Brrrrr!!! It snowed today. Really just flurries. And actually, I just threw a hooded sweatshirt over my shirt and the kids just wore fleece jackets, so it wasn't that big of a deal. The unfun part has been sitting on the couch by the (unlit) fireplace cuz a) the wind comes sweeping o'er the plain and down the chimney and straight though the living room and b) that blasted window by that couch that may as well have no glass. I stood some couch cushions on the sill - very high tech - and that's helped some, but the only thing that really did the trick was 40 pushups.
You know, though, I feel like a total wuss complaining after watching the interviews about filming Beowulf. They're great - EVERYBODY has something to say about that Icelandic weather. :o) I need to focus on being glad I'm not in Iceland. Unless one of those big warriors would help keep one warm. . . *evil grin*
I taught TKD class this morning but the kids were definitely in full moon mode today. It was all right in the long run, but that cute little newbie cried for the last half. We never figured out what was wrong. Poor little guy. I hope he doesn't quit. I can tell that he has potential already. He's really physically advanced for his age.
Our class was easy - too easy - but that's OK I guess. John and another guy are both suffering from the after-effecs of nasty colds, so they can hardly breathe. We didn't stay for sparring cuz we figured it wouldn't be a great idea for John, plus the last thing we need to do is roll an ankle and break it right before wee test. Yeah - we're pansies aren't we?
Swimming tomorrow!! Yippee!! I've dropped through a new weight threshold. I'm getting to the point where there's not much left to lose. I'm shrinking out of my TKD pants, but I can't get a smaller size cuz they'll be too short. My belt has gotten longer. Weird. I shrank out of my bathing suit a while ago and had to get a new one cuz the old one fell off when I swam and dived. D'oh! I'm happy about it, though, of course!
Prawnie fell asleep on the couch plugged into the MP3 player this afternoon. Very cute! I got up to take a pic and she woke up but promptly feigned sleep again when she saw I was trying to take a pic. What a ham. Someday I'll figure out what's up with my website and post some more pics. (I think I reached the limit of my picture storing capabilities.)
I'm outlining the new book and have gotten almost through, but there are a few little things I need to work out. All part of the process.
Mollusc is making some really lovely subtle jokes and observations these days. She definitely has my bizarre sense of humour. She and Sluggie are both drawing up a storm lately. They're showing soome real talent. I'd love to get to the DIA eventually, though don't really want to take the kids solo since it sounds like it's not in a great part of the city. Man! I didn't know until posting that link that it's the 5th largest museum in the country. Cool! I know they have a Cassat or 2 there that I'd love to see. Maybe while John is off during Thxgiving vacation.
Off to the tub for now.
Music of the day: You wouldn't seriously be asking would you? It's The Phantom of the Opera movie soundtrack of course!! All day, every day, baby! Sigh.
I need to figure out how to contact Andrew Lloyd Weber so I can send him a big THANK YOU! What amazing, inspiring, fantastic music!
Sheila, if you haven't seen it yet, you're absolutely nuts. Tell me any movie - even a gory awful horrid one, and I swear I'll watch it if you'll watch POTO. Better yet, come visit me and watch it here! :oD I miss you! It sucks not living by family.
That's the only thing that really sucks about living here. The rest is pretty awesome - great scenery, milder weather (than WI), great people, awesome TKD studio, FANTASTIC homeschooling law. People in the city can get a bit "East Coasterly" by which I mean that they don't look at you or say "hi" or anything I guess - I havent come across that yet. Oh and the concept of "customer service" is pretty much an alien concept here. That's bizarre. But here in our town that's not the case. The driving - I don't find it any worse than anywhere else, just different. I far prefer the highway driving to that in CA. Those folks are crazy, IMO. They don't get in the lane they need 'til the absolute last second and then they cut you off. Here, they get in like half an hour before they need to, so that can be a little frustrating if they make a big backup, but preferable to the swerving straight at you thing. WI was messed up, too. Very inconsiderate drivers - "you want to get in this lane? Not on MY watch!!" Here they're a LOT more considerate. If you're waiting to pull out onto a busy road, someone will stop and let you out, guaranteed. I think the scariest place I've ever been on the road was Texas, though. I'm trying to figure out if part of that was due to not having been in a car for 6 weeks or however long 8? It's all a blur now(Air Force basic training) and then being overwhelmed by it, but, no, I think those Texas drivers are just bloodthirsty maniacs.
Well, the poor Phantom is on his way down once more to the dungeons of his black despair and it's time for me to head down the hall to the tub.
Ourfeetaresore (deutsch)
Hastylumbago (espangnol)
Ariverdirty (italiano)
oh enough language corruption already
annyong hee kaseyo
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Introducing the new Bond Girl:
Me!
Yes, that's right, as soon as the list of qualifications includes the following. (translation to Bond girl assets in italics)
-ability to hike while slinging a baby all day long (for the uninitiated, this does not refer to throwing the babe, but to wearing the baby in a sling) Strong, with great endurance
-real stretch marks (not those lame Hollywood prosthetics) from heroically carrying multiple children to term and just as heroically squeezing them out of one's body without killing anyone in the process Men say they like "real" women these days, also not a wimp - can take pain and hard work on the set
-Tae Kwon Do skills (hey, I'm a gold medalist in both forms and sparring, LOL!) and VERY fierce when protecting children Can do one's own fight stunts
-ability to nurse a toddler in public with one arm tied behind one's back Strong arms and not ashamed of breasts
-ability to tailor the answers of difficult questions so that they are comprehensible to those with less life experience Can work with dialogue issues
-ability to make up spur of the moment songs to fit any situation Able to improvise
-Ability to work with with dirt, grime, muck, sludge. Able to clean up others' disgusting bodily funtions while maintaining a supportive, sypmathetic and cheerful attitude even at 4 am after being awake all night Not a prima donna - works well in exotic locations without whining
-ability to play the piano while answering multiple questions Musical and multitasking - can play piano and flirt with Bond simultaneously
-ability to remain calm in the face of major financial disaster, household disaster etc. Doesn't go postal on the production company if the check is late, can act calm when being pursued by multiple henchmen
-ability to function at a high level on sparse amounts of sleep and food excellent when the shooting days get long and the catering truck has crashed enroute to the site
Come to think about it, Bond girls are just a shadow of most real moms. ;o)
Feel free to add to the list of qualifications if you have some of your own. :o)
I have to attack the house a bit. Right now the spring inside me is coiled pretty tightly, but I'm going to make myself write a bit more first before I let it loose. Then I can rush around getting things done really quickly and be more brutal when getting rid of stuff.
It was flurrying outside a wee bit ago. Brrr.
Enough procrastination and warm-up for now.
I changed my profile pic. It was pretty entertaining sitting there on the bed doing self-portraits. I'm developing that skill as a new art form. ;o) The best part of self-portraiture is that you always know exactly when the shutter's going to be released.
Robin, if you're reading this, I JUST NOW got a call for dh from a headhunter. I'm going to email you his name and # in case your dh can use it.
Wow, there is a cold wind blowing on me from the closed window. Good grief. I wish we had Andersen windows like in the last house! They NEVER let in the cold air. When I used the oven, I'd actually have to OPEN the windows in the middle of winter to let the extra heat OUT. Ahhhh, those were good windows. . .
Yes, that's right, as soon as the list of qualifications includes the following. (translation to Bond girl assets in italics)
-ability to hike while slinging a baby all day long (for the uninitiated, this does not refer to throwing the babe, but to wearing the baby in a sling) Strong, with great endurance
-real stretch marks (not those lame Hollywood prosthetics) from heroically carrying multiple children to term and just as heroically squeezing them out of one's body without killing anyone in the process Men say they like "real" women these days, also not a wimp - can take pain and hard work on the set
-Tae Kwon Do skills (hey, I'm a gold medalist in both forms and sparring, LOL!) and VERY fierce when protecting children Can do one's own fight stunts
-ability to nurse a toddler in public with one arm tied behind one's back Strong arms and not ashamed of breasts
-ability to tailor the answers of difficult questions so that they are comprehensible to those with less life experience Can work with dialogue issues
-ability to make up spur of the moment songs to fit any situation Able to improvise
-Ability to work with with dirt, grime, muck, sludge. Able to clean up others' disgusting bodily funtions while maintaining a supportive, sypmathetic and cheerful attitude even at 4 am after being awake all night Not a prima donna - works well in exotic locations without whining
-ability to play the piano while answering multiple questions Musical and multitasking - can play piano and flirt with Bond simultaneously
-ability to remain calm in the face of major financial disaster, household disaster etc. Doesn't go postal on the production company if the check is late, can act calm when being pursued by multiple henchmen
-ability to function at a high level on sparse amounts of sleep and food excellent when the shooting days get long and the catering truck has crashed enroute to the site
Come to think about it, Bond girls are just a shadow of most real moms. ;o)
Feel free to add to the list of qualifications if you have some of your own. :o)
I have to attack the house a bit. Right now the spring inside me is coiled pretty tightly, but I'm going to make myself write a bit more first before I let it loose. Then I can rush around getting things done really quickly and be more brutal when getting rid of stuff.
It was flurrying outside a wee bit ago. Brrr.
Enough procrastination and warm-up for now.
I changed my profile pic. It was pretty entertaining sitting there on the bed doing self-portraits. I'm developing that skill as a new art form. ;o) The best part of self-portraiture is that you always know exactly when the shutter's going to be released.
Robin, if you're reading this, I JUST NOW got a call for dh from a headhunter. I'm going to email you his name and # in case your dh can use it.
Wow, there is a cold wind blowing on me from the closed window. Good grief. I wish we had Andersen windows like in the last house! They NEVER let in the cold air. When I used the oven, I'd actually have to OPEN the windows in the middle of winter to let the extra heat OUT. Ahhhh, those were good windows. . .
More Shouting of Soup
Another all-nighter coming up for me. Sluggie's cooking her woofies tonight. I lucked out, considering that with 4 kids, I'm only pulling 3 all-nighters. (First night was a twofer.) It's really not a big deal for me, though, since I'm a night owl anyway. I'm finding I really enjoy the solitude - kind of a mini-vacation as it were, except every now and then I leave my spot to pat a back and dump and rinse the chunder bucket, LOL!
I guess it's just me and the Phantom again tonight. How tragic. ;o)
Tomorrow's Wednesday, which I love because that's a free day. Also, I get to cancel my dentist appointment. :oP Just a routine cleaning, but never really a party, YK? I never have cavities, though, thanks to my mom who was strict, strict, strict about brushing and the habit still stays with me.
It is super windy out there tonight. Here's hoping the giant oak doesn't come crashing through the roof and take me out.
I'm ready for my red belt test on Saturday. John needs to cram a bit more and he'll be ready, too. Prawn will test for yellow next month, just 4 days before her 4th b-day.
I've got more writing to do. Blogging is sort of my daily warm-up for writing. Sometimes I get sucked in too far, though.
And now, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik:
Nope, can't do it. I can't bring myself to defile the "Music of the Night" lyrics for this evening's barf-a-thon. Score: Candace:1, Andrew Lloyd Weber: 1 ;o)
And you know what? Mr. Weber should be darned proud of that because what with the whole "Music of the Night" theme and the use of the word "purge," this song could have become the anthem of midnight soup shouters if I could just bring myself to do it.
'Night Y'all. I'll still be up when you come wandering over.
I guess it's just me and the Phantom again tonight. How tragic. ;o)
Tomorrow's Wednesday, which I love because that's a free day. Also, I get to cancel my dentist appointment. :oP Just a routine cleaning, but never really a party, YK? I never have cavities, though, thanks to my mom who was strict, strict, strict about brushing and the habit still stays with me.
It is super windy out there tonight. Here's hoping the giant oak doesn't come crashing through the roof and take me out.
I'm ready for my red belt test on Saturday. John needs to cram a bit more and he'll be ready, too. Prawn will test for yellow next month, just 4 days before her 4th b-day.
I've got more writing to do. Blogging is sort of my daily warm-up for writing. Sometimes I get sucked in too far, though.
And now, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik:
Nope, can't do it. I can't bring myself to defile the "Music of the Night" lyrics for this evening's barf-a-thon. Score: Candace:1, Andrew Lloyd Weber: 1 ;o)
And you know what? Mr. Weber should be darned proud of that because what with the whole "Music of the Night" theme and the use of the word "purge," this song could have become the anthem of midnight soup shouters if I could just bring myself to do it.
'Night Y'all. I'll still be up when you come wandering over.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
He is SO The Man!!!
My husband is SO The Man! He just walked in with the 2 DVD set of the Widescreen version of The Phantom of the Opera. Woo Hoo!! Big, BIG reward for him tonight after TKD - especially if he wears a black cloak. ;o)
I started Fishy on the first Geronimo Stilton book today and noticed that he has become a REALLY good reader. The book seems a good fit for him. The series is translated from the original Italian books and from what I've read, the humour is captivated and translated very well.
Prawn's doing well with her reading, too. She read a bunch of her Reading House strip words to me today and then we (mostly she) read the 4 stories in Piggy and Dad. Not bad for a girlie not yet 4 years old. :o)
I had fun talking to the TKD mama who introduced me to POTO today while our kids did the homeschool class. She's as obsessed as I am. :o)
Gotta eat something so I have energy for class tonight. . . (and after. . .)
I started Fishy on the first Geronimo Stilton book today and noticed that he has become a REALLY good reader. The book seems a good fit for him. The series is translated from the original Italian books and from what I've read, the humour is captivated and translated very well.
Prawn's doing well with her reading, too. She read a bunch of her Reading House strip words to me today and then we (mostly she) read the 4 stories in Piggy and Dad. Not bad for a girlie not yet 4 years old. :o)
I had fun talking to the TKD mama who introduced me to POTO today while our kids did the homeschool class. She's as obsessed as I am. :o)
Gotta eat something so I have energy for class tonight. . . (and after. . .)
Monday, November 14, 2005
Insomnia?
I managed to call everyone. Yes, I did fall asleep for a few minutes, but only about 15 and I woke up wide awake, so there were no probs calling everyone to cancel Monday as We Know It.
Here's something crummy. My blog doesn't show up on any Google searches OR Blogspot searches. I've had "yes" checked on the "submit to our lists?" option for as long as I can remember. I submitted the url to Google. WTH? So that stinks.
I'm on my - you know I don't actually know what revolution of POTO I'm on. I just keep listening to it over and over, though I do cut off the initial auction and Scary Opera Singer songs. I tend to start with Music of the Night. Wow. The few minutes that I did sleep last night were filled with the songs.
Fishy is up and and showered (believe me, that was neccessary) and has clean undies for a few minutes. He's watching a Kipper DVD and I have POTO cranked in my ears. I suppose at some point I'll have to feed the rest of the herd. My eyes are slightly burny. I know I should sleep. But I'm not motivated to start yet. I'm afraid that when I crash, I'll crash, and I can't afford to do that just yet.
Sheila, I tell you that you have to get hold of that movie ASAP. And you're going to be all fired up to jump in with both feet on whatever project Frank has going right now, trust me. I would if I was there - ah the benefits of children growing older! And then he could have his Sisters that he's always dreamed of. ;o) (singing at least)
Oh crap. I think my batteries just died. In the minidisc I mean. Wah! Her tears had just turned to tears of hate and BOOM no more POTO. I sure hope I have the right kind of batteries somewhere in this place.
Here's something crummy. My blog doesn't show up on any Google searches OR Blogspot searches. I've had "yes" checked on the "submit to our lists?" option for as long as I can remember. I submitted the url to Google. WTH? So that stinks.
I'm on my - you know I don't actually know what revolution of POTO I'm on. I just keep listening to it over and over, though I do cut off the initial auction and Scary Opera Singer songs. I tend to start with Music of the Night. Wow. The few minutes that I did sleep last night were filled with the songs.
Fishy is up and and showered (believe me, that was neccessary) and has clean undies for a few minutes. He's watching a Kipper DVD and I have POTO cranked in my ears. I suppose at some point I'll have to feed the rest of the herd. My eyes are slightly burny. I know I should sleep. But I'm not motivated to start yet. I'm afraid that when I crash, I'll crash, and I can't afford to do that just yet.
Sheila, I tell you that you have to get hold of that movie ASAP. And you're going to be all fired up to jump in with both feet on whatever project Frank has going right now, trust me. I would if I was there - ah the benefits of children growing older! And then he could have his Sisters that he's always dreamed of. ;o) (singing at least)
Oh crap. I think my batteries just died. In the minidisc I mean. Wah! Her tears had just turned to tears of hate and BOOM no more POTO. I sure hope I have the right kind of batteries somewhere in this place.
Blur
It's 6:10 am. I've slept for a total of about 40 minutes - something like 18 mins, 15 mins and a few extras. Fishy is the one vomiting now. He started - well, it's all a blur. Maybe around 11:30 pm. When I looked at my last post, I couldn't remember when I'd made it until I looked at the date.
On the other hand, I've had some fantastic music to keep me going through my vigil. I watched POTO again, turning off the volume and synching up with the minidisc. Not bad! I was able to crank it in my earphones while the rest of the house slept. I finally knew it was time to go to sleep when Fishy had tapered off on frequency and my story was going to get really weird due to half-waking thoughts being very convoluted and strange. I've gotten a lot of writing done, too.
Fishy is going through an alarming number of undies. I've just thrown in a load of wash so he'll have more. I hope it doesn't wake anyone. Oh, argh! Gotta go turn off the buzzer to make sure!
We're revolving slowly towards the sun - kinda pretty. What a messed up day I'm going to have. I don't really want the night to end. I just want it to be longer and to be able to grab some sleep. Every time I get up to help Fishy, I seem to pop wide awake. Just my brain's way of relishing a bit of silence, perhaps. Ugh - I have to call to cancel Sluggie's Mommy Helper appointment - or at least to warn them off about the illness in our family. I also have to cancel Trillian's vet appointment. And so much for homeschool story hour at the library at 1:00. Bummer. Not so much the missing story hour part, more the missing the other hsers part. Next time, perhaps.
I'm going to have this POTO soundtrack memorized soon, LOL! OK, I already have a lot stuck in my head.
The laundry room window is still open a bit and it's shockingly warm out. November in Michigan. Can it be so? Pinch me, someone.
The sunrise is coordinating nicely with the POTO music. How thoughtful. Reminds me of The Phantom Tollbooth, where Milo takes over directing the sunrise. Is that a weird coincidence thing? I only recalled that it was the "Phantom" tollbooth as I searched my brain for the title to type.
Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair
Down we plunge to the prison of my mind
Down that path into darkness deep as hell. . .
OK that didn't match so well. How could anyone not love this stuff? And what's with the "keep your hand at the level of your eye" thing? Obviously I still need to find the book.
I feel surprisingly awake for the amount of pure rambling I'm doing. Wide awake, in fact. Through the windows by the front door, I can see bands of grey descending down into blue, cream and orange. The stars are slowly winking out. I so don't want it to be morning. I think I am more suited to be a creature of the night.
So, what other amazing plays have I missed out on? I guess first off, I need to get a copy of everything Andrew Lloyd Weber has ever done. It would be a start.
20 minutes to seven and the sky continues to lighten. I feel a bit of let's-watch-the-Sound-of-Music-while-Mama-sleeps coming on today. Sluggie has watched some of POTO and adores it. Not sure I should let her see the whole thing, though. There are bits, you know? It is the sort of thing she likes though. So young and she adores love stories already. That's how I was, too. I have great memories of watching Doris Day and Rock Hudson or Cary Grant movies with my mom at her age.
Ahhh, the music rises and swells and the sun continues its graceful mount into the sky. It's not long now til the alarm goes off for John. Will it be easier to make my phone calls if I stay awake or go to sleep? I have a hunch it's the former. I also have a hunch I'll drop off minutes before I need to get up and make those calls.
What'll we do for class tonight? We'll prolly have to go in shifts. John can go tonight and I can go tomorrow or vice versa. So much for sparring. Bummer. OTOH I have remarkably few bruises right now, LOL! Maybe it's just as well to miss on the week before testing. Wouldn't want to roll an ankle or something. Ugh.
Hmmm - "It's over now, the music of the night" and the sky is paling, the orange rising up to the level of the rooftop across the street now. How poetic. Hope my battery can hold out a bit longer.
Could it be that I'm really a morning person and just need to start my mornings on the previous night? I doubt it.
Too much rambling, not enough writing. Ta ta
On the other hand, I've had some fantastic music to keep me going through my vigil. I watched POTO again, turning off the volume and synching up with the minidisc. Not bad! I was able to crank it in my earphones while the rest of the house slept. I finally knew it was time to go to sleep when Fishy had tapered off on frequency and my story was going to get really weird due to half-waking thoughts being very convoluted and strange. I've gotten a lot of writing done, too.
Fishy is going through an alarming number of undies. I've just thrown in a load of wash so he'll have more. I hope it doesn't wake anyone. Oh, argh! Gotta go turn off the buzzer to make sure!
We're revolving slowly towards the sun - kinda pretty. What a messed up day I'm going to have. I don't really want the night to end. I just want it to be longer and to be able to grab some sleep. Every time I get up to help Fishy, I seem to pop wide awake. Just my brain's way of relishing a bit of silence, perhaps. Ugh - I have to call to cancel Sluggie's Mommy Helper appointment - or at least to warn them off about the illness in our family. I also have to cancel Trillian's vet appointment. And so much for homeschool story hour at the library at 1:00. Bummer. Not so much the missing story hour part, more the missing the other hsers part. Next time, perhaps.
I'm going to have this POTO soundtrack memorized soon, LOL! OK, I already have a lot stuck in my head.
The laundry room window is still open a bit and it's shockingly warm out. November in Michigan. Can it be so? Pinch me, someone.
The sunrise is coordinating nicely with the POTO music. How thoughtful. Reminds me of The Phantom Tollbooth, where Milo takes over directing the sunrise. Is that a weird coincidence thing? I only recalled that it was the "Phantom" tollbooth as I searched my brain for the title to type.
Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair
Down we plunge to the prison of my mind
Down that path into darkness deep as hell. . .
OK that didn't match so well. How could anyone not love this stuff? And what's with the "keep your hand at the level of your eye" thing? Obviously I still need to find the book.
I feel surprisingly awake for the amount of pure rambling I'm doing. Wide awake, in fact. Through the windows by the front door, I can see bands of grey descending down into blue, cream and orange. The stars are slowly winking out. I so don't want it to be morning. I think I am more suited to be a creature of the night.
So, what other amazing plays have I missed out on? I guess first off, I need to get a copy of everything Andrew Lloyd Weber has ever done. It would be a start.
20 minutes to seven and the sky continues to lighten. I feel a bit of let's-watch-the-Sound-of-Music-while-Mama-sleeps coming on today. Sluggie has watched some of POTO and adores it. Not sure I should let her see the whole thing, though. There are bits, you know? It is the sort of thing she likes though. So young and she adores love stories already. That's how I was, too. I have great memories of watching Doris Day and Rock Hudson or Cary Grant movies with my mom at her age.
Ahhh, the music rises and swells and the sun continues its graceful mount into the sky. It's not long now til the alarm goes off for John. Will it be easier to make my phone calls if I stay awake or go to sleep? I have a hunch it's the former. I also have a hunch I'll drop off minutes before I need to get up and make those calls.
What'll we do for class tonight? We'll prolly have to go in shifts. John can go tonight and I can go tomorrow or vice versa. So much for sparring. Bummer. OTOH I have remarkably few bruises right now, LOL! Maybe it's just as well to miss on the week before testing. Wouldn't want to roll an ankle or something. Ugh.
Hmmm - "It's over now, the music of the night" and the sky is paling, the orange rising up to the level of the rooftop across the street now. How poetic. Hope my battery can hold out a bit longer.
Could it be that I'm really a morning person and just need to start my mornings on the previous night? I doubt it.
Too much rambling, not enough writing. Ta ta
And I'm back! Can it be? Jeeves AND Weber?? Though they ought to proofread their sight - er, um, site, LOL!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Bliss
My lovely, amazing husband bought the Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack today. He put it on the minidisc and I'm sitting here, writing, while deeply ensconced in this gorgeous, amazing music. Ahhhhh!
We went out shopping and it sure was good to get out of the house. So far no more of the children are sick, knock on wood. I got some great new tops - a little sassy - and, continuing in the sassy vein, some bras and panties. Life is good! My new jeans are none too tight. I may need to go down to a 6 before long. I'm certainly not crying about that! We also got most of the goodies for the Christmas box for my German penpal. We've been writing for more than half our lives now. Not bad! She has email now, so maybe that will facilitate even more frequent writing.
John made something marvellous for supper last night. It was from the Cook's Illustrated website - pressure cooked chicken with lemon and garlic, rosemary and thyme, rice and peas. Yum! That will have to be added to the repertoire. The kids ate like crazy. I'm still rooting for the pork chops with balsamic vinegar etc. for Thanksgiving.
It's time to make some plans for travel to Europe now that the kidlets are older. I'm looking at 2 yrs from now. Not sure which season - prolly Fall or Spring, when most kids are in school. That should give the combined benefit of non-peak prices, and having the sights more to ourselves. I suddenly realised that if we don't start planning, it will never happen. I need to see where the AAFES travel service has condos. I know they have them around the world, and their prices are awesome. Having a kitchen will make it a lot more affordable as well. I'm going to try to talk Sheila into coming. (What say you, girl?) Anyone who lives in Europe or who has been there, please give me tips on how not to appear like a - what's the phrase? - oh yes, an Ugly American. I'd rather blend in a bit and enjoy the sights and spectacles as opposed to being the spectacle ourselves. Although from what I read of Europe's negative population growth, and given the fact that we have four children, perhaps there's no way to avoid being a spectacle. . . Then again, we are pretty much a spectacle anywhere we go, even here in the States, LOL!
Anyway, we need to plan where to go. I'm all for starting with England, Ireland (family roots) Scotland and Wales. Sluggie says we should stay for 2 years. Well, probably not. I think it would be nice to plan to go after black belt testing - not sure for how long. 2 or 3 weeks I guess. If you're going to do all that flying with children, you have to make it worth your while.
John is cheffing up something else lovely in the kitchen. I am so lucky! Great in the kitchen AND in - well, that's better left unsaid, maybe. ;o)
OK, I need to get my backside writing again. Later Tater.
We went out shopping and it sure was good to get out of the house. So far no more of the children are sick, knock on wood. I got some great new tops - a little sassy - and, continuing in the sassy vein, some bras and panties. Life is good! My new jeans are none too tight. I may need to go down to a 6 before long. I'm certainly not crying about that! We also got most of the goodies for the Christmas box for my German penpal. We've been writing for more than half our lives now. Not bad! She has email now, so maybe that will facilitate even more frequent writing.
John made something marvellous for supper last night. It was from the Cook's Illustrated website - pressure cooked chicken with lemon and garlic, rosemary and thyme, rice and peas. Yum! That will have to be added to the repertoire. The kids ate like crazy. I'm still rooting for the pork chops with balsamic vinegar etc. for Thanksgiving.
It's time to make some plans for travel to Europe now that the kidlets are older. I'm looking at 2 yrs from now. Not sure which season - prolly Fall or Spring, when most kids are in school. That should give the combined benefit of non-peak prices, and having the sights more to ourselves. I suddenly realised that if we don't start planning, it will never happen. I need to see where the AAFES travel service has condos. I know they have them around the world, and their prices are awesome. Having a kitchen will make it a lot more affordable as well. I'm going to try to talk Sheila into coming. (What say you, girl?) Anyone who lives in Europe or who has been there, please give me tips on how not to appear like a - what's the phrase? - oh yes, an Ugly American. I'd rather blend in a bit and enjoy the sights and spectacles as opposed to being the spectacle ourselves. Although from what I read of Europe's negative population growth, and given the fact that we have four children, perhaps there's no way to avoid being a spectacle. . . Then again, we are pretty much a spectacle anywhere we go, even here in the States, LOL!
Anyway, we need to plan where to go. I'm all for starting with England, Ireland (family roots) Scotland and Wales. Sluggie says we should stay for 2 years. Well, probably not. I think it would be nice to plan to go after black belt testing - not sure for how long. 2 or 3 weeks I guess. If you're going to do all that flying with children, you have to make it worth your while.
John is cheffing up something else lovely in the kitchen. I am so lucky! Great in the kitchen AND in - well, that's better left unsaid, maybe. ;o)
OK, I need to get my backside writing again. Later Tater.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Shouting Soup and the Phantom
Sigh.
(irreverent POTO lyrics follow in a bit)
It's 1:20 am. I'm on the couch watching a Bob the Builder DVD with the Prawn and Mollusc. Why, you ask? They've taken up speaking Welsh. That's right, woofing their cookies, doing the technicolour yawn, yoffing, shouting soup, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Mollusc started this afternoon but hadn't yakked for 3 hours and was sleeping on the living room floor. Prawnie started about 20 mins ago, just in time to preempt bedtime festivities. Better before than during, I guess. Still. . . So now she's mashed against me on the couch (OK that's cosy :o) ) coughing and burping into a wastebasket (no further actual shouting of soup, but I can tell it's coming. . .) The poor girl is so tired. I thought maybe I'd read some Thomas Covenant but we've got the lights pretty dim. Maybe I'll sneak 'em up a tad. The kitties, meanwhile, are pleased as punch to have so much nocturnal activity. Emmett has just cosied up to the chunder bucket and is purring noisily.
To tell the truth, my own tum has not been feeling excellent, but I suspect that that has more to do with the Fire Cheetos than anything else.
We watched Encino Man with the kidlets tonight. This was their first time seeing it and they enjoyed it a lot.
Swimming was great as usual. Prawnie swam a bit on her back (!) and swam quite a lot with her head out of the water. Fishy got bolder (marginally bolder) and was leaping off the side (clutching my hand or arm in a viselike grip as soon as he hit the water) and swimming back to the side. The bigs kept pretty busy with hide-and-seek, find the sunken goggles, jumping off the side, etec.
Ah, thar she blows again. Poor wee one.
I've got "Past the Point of No Return" running though my head over and over. I suppose that's sort of appropos.
Sluggie has joined us. "I can't sleep with everybody puking." Only Fishy is blissfully asleep. He woke up initially, but has the gift of being able to return to sleep quickly and effortlessly.
Past the point of no return
Another puker
We're sitting on the couch and shouting soup
Past the point of peaceful sleep
No use resisting
Abandon thought and let the bile ascend
What raging spew shall flood the floor
What stomach now unlocks its door
What foul production lies before us
Past the point of no return
The final threshold
What half digested dinners
Will we see beyond the point of no return
This has brought you
To that moment when heaves run dry
To that moment when speech disappears
Into wretching
Wretching. . .
With sincere and heartfelt apologies to the extremely talented Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Better to have this hit us now than next Friday, since John and I test on Saturday. Yikes. That would be nasty.
2:00 am now and going strong. We're on to the Rubbadubbers now. Well, at least I'm not sleepy yet. The bigs were rooting for Star Wars. To tell the truth, so was I, but this is OK now we've got it on.
Trillian was attacking a balloon larger than she is today. She kept going after the nubby, tied end. Her claws would hook it and send it flying up, so she'd look around until it came down (can we actually have another cat that doesn't "do" up?) She finally punctured it, and it was pretty comical watching her attack it as is slowly shrank. When it got all floppy, she picked it up by the end with her mouth and walked off.
Have you ever been drifting in and out of sleep while talking or reading to someone and woken up in time to hear the absolute nonsense coming out of your mouth? It can be funny if it happens during bedtime stories. I always feel I have to cover at that point, LOL! I'm suddenly getting to that point now. I wasn't sleepy at all 5 mins ago. Weird.
OK, I laid in a supply of undies for Prawn. This is the sort of soup-shouting that gets you blowing chunks out the fore and aft hatches simultaneously. Sigh.
Anyone laying odds on the time it will take Sluggie and Fishy to join in the fun?
I'd like to stay awake til this tapers off, cuz I know it's going to be a lot harder to get up and help once I drop off.
Yawn. Must. . . hold. . . out. . .
(irreverent POTO lyrics follow in a bit)
It's 1:20 am. I'm on the couch watching a Bob the Builder DVD with the Prawn and Mollusc. Why, you ask? They've taken up speaking Welsh. That's right, woofing their cookies, doing the technicolour yawn, yoffing, shouting soup, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Mollusc started this afternoon but hadn't yakked for 3 hours and was sleeping on the living room floor. Prawnie started about 20 mins ago, just in time to preempt bedtime festivities. Better before than during, I guess. Still. . . So now she's mashed against me on the couch (OK that's cosy :o) ) coughing and burping into a wastebasket (no further actual shouting of soup, but I can tell it's coming. . .) The poor girl is so tired. I thought maybe I'd read some Thomas Covenant but we've got the lights pretty dim. Maybe I'll sneak 'em up a tad. The kitties, meanwhile, are pleased as punch to have so much nocturnal activity. Emmett has just cosied up to the chunder bucket and is purring noisily.
To tell the truth, my own tum has not been feeling excellent, but I suspect that that has more to do with the Fire Cheetos than anything else.
We watched Encino Man with the kidlets tonight. This was their first time seeing it and they enjoyed it a lot.
Swimming was great as usual. Prawnie swam a bit on her back (!) and swam quite a lot with her head out of the water. Fishy got bolder (marginally bolder) and was leaping off the side (clutching my hand or arm in a viselike grip as soon as he hit the water) and swimming back to the side. The bigs kept pretty busy with hide-and-seek, find the sunken goggles, jumping off the side, etec.
Ah, thar she blows again. Poor wee one.
I've got "Past the Point of No Return" running though my head over and over. I suppose that's sort of appropos.
Sluggie has joined us. "I can't sleep with everybody puking." Only Fishy is blissfully asleep. He woke up initially, but has the gift of being able to return to sleep quickly and effortlessly.
Past the point of no return
Another puker
We're sitting on the couch and shouting soup
Past the point of peaceful sleep
No use resisting
Abandon thought and let the bile ascend
What raging spew shall flood the floor
What stomach now unlocks its door
What foul production lies before us
Past the point of no return
The final threshold
What half digested dinners
Will we see beyond the point of no return
This has brought you
To that moment when heaves run dry
To that moment when speech disappears
Into wretching
Wretching. . .
With sincere and heartfelt apologies to the extremely talented Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Better to have this hit us now than next Friday, since John and I test on Saturday. Yikes. That would be nasty.
2:00 am now and going strong. We're on to the Rubbadubbers now. Well, at least I'm not sleepy yet. The bigs were rooting for Star Wars. To tell the truth, so was I, but this is OK now we've got it on.
Trillian was attacking a balloon larger than she is today. She kept going after the nubby, tied end. Her claws would hook it and send it flying up, so she'd look around until it came down (can we actually have another cat that doesn't "do" up?) She finally punctured it, and it was pretty comical watching her attack it as is slowly shrank. When it got all floppy, she picked it up by the end with her mouth and walked off.
Have you ever been drifting in and out of sleep while talking or reading to someone and woken up in time to hear the absolute nonsense coming out of your mouth? It can be funny if it happens during bedtime stories. I always feel I have to cover at that point, LOL! I'm suddenly getting to that point now. I wasn't sleepy at all 5 mins ago. Weird.
OK, I laid in a supply of undies for Prawn. This is the sort of soup-shouting that gets you blowing chunks out the fore and aft hatches simultaneously. Sigh.
Anyone laying odds on the time it will take Sluggie and Fishy to join in the fun?
I'd like to stay awake til this tapers off, cuz I know it's going to be a lot harder to get up and help once I drop off.
Yawn. Must. . . hold. . . out. . .
Thursday, November 10, 2005
What Candace May or May Not Need
This is goofy but entertaining. Type "(yourname) needs" into Google and check out the top results. Here are mine:
Candace needs a firm, consistent hand that will establish the house rules and enforce them. (*ouch* LOL!)
Candace needs to ‘come out’ with the truth that homosexuality is dangerous, and to tell homosexuals that they do not have to live that way,” (I did NOT say that!)
Candace needs to try to sell the house ASAP (No!)
Candace needs to get Rich numbers for funding. (eh?)
Candace needs to take slow, deep breaths with each position.(sometimes that's just not possible when the heart is pumping. . .)
Candace needs info on National Accounts for in-flight advertising (um, OK)
Candace needs to stay a little more true to friendship while drinking (that's not true, bitch!)
Candace needs to rehash the situation over and over anddraws a helpless looking mother presiding over a burning kitchen. ... (odd. . .)
Candace Needs a home with no kids under 12 and an owner with previous Dog experience (well that doesn't work!)
Candace needs her knight in shining armor to come riding in from England. Pronto! (nyuck nyuck OK, I may be obsessed with many things English, but I didn't write any of this, I swear!)
Candace needs to be at this induction and cause some trouble (a birth induction, or. . .?)
Candace needs to send an email to Anika (I think I knew an Anika in High school. . .)
Candace needs a music blog (OK, maybe)
Candace needs rest (definitely! but there's no time!)
Candace needs to be fleshed out so she doesn't appear so one-note and villanous. (argh!)
Here's what I really need. Candace needs The Phantom of the Opera" to have a different ending! Am I the only one rooting for the phantom here? Sigh. Pretty hot movie, stirring music, (amazing, lovely, compelling music - DO I need a music blog?) amazing sets and effects, but such an unsatisfying ending. :o( Please, please tell me in the comments that you were rooting for him, too!
Candace also needs some of the sheet music for the play. By an odd coincidence I brought back a book of TPOTO music to a friend at TKD today because his sis had left it at our house and at the same time another TKD mom gave me the TPOTO movie to watch. Now that I've seen it, I want to play the music. Argh!
I had a hard time believing that Gerard Butler was the phantom. The Tomb Raider II guy?? The Dear Frankie guy?? Wow. He looked so different. And he didn't sing before this film? Wow again!
What's with the whole "keep your hand at the level of your eyes" thing? Guess I'll have to read the book.
Saw Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels last night. How very confusing. I tried to describe it to 2 friends today and just had to give up.
I read an interview with Pierce Brosnan in - a magazine ;o) - and he seems a very decent sort of guy. Too bad he had to do such a PC Bond. It would've been fun if they'd let him do what he'd have preferred.
We went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum today. After getting lost a bit, we finally got there and had a great time. Am I the only parent who still acts like a kid? Maybe Candace needs to Grow Up. But that would be no fun, I tell you, no fun at all. So we pretended to ride in/drive the ambulance, get hit by the ambulance, tried like heck to balance on that stupid, wobbly platform thinggy, did fake news and weather broadcasts and had a blast with the green screen and making parts of ourselves invisible with the green cloths. We built arches, played in the old-time store, made gigantic bubbles around ourselves, used toasters to send a hot air balloon up, checked our strength and reaction times (a bulb was burnt out, I swear!) and pedaled furiously on the stationary bike, played with the Dragon Bowl (Sluggie always gets it to work, and I never can), played in the water, unloaded the moving van into the model house (through windows and doors only) and then re-loaded the van (almost got it all in there - they had to leave the fridge behind) tried to figure out where the missing leprechaun gets to, and did all kinds of other things. WHEW!
We got lost a bit on the way home. Thank goodness for that map book is all I can say. Bloody Ann Arbor has so many one way streets that you can never get back where you came from by going the same way. Grrr!
My hips were kind of on strike tonight at TKD and I'm not sure why. They were OK for kicking, but during warm ups things just weren't quite right. Oh yeah - we got our green tips tonight - ready to test for red belt the weekend after this! And swimming tomorrow! Yay!!
Bong sewer!
Candace needs a firm, consistent hand that will establish the house rules and enforce them. (*ouch* LOL!)
Candace needs to ‘come out’ with the truth that homosexuality is dangerous, and to tell homosexuals that they do not have to live that way,” (I did NOT say that!)
Candace needs to try to sell the house ASAP (No!)
Candace needs to get Rich numbers for funding. (eh?)
Candace needs to take slow, deep breaths with each position.(sometimes that's just not possible when the heart is pumping. . .)
Candace needs info on National Accounts for in-flight advertising (um, OK)
Candace needs to stay a little more true to friendship while drinking (that's not true, bitch!)
Candace needs to rehash the situation over and over anddraws a helpless looking mother presiding over a burning kitchen. ... (odd. . .)
Candace Needs a home with no kids under 12 and an owner with previous Dog experience (well that doesn't work!)
Candace needs her knight in shining armor to come riding in from England. Pronto! (nyuck nyuck OK, I may be obsessed with many things English, but I didn't write any of this, I swear!)
Candace needs to be at this induction and cause some trouble (a birth induction, or. . .?)
Candace needs to send an email to Anika (I think I knew an Anika in High school. . .)
Candace needs a music blog (OK, maybe)
Candace needs rest (definitely! but there's no time!)
Candace needs to be fleshed out so she doesn't appear so one-note and villanous. (argh!)
Here's what I really need. Candace needs The Phantom of the Opera" to have a different ending! Am I the only one rooting for the phantom here? Sigh. Pretty hot movie, stirring music, (amazing, lovely, compelling music - DO I need a music blog?) amazing sets and effects, but such an unsatisfying ending. :o( Please, please tell me in the comments that you were rooting for him, too!
Candace also needs some of the sheet music for the play. By an odd coincidence I brought back a book of TPOTO music to a friend at TKD today because his sis had left it at our house and at the same time another TKD mom gave me the TPOTO movie to watch. Now that I've seen it, I want to play the music. Argh!
I had a hard time believing that Gerard Butler was the phantom. The Tomb Raider II guy?? The Dear Frankie guy?? Wow. He looked so different. And he didn't sing before this film? Wow again!
What's with the whole "keep your hand at the level of your eyes" thing? Guess I'll have to read the book.
Saw Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels last night. How very confusing. I tried to describe it to 2 friends today and just had to give up.
I read an interview with Pierce Brosnan in - a magazine ;o) - and he seems a very decent sort of guy. Too bad he had to do such a PC Bond. It would've been fun if they'd let him do what he'd have preferred.
We went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum today. After getting lost a bit, we finally got there and had a great time. Am I the only parent who still acts like a kid? Maybe Candace needs to Grow Up. But that would be no fun, I tell you, no fun at all. So we pretended to ride in/drive the ambulance, get hit by the ambulance, tried like heck to balance on that stupid, wobbly platform thinggy, did fake news and weather broadcasts and had a blast with the green screen and making parts of ourselves invisible with the green cloths. We built arches, played in the old-time store, made gigantic bubbles around ourselves, used toasters to send a hot air balloon up, checked our strength and reaction times (a bulb was burnt out, I swear!) and pedaled furiously on the stationary bike, played with the Dragon Bowl (Sluggie always gets it to work, and I never can), played in the water, unloaded the moving van into the model house (through windows and doors only) and then re-loaded the van (almost got it all in there - they had to leave the fridge behind) tried to figure out where the missing leprechaun gets to, and did all kinds of other things. WHEW!
We got lost a bit on the way home. Thank goodness for that map book is all I can say. Bloody Ann Arbor has so many one way streets that you can never get back where you came from by going the same way. Grrr!
My hips were kind of on strike tonight at TKD and I'm not sure why. They were OK for kicking, but during warm ups things just weren't quite right. Oh yeah - we got our green tips tonight - ready to test for red belt the weekend after this! And swimming tomorrow! Yay!!
Gotta go work on those slow, deep breaths! ;o)
Bong sewer!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
A Peek Into My Day
GOOD NEWS!! The 2 attempts to raise our local taxes got BLOWN out of the water yesterday! I was wondering how that would go. They tried to sneak them in on a school board election because they typically have low voter turnout. Well, there was no waiting in line, that's for sure. I didn't vote for the school board member since I had no idea who the candidates were and it doesn't affect us anyway since we homeschool.
Here are some things I need to get done today:
--Finish helping kids with math
--Print out more copies of the script so we have 4 for reading
--Sit down with everyone for the initial reading
--Hack away some more on story #4
--Submit #1 to Black Lace
--Get out into the woods and enjoy this amazingly warm November day!
--Help Prawn with her reading
--Launch Fishy on a new book
I can't believe we have some windows open in November, in Michigan!!
This morning we're listening to "Rotkäppchen und viele mehr." Not sure if we're going to move on to Korean story tapes or music after this.
Bella Martha was good! Contrary to what the trailer implies, it's less about Martha's relationship with Mario, and more about her relationship with her niece, Lina. But it was a very good story.
Hopefully I'll be able to update my to do list as the day goes on. Knowing me, I'll not get to many and end up doing a bunch of stuff that wasn't on there. :oP No! Think positive! :o)
Here are some things I need to get done today:
--
--
--
--
--Submit #1 to Black Lace
--
--Help Prawn with her reading
--Launch Fishy on a new book
I can't believe we have some windows open in November, in Michigan!!
This morning we're listening to "Rotkäppchen und viele mehr." Not sure if we're going to move on to Korean story tapes or music after this.
Bella Martha was good! Contrary to what the trailer implies, it's less about Martha's relationship with Mario, and more about her relationship with her niece, Lina. But it was a very good story.
Hopefully I'll be able to update my to do list as the day goes on. Knowing me, I'll not get to many and end up doing a bunch of stuff that wasn't on there. :oP No! Think positive! :o)
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Suspicor Fatum Nos Voluisse Diversos
"I guess fate wanted us to part."
I've renamed my blog. I really do nothing with my business right now, so it seemed a bit pointless to have a blog sort of named after it. The new title reflects more accurately on what I'm doing now - flying. Yes, somewhat a la Flylady, but also in regards to making the decision to grab life by the horns and go! It's a bit crazy, I'm busy, busy, busy, but it's great fun and I'm living on cloud 9 so I'm going to stick with it.
Sheila (oh accidental blogger) how's your blog going? It would be a wonderful way to procrastinate whilst you're supposed to be working on that brochure. . . ;o) Put me on your email list and I'll actually post comments when you post, I promise! (Feel free to do likewise here!)
CDs of the last 2 days: Peter Gabriel - Deutsche Album; Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree; Sting - Brand New Day; Arabic and Hindi mix from a friend, but mostly Aicha by Khaled; Chess (the Broadway musical), Baroque stuff, Disaster Area (OK maybe not)
Yep, I'm procrastinating again. These are the most fertile periods for my creative imagination. Really. . .
Here's when you start to wonder about a publishing company. See the colour of the ring on the cover of this book? Now, the whole premise is that Thomas Covenant is transported to The Land with his WHITE GOLD wedding ring. White gold does not exist in The Land and has the powers of Wild Magic. This is the basic premise of the book - that his WHITE GOLD ring makes people expect salvation from him, even though he doesn't know how to use it. So why do they picture a YELLOW GOLD ring on the cover? Sigh. Maybe it's Tor; I didn't look. Their books are always riddled with typos.
OK, no more procrastinating. Really.
I've renamed my blog. I really do nothing with my business right now, so it seemed a bit pointless to have a blog sort of named after it. The new title reflects more accurately on what I'm doing now - flying. Yes, somewhat a la Flylady, but also in regards to making the decision to grab life by the horns and go! It's a bit crazy, I'm busy, busy, busy, but it's great fun and I'm living on cloud 9 so I'm going to stick with it.
Sheila (oh accidental blogger) how's your blog going? It would be a wonderful way to procrastinate whilst you're supposed to be working on that brochure. . . ;o) Put me on your email list and I'll actually post comments when you post, I promise! (Feel free to do likewise here!)
CDs of the last 2 days: Peter Gabriel - Deutsche Album; Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree; Sting - Brand New Day; Arabic and Hindi mix from a friend, but mostly Aicha by Khaled; Chess (the Broadway musical), Baroque stuff, Disaster Area (OK maybe not)
Yep, I'm procrastinating again. These are the most fertile periods for my creative imagination. Really. . .
Here's when you start to wonder about a publishing company. See the colour of the ring on the cover of this book? Now, the whole premise is that Thomas Covenant is transported to The Land with his WHITE GOLD wedding ring. White gold does not exist in The Land and has the powers of Wild Magic. This is the basic premise of the book - that his WHITE GOLD ring makes people expect salvation from him, even though he doesn't know how to use it. So why do they picture a YELLOW GOLD ring on the cover? Sigh. Maybe it's Tor; I didn't look. Their books are always riddled with typos.
OK, no more procrastinating. Really.
Procrastinating
I'm blogging because I'm supposed to be writing. Well, it's kind of writing, isn't it? This is the point at which Douglas Adams said he would wander downstairs to get to know the new life forms growing in the fridge. He probably had a cleaner fridge than I do. He had an awesome quote about deadlines. "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." I so wish he was still around. I'm really, really thankful that I got a chance to meet him - well by meet I mean listen to him read from his book and answer Qs and then wait in line and be completely embarassed that I had nothing interesting to impart while waiting for him to sign my books. I was just too overwhelmed I guess. I would love to read what he would have written had he stuck around a bit longer.
Sometimes I think my brain has fallen out - can't remember squat sometimes. On the other hand, I did dig out a spectacular save last night and manage to explain to Mollusc why something to the power of zero is one. I didn't remember it so much as figure it out, which makes me think maybe I do have a brain after all. But it could be just a ruse. How did that come up anyway? Just dinner conversation as it turns out.
Trillian figured out how to get into the hanging chair (which, BTW is just specTACular - everyone should get issued one of these with their marriage license, LOL! Hope that's not too personal.) Anyway, she leapt into it - making it swing crazily - and immediately flipped upside down and started biting her tail. It was pretty comical. I find her in there a lot now.
We're having a heck of a time burning CDs, which really sucks. Actually, we can burn them fine, but they won't play in the van's CD player. Wah! My friend burns stuff for me on the exact same discs and they play fine, but not mine.
Well, procrastinating worked. I'm off. . .
Sometimes I think my brain has fallen out - can't remember squat sometimes. On the other hand, I did dig out a spectacular save last night and manage to explain to Mollusc why something to the power of zero is one. I didn't remember it so much as figure it out, which makes me think maybe I do have a brain after all. But it could be just a ruse. How did that come up anyway? Just dinner conversation as it turns out.
Trillian figured out how to get into the hanging chair (which, BTW is just specTACular - everyone should get issued one of these with their marriage license, LOL! Hope that's not too personal.) Anyway, she leapt into it - making it swing crazily - and immediately flipped upside down and started biting her tail. It was pretty comical. I find her in there a lot now.
We're having a heck of a time burning CDs, which really sucks. Actually, we can burn them fine, but they won't play in the van's CD player. Wah! My friend burns stuff for me on the exact same discs and they play fine, but not mine.
Well, procrastinating worked. I'm off. . .
Time Warp
We have this Russian clock - the kind they have on the Typhoon class subs, supposedly - and it only needs winding every seven or eight days. Well, by that time I've totally forgotten about it, so it invariably stops every week. Yesterday I was referring to it whilst writing on the laptop. All was going well and I was really able to get a LOT done in just a few minutes. It was like I'd entered some kind of time warp and I was really getting the most out of every minute. It was great. But when it got to be too good to be true, I squinted at the VCR clock and PANIC, PANIC (I know - so very NOT Hitchhiker Philosophy) it was actually time to change and leave for class!
Note to self, wind clock every Monday whether it needs it or not.
Food review:
Amy's Indian meals
Pros:
On sale for $2.99 at Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods) which is the same as the cheapest ones at the Indian grocery.
Pretty darned good for curry in a pinch. (Like Lister, I adore curries.)
Packaged in a paper tray that you can nuke. I won't nuke stuff in those plastic trays because they leach toxins into tthe food. yum.
Organic, veggie, non GMO, non-rat-containing, non-sulphurous, non-accidental, non-gravitational, non-putrifying, non-comedogenic, blah blah blah
Cons:
They come with rice which is crap and takes up package space that would be better spent on the curries.
Overall grade: A- If you can't make it to the Indian grocery and are making your own rice (which, thankfully, I did) they're tasty.
I'm out of lime and mixed pickles, which is tragic. I really need to get back to the Indian grocery store. . .
Didn't watch Bella Martha last night - too pooped after class and sparring to sit through a movie I'm going to mostly have to read (subtitled) so I read more of Lord Foul's Bane. I keep seeing it as a movie in my head. Maybe I'll make it into one when my skills are honed if no-one beats me to it.
I have a nasty muscle bruise on my thigh from a lovely but poorly-placed spinning back kick that my opponent blasted me with. Let's aim for the hogu, shall we? I can't talk, really. I know I got him in the cup at least once.
TIP FOR THE DAY: There's a big difference between "illuminate" and "eliminate." Always enunciate clearly.
Note to self, wind clock every Monday whether it needs it or not.
Food review:
Amy's Indian meals
Pros:
On sale for $2.99 at Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods) which is the same as the cheapest ones at the Indian grocery.
Pretty darned good for curry in a pinch. (Like Lister, I adore curries.)
Packaged in a paper tray that you can nuke. I won't nuke stuff in those plastic trays because they leach toxins into tthe food. yum.
Organic, veggie, non GMO, non-rat-containing, non-sulphurous, non-accidental, non-gravitational, non-putrifying, non-comedogenic, blah blah blah
Cons:
They come with rice which is crap and takes up package space that would be better spent on the curries.
Overall grade: A- If you can't make it to the Indian grocery and are making your own rice (which, thankfully, I did) they're tasty.
I'm out of lime and mixed pickles, which is tragic. I really need to get back to the Indian grocery store. . .
Didn't watch Bella Martha last night - too pooped after class and sparring to sit through a movie I'm going to mostly have to read (subtitled) so I read more of Lord Foul's Bane. I keep seeing it as a movie in my head. Maybe I'll make it into one when my skills are honed if no-one beats me to it.
I have a nasty muscle bruise on my thigh from a lovely but poorly-placed spinning back kick that my opponent blasted me with. Let's aim for the hogu, shall we? I can't talk, really. I know I got him in the cup at least once.
TIP FOR THE DAY: There's a big difference between "illuminate" and "eliminate." Always enunciate clearly.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Zero Amazing Insights
Sigh. The story of my life ;o)
Writing's going well. Time to start firing stuff off to publishers. I still have a story out there that I should be hearing back about soon. (prepares self for thin envelope with the inevitable rejection letter)
John made a fabulous supper last night. I told him we need to have it for Thanksgiving (I don't like turkey.) The house still smelled fabulous this morning. He made pork chops that were baked in a carmelized onion/balsamic vinegar sauce with sliced red and yellow peppers. There was fresh rosemary in there somewhere (yum - I love fresh rosemary!) He also made new potatoes that were seasoned with fresh thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper. Oh yum, yum, yum! I'm hungry again just thinking about it.
I've been making tom kar gai lately but sans the gai, so I guess it's just tom. I do plain rice noodles for filler and it's a super quick and easy lunch or snack. All the kids like it, but Mollusc has been begging for dofu in it, so I got some so we can do another batch this week.
It's been unseasonably warm for November in Michigan. Can't say I have a problem with that!
On the swimming front, Prawn has learned to float on her back. Hooray! And Fishy can get down to the bottom and skim along it now. He actually banged his chin on the bottomof the pool on Wednesday night. He never used to be able to get down that far. He's doing pretty well on swimming with his head out of the water now, though he's still the most trepidatioous of the lot. Prawn can swim and come up for air and keep going. She can also tread water, which is handy. She's learned the jumping for air emergency trick, so that's something of a relief, too, though she needs some more practice, still.
We cleaned out the bathroom today and it's rather empty and echo-y now - a bit disconcerting, actually. I guess we need some kind of arras in there now as a sound absorber. Maybe I can get a nice tapestry of Berek Halfhand. ;o) (see Thos Covenant books)
Last night we watched Lolita. I've always had a thing for Jeremy Irons. :o) I thought it was well done. Tonight is Maybe Baby (Hugh Laurie) and tomorrow should be Mostly Martha (in German, original title Bella Martha.)
Tomorrow Sluggie does her Mommy's Helper thing and whne she gets back we're going to the homeschool group bowling - um - thing. They do it the first Monday of every month and friends are going so we said we'd meet them there.
I got a call from another friend who wanted to give my # to a friend of hers who's going to start homeschooling her son. Lately I'm the homeschooling answer mama. I guess I didn't mention that I've been gathering info for another mom at TKD who plans to hs one of her daughters in one or two subjects, possibly more. And a mom I've been talking to at the grocery store (she works there part time) about hsing has pulled her son as well. 'Tis the season, I guess. Kids have been in school long enough by this time of year that parents realise it's not going to get any better. I'm really glad we were blessed enough to have the opportunity to make our decision so long ago, and that the right set of circumstances was in place to lead us down this path.
We watched the first Star Trek movie with the kids tonight. I'd forgotten how incredibly slow-moving it is - almost 2001-ish (but not quite that painful.) I wonder if number 2 is like that as well. John says he remembers the even numbered ones as being better than the odd numbered ones.
Writing's going well. Time to start firing stuff off to publishers. I still have a story out there that I should be hearing back about soon. (prepares self for thin envelope with the inevitable rejection letter)
John made a fabulous supper last night. I told him we need to have it for Thanksgiving (I don't like turkey.) The house still smelled fabulous this morning. He made pork chops that were baked in a carmelized onion/balsamic vinegar sauce with sliced red and yellow peppers. There was fresh rosemary in there somewhere (yum - I love fresh rosemary!) He also made new potatoes that were seasoned with fresh thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper. Oh yum, yum, yum! I'm hungry again just thinking about it.
I've been making tom kar gai lately but sans the gai, so I guess it's just tom. I do plain rice noodles for filler and it's a super quick and easy lunch or snack. All the kids like it, but Mollusc has been begging for dofu in it, so I got some so we can do another batch this week.
It's been unseasonably warm for November in Michigan. Can't say I have a problem with that!
On the swimming front, Prawn has learned to float on her back. Hooray! And Fishy can get down to the bottom and skim along it now. He actually banged his chin on the bottomof the pool on Wednesday night. He never used to be able to get down that far. He's doing pretty well on swimming with his head out of the water now, though he's still the most trepidatioous of the lot. Prawn can swim and come up for air and keep going. She can also tread water, which is handy. She's learned the jumping for air emergency trick, so that's something of a relief, too, though she needs some more practice, still.
We cleaned out the bathroom today and it's rather empty and echo-y now - a bit disconcerting, actually. I guess we need some kind of arras in there now as a sound absorber. Maybe I can get a nice tapestry of Berek Halfhand. ;o) (see Thos Covenant books)
Last night we watched Lolita. I've always had a thing for Jeremy Irons. :o) I thought it was well done. Tonight is Maybe Baby (Hugh Laurie) and tomorrow should be Mostly Martha (in German, original title Bella Martha.)
Tomorrow Sluggie does her Mommy's Helper thing and whne she gets back we're going to the homeschool group bowling - um - thing. They do it the first Monday of every month and friends are going so we said we'd meet them there.
I got a call from another friend who wanted to give my # to a friend of hers who's going to start homeschooling her son. Lately I'm the homeschooling answer mama. I guess I didn't mention that I've been gathering info for another mom at TKD who plans to hs one of her daughters in one or two subjects, possibly more. And a mom I've been talking to at the grocery store (she works there part time) about hsing has pulled her son as well. 'Tis the season, I guess. Kids have been in school long enough by this time of year that parents realise it's not going to get any better. I'm really glad we were blessed enough to have the opportunity to make our decision so long ago, and that the right set of circumstances was in place to lead us down this path.
We watched the first Star Trek movie with the kids tonight. I'd forgotten how incredibly slow-moving it is - almost 2001-ish (but not quite that painful.) I wonder if number 2 is like that as well. John says he remembers the even numbered ones as being better than the odd numbered ones.
I'm making big progress on a massive re-organising effort. Whew! Now I need to get down to the used bookstore in Brighton and take in a load of books!
Please feel more than free to add some Amazing Insights to this post!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
"I Never Could Get the Hang of Thursdays."
My sister sent me this bizarrely funny site. It's a must see if you have cats.
Today I've hardly gotten anything accomplished. I taught the Little Kid class this morning. We had a cute little guy come in that was 3.5 years old and actually listened extremely well for his age. He tried hard in the races and was pretty physically advanced for a boy, in my opinion. I think he's signing up, which will be a great addition to the class. I gave tips to two little white belt boys today, who were very pleased and proud.
After that we stopped by the vet to borrow her copy of The Hobbit on CD. It's a great version! I like it a LOT better than the half-dramatised one we got from the library.
Once home, we did lunch, then launched to the library and didn't get home until about 3:30. The kids made thank you cards for our mail carrier (who gave them each a big treak-or-treat bag in the mailbox for Hallowe'en) and then John got home early, shortly after we got here.
At that point I fired up the computer and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Last night was a rough night - Prawn had been coughing a lot. It's weird cuz she hardly coughs during the day and when she coughs at night, there's hardly anything to cough up, but she coughs incessantly once she gets started. It always happens when her cough syrup blows out and it takes a while for the next dose to kick in. Sigh. I was wiped out. She seems fine of course, today, though maybe she'll pass out on the way to class tonight.
We have class and sparring tonight. Hopefully I'll be a bit more perky from my nap, LOL! I kinda hope he just gives us sparring drills instead of actual sparring. But then, every time we spar I have so much fun I don't want to stop. Go figure. . .
Trillian lost a tooth last night. We had seen the 2 fangs in the same spot and I'd found that one was loose. It was still there in the morning, but by evening it was gone. The wretched tooth fairy did NOT come in the night to leave her anything. She has double fangs on both sides on top, so I'm sure she'll be losing those soon as well.
Now that I've warmed up my fingers, I'm off to get some writing accomplished.
Today I've hardly gotten anything accomplished. I taught the Little Kid class this morning. We had a cute little guy come in that was 3.5 years old and actually listened extremely well for his age. He tried hard in the races and was pretty physically advanced for a boy, in my opinion. I think he's signing up, which will be a great addition to the class. I gave tips to two little white belt boys today, who were very pleased and proud.
After that we stopped by the vet to borrow her copy of The Hobbit on CD. It's a great version! I like it a LOT better than the half-dramatised one we got from the library.
Once home, we did lunch, then launched to the library and didn't get home until about 3:30. The kids made thank you cards for our mail carrier (who gave them each a big treak-or-treat bag in the mailbox for Hallowe'en) and then John got home early, shortly after we got here.
At that point I fired up the computer and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Last night was a rough night - Prawn had been coughing a lot. It's weird cuz she hardly coughs during the day and when she coughs at night, there's hardly anything to cough up, but she coughs incessantly once she gets started. It always happens when her cough syrup blows out and it takes a while for the next dose to kick in. Sigh. I was wiped out. She seems fine of course, today, though maybe she'll pass out on the way to class tonight.
We have class and sparring tonight. Hopefully I'll be a bit more perky from my nap, LOL! I kinda hope he just gives us sparring drills instead of actual sparring. But then, every time we spar I have so much fun I don't want to stop. Go figure. . .
Trillian lost a tooth last night. We had seen the 2 fangs in the same spot and I'd found that one was loose. It was still there in the morning, but by evening it was gone. The wretched tooth fairy did NOT come in the night to leave her anything. She has double fangs on both sides on top, so I'm sure she'll be losing those soon as well.
Now that I've warmed up my fingers, I'm off to get some writing accomplished.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Noli hoc praeterire!
"Don't pass on this."
Just for you, Sheila:
Boromir wallpaper
Just finished watching SWIII and getting the children off to bed. Wow. That movie's quite an emotional rollercoaster and this was only the second time I've seen it. I got the kids to cover their eyes when they needed to, so that was good. Mollusc says it was depressing but good. They wanted to know why they couldn't see Anakin on fire and I said "because he looks awful, like a burnt marshmallow." Later on Fishy was heard to say "There's nothing Scawy about a buwnt mawshmawwow." LOL!
The 3 girls are all getting a cold, which I'm trying desperately to combat with echinacea/eyebright, zinc, water, Lohankuo tea and Boerick and Tafel cough syrup. Sigh. Mollusc is losing her voice and tickled pink with how she sounds. Sluggie is hardly showing any symptoms and Prawn has a cough only at night after lying down for a few hours. Fishy still seems fine. This has gone around at TKD and has lasted a looooong time for some people.
I got some Lifepacs to look at today but they seem too workbooky for us. Neat, but not something we'll want to stick with.
I got the coolest song from a friend. It's called "Aicha" (Aisha) by Khaled (if that version doesn't work, you can get a feel for it here, but his voice is what really makes it for me and this is only an instrumental.) Apparently he is the "King of Rai." I only just found out what Rai is, LOL! Aicha is SUCH an awesome song. We played it over and over ad infinitum today. The kids love it, too. The lyrics are here (in French) if you want to sing along.
My kids are growing up with such a strange mixture of music in so many languages: Korean, French, Irish Gaelic, Romanian, Chinese, Hebrew, German, Japanese, English, Arabic, Hindi. They are getting pretty good at identifying a language by the first few words now when they hear something new. That's kinda cool.
I told them we'd watch SWIII in French tomorrow and call it school, LOL! What we'll really do, though, is watch the special stuff on the disc - deleted scenes, making of, special effects info, etc. That's always educational. :oD
I'm going pitifully slow in my Thomas Covenant books, so I think it's time to go read.
Die dulci fruere (have a nice day.)
Just for you, Sheila:
Boromir wallpaper
Just finished watching SWIII and getting the children off to bed. Wow. That movie's quite an emotional rollercoaster and this was only the second time I've seen it. I got the kids to cover their eyes when they needed to, so that was good. Mollusc says it was depressing but good. They wanted to know why they couldn't see Anakin on fire and I said "because he looks awful, like a burnt marshmallow." Later on Fishy was heard to say "There's nothing Scawy about a buwnt mawshmawwow." LOL!
The 3 girls are all getting a cold, which I'm trying desperately to combat with echinacea/eyebright, zinc, water, Lohankuo tea and Boerick and Tafel cough syrup. Sigh. Mollusc is losing her voice and tickled pink with how she sounds. Sluggie is hardly showing any symptoms and Prawn has a cough only at night after lying down for a few hours. Fishy still seems fine. This has gone around at TKD and has lasted a looooong time for some people.
I got some Lifepacs to look at today but they seem too workbooky for us. Neat, but not something we'll want to stick with.
I got the coolest song from a friend. It's called "Aicha" (Aisha) by Khaled (if that version doesn't work, you can get a feel for it here, but his voice is what really makes it for me and this is only an instrumental.) Apparently he is the "King of Rai." I only just found out what Rai is, LOL! Aicha is SUCH an awesome song. We played it over and over ad infinitum today. The kids love it, too. The lyrics are here (in French) if you want to sing along.
My kids are growing up with such a strange mixture of music in so many languages: Korean, French, Irish Gaelic, Romanian, Chinese, Hebrew, German, Japanese, English, Arabic, Hindi. They are getting pretty good at identifying a language by the first few words now when they hear something new. That's kinda cool.
I told them we'd watch SWIII in French tomorrow and call it school, LOL! What we'll really do, though, is watch the special stuff on the disc - deleted scenes, making of, special effects info, etc. That's always educational. :oD
I'm going pitifully slow in my Thomas Covenant books, so I think it's time to go read.
Die dulci fruere (have a nice day.)
Monday, October 31, 2005
Naughtysaurus
I have to admit to loving the profanisaurus. I laughed so hard last night trolling through there. One of my faves was the definition of Yoff:
yoff v. To shout soup.
I laughed so hard I nearly spoke Welsh!
speak Welsh v. Blow chunks; shout soup. To yoff (qv).
What a fun site! It had definitely been too long since I last visited.
A raccoon is trick-or-treating on the deck. Or maybe it's the skunk dressed up as a raccoon. Anyway, it worked, cuz John is throwing her food. I guess it was Cheeto (one of our regular raccoons.) She's named after her favourite food which she just now got.
Meijers is having a Star Wars movie release party thing tonight and I can't believe my Not-Sufficiently-Star-Wars-Geek of a husband kaiboshed the idea of going. Sigh. I really should have checked his credentials better before getting hitched. . . I guess I won't get my copy 'til tomorrow.
yoff v. To shout soup.
I laughed so hard I nearly spoke Welsh!
speak Welsh v. Blow chunks; shout soup. To yoff (qv).
What a fun site! It had definitely been too long since I last visited.
A raccoon is trick-or-treating on the deck. Or maybe it's the skunk dressed up as a raccoon. Anyway, it worked, cuz John is throwing her food. I guess it was Cheeto (one of our regular raccoons.) She's named after her favourite food which she just now got.
Meijers is having a Star Wars movie release party thing tonight and I can't believe my Not-Sufficiently-Star-Wars-Geek of a husband kaiboshed the idea of going. Sigh. I really should have checked his credentials better before getting hitched. . . I guess I won't get my copy 'til tomorrow.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Ad astra
I'm not sure why I click on the Trebuchet font in my blog other than the fact that I'm amused by these ancient siege engines.
Tomorrow I attempt Colcannon for the Eve of Samhain. There's too much Irish in our blood for us to ignore this one. :o)
Tomorrow I'll also attempt to dye Sluggie's hair red with Kool-Aid. Should be interesting. She wants to be Ginny Weasley for Hallowe'en.
Enya has pinioned my arm to the couch. I guess she wants to do the typing. I keep waiting for her to come out with something brilliant. . .
What do you think: is this too much like Muzak (scroll down to listen), or is it lovely? I'm slightly afraid to admit to liking some of it. Does that make me old and haggardly? Concentrate on his photo if you must. ;o) Besides, if Sting sings on the album, it's can't be Muzak, can it?
I'm feeling a bit disjointed. Prolly cuz I have 4 writing projects fighting for the spotlight in my head. I guess it's time to give in to the voices. ;o)
Tomorrow I attempt Colcannon for the Eve of Samhain. There's too much Irish in our blood for us to ignore this one. :o)
Tomorrow I'll also attempt to dye Sluggie's hair red with Kool-Aid. Should be interesting. She wants to be Ginny Weasley for Hallowe'en.
Enya has pinioned my arm to the couch. I guess she wants to do the typing. I keep waiting for her to come out with something brilliant. . .
What do you think: is this too much like Muzak (scroll down to listen), or is it lovely? I'm slightly afraid to admit to liking some of it. Does that make me old and haggardly? Concentrate on his photo if you must. ;o) Besides, if Sting sings on the album, it's can't be Muzak, can it?
I'm feeling a bit disjointed. Prolly cuz I have 4 writing projects fighting for the spotlight in my head. I guess it's time to give in to the voices. ;o)
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Strange
We watched part of The Man With the Golden Gun last night. A lot of the action takes place in Hong Kong and Macau so far. It's pretty weird seeing those familiar sights in a movie. It came out in 1974, which was the year after we moved to HK, so the ever-changing landscape of Hong Kong is actually just how it was when we moved there. It's been a real blast from the past, so far - the hydrofoils with their red curved whatchyamacallits underneath, the skyline, constant construction and bamboo scaffoldings everywhere, and all those roads packed with little hole-in-the-wall shops. I'm waiting for Ocean Terminal (the gigantic mall) to show up. . .
I can't believe Scaramanga is played by Count Dooku, LOL! I still don't see even a resemblance.
Fishy tested for his brown belt today! Wow! He did a great job. I'm so proud of him. :o) John and I test for red next month. Scary. We've started a Black Belt Testing savings account already because 4 of us will come up for black at the same time and it is going to be oh, so expensive!
Hallowe'en is just around the corner and we are pumpkinless as usual. I guess we should go buy some. Maybe we could get giant ones and recreate this event at the lake in Kensington Park. I'm kinda bummed that I missed that, though I don't mind having missed out on the collapsing pier.
All the kids are engeaged in playing with our hordes of Star Wars guys, and I'm hearing some pretty interesting things.
"Can we pretend this is Threepio's leg? Threepio's holding his leg."
"I will race with my beast named Boga" (3 year-old in Yoda's voice) "aaaaaaagh!" (as Yoda is ejected from Boga's back)
"Can I have a clone trooper please? I don't have any money but I can trade."
"Oh yeah! You can trade me Mace's head! Or I can give you Mace's head for free." (runs off and returns with head) "Which one do you want? Do you want me to give you Mace's head? Or you can give me Mace."
"Can Taun We give me the clone trooper? She has hooves by the way."
"He has two left hands."
(Taun We's voice)"If you want them for war, I shall give you all the clone troopers."
"It's for a friend."
"Yoda left his shirt at Taun We's place. Why is that?"
I just noticed that 2 AT-AT drivers are "driving" Taun tauns, LOL! (I guess the rebels ripped off their AT-ATs.)
I'm not making great headway through the Thomas Covenant books because I'm writing more than reading these days. I'm about halfway through. They really do transport you to a different and believable world.
Speaking of writing, I guess I'll get back to that now. . .
I can't believe Scaramanga is played by Count Dooku, LOL! I still don't see even a resemblance.
Fishy tested for his brown belt today! Wow! He did a great job. I'm so proud of him. :o) John and I test for red next month. Scary. We've started a Black Belt Testing savings account already because 4 of us will come up for black at the same time and it is going to be oh, so expensive!
Hallowe'en is just around the corner and we are pumpkinless as usual. I guess we should go buy some. Maybe we could get giant ones and recreate this event at the lake in Kensington Park. I'm kinda bummed that I missed that, though I don't mind having missed out on the collapsing pier.
All the kids are engeaged in playing with our hordes of Star Wars guys, and I'm hearing some pretty interesting things.
"Can we pretend this is Threepio's leg? Threepio's holding his leg."
"I will race with my beast named Boga" (3 year-old in Yoda's voice) "aaaaaaagh!" (as Yoda is ejected from Boga's back)
"Can I have a clone trooper please? I don't have any money but I can trade."
"Oh yeah! You can trade me Mace's head! Or I can give you Mace's head for free." (runs off and returns with head) "Which one do you want? Do you want me to give you Mace's head? Or you can give me Mace."
"Can Taun We give me the clone trooper? She has hooves by the way."
"He has two left hands."
(Taun We's voice)"If you want them for war, I shall give you all the clone troopers."
"It's for a friend."
"Yoda left his shirt at Taun We's place. Why is that?"
I just noticed that 2 AT-AT drivers are "driving" Taun tauns, LOL! (I guess the rebels ripped off their AT-ATs.)
I'm not making great headway through the Thomas Covenant books because I'm writing more than reading these days. I'm about halfway through. They really do transport you to a different and believable world.
Speaking of writing, I guess I'll get back to that now. . .
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Ita erat quando hic adveni
"It was that way when I got here!" Tee hee!
Mollusc has covered her shredded foot in salve and says it smells like Michael's. By this, I assume she means the store, not her friend. How did she shred her foot you ask? Interesting question, that, with an equally intriguing answer. She somehow managed to "cheese grater" it on the tub drain. You know how tub drains tend to have a cover over them with slots or holes that are intended to filter things out from going down the drain (like wedding rings. Oops!) The problem is, the injury is on the TOP of the lowest knuckle of her big toe. Would you like to explain to me how she could possibly have managed that? Because I'm still having trouble visualising it. . . She says she was "sliding around" in the tub - "skating" I'm guessing. She also claims she'll never do it again. I should think not, looking at that wound! Zoiks!
Trillian must approve of blogging because she seems to have fallen asleep in my lap. In the meantime, the Prawn spouts forth Romanian upstairs. Chiefly, the word "haiduc" - "outlaw." What strange lives we lead.
We've started on The Boggart. It's tough reading the first chapter out loud, cuz I always feel like crying when the MacDevon and his dog Fergus die. It's uphill from there, though, thank goodness. The ending of the Last Battle was very poignant as well. It was nice to be able to discuss how Lewis intended it to be an allegory for Christianity with the kids, though. The older 2 are able to grasp it all. I didn't know that as a kid because my mom didn't read fiction and hadn't ever read them. I guess I must have been a little thick not to sort it out for myself. I think it was the first fiction I ever read though (aside from picture books.) I'm eternally grateful to my mom's cousin for sending the whole set to us in Hong Kong when I was 7. Those books opened up an amazing new world to me.
Tonight was a great workout at TKD. Kicks, more kicks on paddles, then when that hour was up, an hour of 3-step sparring. I'm exhausted! Time for a bath! I think we're finally going to try to watch Frequency - or at least part of it.
I think I'm in for a rash of renting movies of the sort I don't usually watch so I can study the whole craft of filmmaking better. It's fascinating. I'm still writing daily. It really feels great to be doing it again. I've even found that I'm able to rough draft on the laptop rather than longhand. It used to be that I always had to write longhand for the ideas to flow, but I think I've successfully transitioned to typing it. Thank Goodness for that!
Off to soak. Join me if you like. . . ;o)
Mollusc has covered her shredded foot in salve and says it smells like Michael's. By this, I assume she means the store, not her friend. How did she shred her foot you ask? Interesting question, that, with an equally intriguing answer. She somehow managed to "cheese grater" it on the tub drain. You know how tub drains tend to have a cover over them with slots or holes that are intended to filter things out from going down the drain (like wedding rings. Oops!) The problem is, the injury is on the TOP of the lowest knuckle of her big toe. Would you like to explain to me how she could possibly have managed that? Because I'm still having trouble visualising it. . . She says she was "sliding around" in the tub - "skating" I'm guessing. She also claims she'll never do it again. I should think not, looking at that wound! Zoiks!
Trillian must approve of blogging because she seems to have fallen asleep in my lap. In the meantime, the Prawn spouts forth Romanian upstairs. Chiefly, the word "haiduc" - "outlaw." What strange lives we lead.
We've started on The Boggart. It's tough reading the first chapter out loud, cuz I always feel like crying when the MacDevon and his dog Fergus die. It's uphill from there, though, thank goodness. The ending of the Last Battle was very poignant as well. It was nice to be able to discuss how Lewis intended it to be an allegory for Christianity with the kids, though. The older 2 are able to grasp it all. I didn't know that as a kid because my mom didn't read fiction and hadn't ever read them. I guess I must have been a little thick not to sort it out for myself. I think it was the first fiction I ever read though (aside from picture books.) I'm eternally grateful to my mom's cousin for sending the whole set to us in Hong Kong when I was 7. Those books opened up an amazing new world to me.
Tonight was a great workout at TKD. Kicks, more kicks on paddles, then when that hour was up, an hour of 3-step sparring. I'm exhausted! Time for a bath! I think we're finally going to try to watch Frequency - or at least part of it.
I think I'm in for a rash of renting movies of the sort I don't usually watch so I can study the whole craft of filmmaking better. It's fascinating. I'm still writing daily. It really feels great to be doing it again. I've even found that I'm able to rough draft on the laptop rather than longhand. It used to be that I always had to write longhand for the ideas to flow, but I think I've successfully transitioned to typing it. Thank Goodness for that!
Off to soak. Join me if you like. . . ;o)
Ita, te adloquor.
Or in English, "Yeah, I'm talking to you."
I found this great site today.
My sister was talking to me about a movie she just saw called Copenhagen. Sounded interesting and I found out it was a play written by Michael Frayn (a fave of mine since University - see my fave books) and put it on my "to rent" list. Guess who stars in the film? (scroll to bottom) So today I went to the library to get the book referenced in my first link. All they had in was the book on tape, which I got. I also grabbed a tape by Stephen Hawking while browsing the section. I haven't heard about Hawking in the news lately, so I googled him later in the day to see what he's been up to. That led me to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Remember Heisenberg from Copenhagen? Nullo modo, eh? Life is weird.
Now, I know what you're saying: "Fac ut vivas!" But nescio quid dicas. *grin*
I found this great site today.
My sister was talking to me about a movie she just saw called Copenhagen. Sounded interesting and I found out it was a play written by Michael Frayn (a fave of mine since University - see my fave books) and put it on my "to rent" list. Guess who stars in the film? (scroll to bottom) So today I went to the library to get the book referenced in my first link. All they had in was the book on tape, which I got. I also grabbed a tape by Stephen Hawking while browsing the section. I haven't heard about Hawking in the news lately, so I googled him later in the day to see what he's been up to. That led me to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Remember Heisenberg from Copenhagen? Nullo modo, eh? Life is weird.
Now, I know what you're saying: "Fac ut vivas!" But nescio quid dicas. *grin*
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Block Begone!
Well, it worked! Now I'm just tormenting myself in a sort of Vanilla Sky way, lest I find out how this thing ends too quickly. Ah, delicious suspense.
Trillian, having sucessfully subdued a wad of tape, a bit of string, and her own tail, is now asleep atop 2 cushions piled on the couch. Such a princess! I'm tempted to sneak a pea under there and see how she takes it. Meanwhile, wheezy Emmett is purring and kneading the blanket on my legs into submission.
I have this incredibly strong desire to just debauch and have fun. Sheila, where are you?? You really, really need to come back. 'Tis far easier to debauch here than whilst staying in the basement of one's parents-in-law, even if heavy medication does render said PILs fairly zombie-like. Come on, woman - good food, great wine (oh, great wine! Falcon Ridge, 2001. See if you can get your hands on some. Otherwise, I'll hook you up) good company, silliness, movies galore. Sigh. Tipsy true confessions (that WAS fun, wasn't it?? :o) ) Nothing quite like family is there? Hey - so I can't remember your answers to some of those Qs. I'm going to have to interrogate you via email.
Oh yeah - bring this Michael guy. I dare you! He sounds lovely. We'll take him to TKD and if he doesn't cry you'll know he's a keeper! *grin* Can we call him Mickey? I had a hot prof named Mickey once. I was never comfortable calling him Mickey, though. Maybe if he hadn't been so good-looking. . . Anyway, you have to tell me more, because you definitely haven't given me nearly enough info. "Cute" is hardly descriptive enough. Are we talking tall? Dwarf? Glasses? Beard? Hair? To tell the truth, I have that guy who wrote to you on the Veg site stuck in my mind - the one that looked like whatsisface, um, Greg Kinnear. That's no good - this guy is prolly completely different-looking. Unless he's the same guy and stalking you under a different name, which would be kinda creepy and in which case I advise you to come visit immediately! Besides, we have to fix your car! I was talking to friends about your car today and there is actually a more dilapidated car on record if you can believe it. One of them told me about a boyfriend's car that could only be entered through the hatchback, LOL! Of course, maybe pigmallow has progressed to that point by now. But then, if pigmallow had suddenly developed a hatchback, that would be worrisome enough in itself. Now, I can't sit here all high and mighty about my car. The whole reason the topic came up is because someone noticed I have no door handle on the sliding door. Nyuck nyuck! Apparently hot air blows out through there. I'm gonna have to duct tape it. Ductapo Ergo Sum. Veni, Vidi, Ducti.
You are bad to make me stay up talking to you. You know I'm in a different time zone! Bloody Eastern Time Zone! I am not gruntled. Then again, tomorrow is Wednesday - no commitments. Now that is very gruntling indeed!
Trillian, having sucessfully subdued a wad of tape, a bit of string, and her own tail, is now asleep atop 2 cushions piled on the couch. Such a princess! I'm tempted to sneak a pea under there and see how she takes it. Meanwhile, wheezy Emmett is purring and kneading the blanket on my legs into submission.
I have this incredibly strong desire to just debauch and have fun. Sheila, where are you?? You really, really need to come back. 'Tis far easier to debauch here than whilst staying in the basement of one's parents-in-law, even if heavy medication does render said PILs fairly zombie-like. Come on, woman - good food, great wine (oh, great wine! Falcon Ridge, 2001. See if you can get your hands on some. Otherwise, I'll hook you up) good company, silliness, movies galore. Sigh. Tipsy true confessions (that WAS fun, wasn't it?? :o) ) Nothing quite like family is there? Hey - so I can't remember your answers to some of those Qs. I'm going to have to interrogate you via email.
Oh yeah - bring this Michael guy. I dare you! He sounds lovely. We'll take him to TKD and if he doesn't cry you'll know he's a keeper! *grin* Can we call him Mickey? I had a hot prof named Mickey once. I was never comfortable calling him Mickey, though. Maybe if he hadn't been so good-looking. . . Anyway, you have to tell me more, because you definitely haven't given me nearly enough info. "Cute" is hardly descriptive enough. Are we talking tall? Dwarf? Glasses? Beard? Hair? To tell the truth, I have that guy who wrote to you on the Veg site stuck in my mind - the one that looked like whatsisface, um, Greg Kinnear. That's no good - this guy is prolly completely different-looking. Unless he's the same guy and stalking you under a different name, which would be kinda creepy and in which case I advise you to come visit immediately! Besides, we have to fix your car! I was talking to friends about your car today and there is actually a more dilapidated car on record if you can believe it. One of them told me about a boyfriend's car that could only be entered through the hatchback, LOL! Of course, maybe pigmallow has progressed to that point by now. But then, if pigmallow had suddenly developed a hatchback, that would be worrisome enough in itself. Now, I can't sit here all high and mighty about my car. The whole reason the topic came up is because someone noticed I have no door handle on the sliding door. Nyuck nyuck! Apparently hot air blows out through there. I'm gonna have to duct tape it. Ductapo Ergo Sum. Veni, Vidi, Ducti.
You are bad to make me stay up talking to you. You know I'm in a different time zone! Bloody Eastern Time Zone! I am not gruntled. Then again, tomorrow is Wednesday - no commitments. Now that is very gruntling indeed!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
"Oh Freddled Gruntlebuggy"
Writer's block is a bit of a bummer. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to last long. In the meantime. . .
Have you ever been gruntled by something that seemed shadowy becoming quite terious? It is such an appointing feeling!
I have yet to figure out whether gurgitating a fine meal is a good experience or not. I think it's the sort of thing that would make me quite consolate, but I'm not completely sure.
Cats can retract their claws, but dogs can only tract them. Yet this doesn't necessarily make dogs tractable compantions.
My friend's son was pelled to school this year.
Some of the battle scenes in the LOTR movies were pretty intense and I could only hale. (neither in nor ex) Victims were re-emboweled at the houses of healing.
Can you cant something into a bottle? "He canted the wily leprechaun and shipped it to a zoo."
My friend furbished her new house for the first time.
He was very glad to have recieved the Medal of Honour humously!
She fought for the rights of prehumous babies even though protesters were attacking the contesters all around her.
It was eerie when the record stopped volving and started revolving again all on its own.
I hate to remonstrate with you when I've already monstrated with you once.
My friend was very dignant when I apologised.
Have you ever been gruntled by something that seemed shadowy becoming quite terious? It is such an appointing feeling!
I have yet to figure out whether gurgitating a fine meal is a good experience or not. I think it's the sort of thing that would make me quite consolate, but I'm not completely sure.
Cats can retract their claws, but dogs can only tract them. Yet this doesn't necessarily make dogs tractable compantions.
My friend's son was pelled to school this year.
Some of the battle scenes in the LOTR movies were pretty intense and I could only hale. (neither in nor ex) Victims were re-emboweled at the houses of healing.
Can you cant something into a bottle? "He canted the wily leprechaun and shipped it to a zoo."
My friend furbished her new house for the first time.
He was very glad to have recieved the Medal of Honour humously!
She fought for the rights of prehumous babies even though protesters were attacking the contesters all around her.
It was eerie when the record stopped volving and started revolving again all on its own.
I hate to remonstrate with you when I've already monstrated with you once.
My friend was very dignant when I apologised.
Fact or Fiction?
John has been helping me proof my stories, which is awesome, because I am truly sick to death of re-reading, PLUS, since I know what it says, I read words I meant to put there but missed. D'oh! He catches the missing words for me AND adds suggestions from an outsider's point of view, which is great since I know the story too well to be able to see what is clear and what isn't sometimes. I do have to remind him that the character is "her" and not "me." This is fiction! In the meantime, I continue to be inspired and to write! Yay! I do find myself surfing for inspiration sometimes, but it works, so, whatever!
Trillian is busy killing - well, I can't actually tell what it is, because it's engulfed in her many-toed paws. The girl has 24 toes! Impressive!
I realised the other day that I live in the wrong country. See?
(Ha! Beat that, Sheila! Yes, each word links to a diff pic)
Then again, we have our merits here. . .
The draft by the viewing port is getting downright frigid. I think I need to hang a blanket in the window or something! Or maybe I'll just click on all those hot guys. . .
Trillian is busy killing - well, I can't actually tell what it is, because it's engulfed in her many-toed paws. The girl has 24 toes! Impressive!
I realised the other day that I live in the wrong country. See?
(Ha! Beat that, Sheila! Yes, each word links to a diff pic)
Then again, we have our merits here. . .
The draft by the viewing port is getting downright frigid. I think I need to hang a blanket in the window or something! Or maybe I'll just click on all those hot guys. . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)