at that.

"Everyone's Irish Tonight"

More fame for my lovely sister by way of NPR. Looks like the audio for the whole interview will be available later today, but 3 of the songs from their new CD are already available there. My favourite is Ellas Mari.

MuNKi made more fantabulous bread yesterday. Pics to follow.

My stomach muscles are sore because I decided it was finally time to get serious about those push ups and sit ups for black belt testing. I did the 150 sit ups yesterday and again today. As for push ups, I could only manage 70 yesterday without fear of my arms giving way and my beak getting smashed on the floor. And today I only pulled off 50.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day. I dropped MuNKi at the house of friends so he could help with painting while I taught kids' class. There wasn't supposed to be any sparring, but 2 of the kids' parents didn't see the sign, so I was stuck there for another hour, but it was OK because we ended up playing dodgeball, soccer, and all kinds of made-up games while we waited for the parents. Then it was off to help with the painting while our kids all played together. It's a very fun and sociable thing helping to paint someone's house (interior) and we had a great time.

Today it's off to Ann Arbor to check out what is said to be the largest Chinese grocery store around here. I hope to return home with strange and interesting finds. And plenty of Haw treats. I was going to say that the Haw Flakes packaging hasn't changed since I was a kid in Hong Kong. That was true as of the last time I bought some (last summer maybe) but I see in this WikiLink that it finally has. Most of the Chinese stuff still has the same package it did when I was little, which I love, because it makes everything so easy to find. And of course there's the nostalgia factor. Here in the States, packaging seems to be different every time you go back to the store.

This leads me to slight rant about the constantly changing styles of women's shoes and clothing. Over the last 15 years at least, MuNKi has been able to buy the exact same tennis shoes every time they wear out. But when I find something I like, by the time they wear out (about 3 years later usually - I'm not a big shoe-wearer) the old style is nowhere to be found and I have to start all over again looking for womething that feels right. Same goes for jeans and even undies. Not fair, say I. I know, I know. Life isn't fair; the Fair's in July. But still. . .

And on the subject of shoes, Mollusc has decided to enter a 5K run-walk to help support our local library and she wants me to enter with her. Much as I loathe distance running, this will be very good for us because it's in June, so getting ready for this should help us both in our black belt testing in August. I realise that to a serious runner 5K hardly qualifies as any sort of distance, but trust me, to this sprinter it's a big deal. ^_^
****Edit****

As of 1:30 Eastern, Navan's article is the #1 most emailed story from NPR!

Success!

OK, so Egan will hate this (the song and the cats) and Diesel might hate this (singer somewhat Bluntesque) but I must joyfully proclaim my YouTube success from the mountaintops. Or at least from the chair in the office.

Basically this is a love note to my family. I apologise that it's not more relevant to the Blogging scene, but there you are. Stand back, World. The only things standing between myself and World Domination now are spray cheese and shoelaces. Oh and lots and lots of Jell-O™.

Hmmm. Everything seems to flash a millisecond too late. More tweakage required I guess.

Relief Worker

I've been saved. Saved I tell you. By my wonderful GuTTer MuNKi. He has done some sort of Wizardry (don't worry, cleanup was minimal and no one saw the naked-dancing-around-the-bonfire part AFAIK) and has resurrected my project and yea (Biblical "yea") even burned the sucker onto a DVD. Hallelujah, Jaffar!!!

And so Adobe may live to die another day.

I see that Sluggie takes after her mother because last night the kids watched "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" at a friend's house and then she wrote a hate letter to the screenwriter because he killed off the ant. She hasn't mailed it. It was really just a cathartic exercise (much like my blogging) but she is rather eloquent in her spewing of vitriol, I must say. Mama is so proud. ^_^ This could be a genetic thing. MuNKi's grandfather used to pen letters to congressfolk back in the day. His letters always began the same way: "You Dirty Carp!" Needless to say, Grandpa M LOATHED carp.

Even though MuNKi was able to breathe life into my monster ("it is aliiiiiiiiiive!") I think it's too big to YouTube. Bummer. MuNKi says he can help me with a youTube version though. Someone deserves a gigantic reward. ^_^

Even though I have fallen down on the presentation front, I do have something fabulous for you anyway. Check this out. That's my uncle. (No, not the woman on the home page, silly! The photographer!) Yes, artistic greatness flows through my veins. Hopefully it hasn't all flowed out through the many cuts and scrapes that I've sustained over the years. I'm doing my best to tap into it. And Joe has been extremely kind in helping me to ensure that I am not at home to Mr. Cock-up. Thank you, Joe!!

"I'll catch you on the flipside. . ." ^_^

Go Trudy!

Wow! The first song from the new Getaway Drivers CD is #1 in the Indie Rock category at Acid Planet right now. :) Go check it out, eh? (play button to the right) Go sis!! ^_^

Sorry? You didn't order SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, Trudy, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM? How about the SPAM special? ^_^

Random Item of the Day: While I think that French can be a beautifully expressive language, there are some things that just don't come off very well in translation, the name Capitaine Crochet being one of them. ^_^