Movies I Have to See

 For those of you who have not see Avatar, get off your computer and go see it. Right now. 

Fritzi Lou's Peach Cobler

Earlier this year my Grandma Frizi passed away. It wasn't until her memorial that I began to understand how little I knew her. To me she had always been the big, boisterous, baking grandma who made a mean peach cobbler and made sure there was steamed broccoli on the table just for me.

As it turns out she sang opera when she was younger--they played a song she recorded for Mesiah in her youth that literally moved most if not all in the room to tears. She also was a poet. Fritzi wrote the kind of poetry that, like her peach cobler, stirs the soul if not the heart.

My cousin and his wife were kind enough to compile a booklet of some of her poetry and recipes for all of us (a daunting task, I'm sure) for Christmas.  So here is a tidbit for you.

Peach Cobbler

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


You will need:
1 cube butter OR add 2 tb olive oil and grease the pan
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
2 16oz. cans of peaches, with juice

Place the butter in an 8" baking pan. Put the pan in the oven as it preheats to melt it.

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients together then add the milk and mix thoroughly.

Remove the pan from the oven and pour the batter evenly over the butter. DO NOT STIR!!! With a slotted spoon place the peaches evenly across the batter then pour the juice over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

For an extra delicious dessert sprinkle one cup of huckleberries over the peaches before baking.

Poetry and Peach Cobbler

These two poems were written by my grandmother. I couldn't decide between them so I put them both. 

Reincarnation (1963)

I have loved you through
the endless corridors of time,
as far away as memory can reach.
Measureless, eternal beatings
of some ancient heart are binding
each to everlasting each.

And when the white-capped waves
have ceased to hurl themselves
against the shore,
my immortal self will love you
still the same,
because I cannot love you more.


What does God Do? (1938)

What does God do
during the day?
He counts his silver
and stores it away.

What does he do
all through the night?
He counts his gold
and locks it up tight.

What does he do with
his silver and gold?
Why, he gives it to you
all you can hold.

He counts it all out
day by day and gives
it to angels to
scatter away.

To ripen the fruit
and richen the soil,
to gladden the hearts
of men who toil.

To urge all the buds
to hurry and bloom,
to stream through the window
of a poor garret room.

To nourish the wheat
into ripe golden grain.
It streams down the mountains
and floods on the plains.

And deep in the shade
helps the grasses grow taller.
On each leaf in the forest
shines one silver dollar.

My Lack of Bloggage

I haven't blogged in almost two weeks. No, I wasn't in a turkey coma [long] I just haven't been feeling very inspired.

It's been f-f-freezing here in Spokane. I've spent most of my time huddled under blankets reading/knitting/watching t.v. I can't go out without wrapping up in several layers because I'm a sissy because it's c-c-cold. I don't want to go anywhere because I'm usually halfway to my destination before the car heater is working and it's hard to drive when you're all wrapped up like Randy from A Christmas Story.

I'm just thankful there's been very little snow. I got my fill last year.

Random Fact: By March 30, 2009 the National Weather Service in Spokane had recorded a seasonal snow total of 93.6 inches at Spokane International Airport, besting the previous record set in 1949-50 by a mere tenth of an inch.

 

Happy Turkey Day

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.  

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!  

Happy  Thanksgiving Everyone!

Random Fact Friday

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building. 

 Ok, so it's not really a fact. It's more of an Urban Legend.

But still...

As a Book Nerd, I thought that was funny.

Another random fact: spinning classes make your tailbone feel like it's going to crack. I went to check out the spinning class at my gym today for the first time and OH, my aching pieces!

But I felt great afterward.

Lying Liar and Other Things

A bunch of us at work are trying to loose weight in our own "Biggest Loser" type competition. Lucky me, I lost about 10 lbs. before the weigh in [flu bug] which means that it didn't count towards the competition. Although it still counts toward my personal goal [no numbers!]

I've developed this habit in the morning of stepping onto the scale first thing [after using the bathroom] and discovered that my $8 scale from Walmart is a lying liar. Apparenly my weight fluctuates around 5 lbs. throughout the day with what I'm assuming is waterweight and such. Still, it said I'd lost almost 20 lbs. I know that's not entirely true, but it looked pretty.  :)

My sister and I are going to see the Lion King on Sunday. I'm SO excited ['cause I'm a nerd like that].

Also, I finished my very first knit hat. Very exciting. It's a little large and I managed to invert my stitches when I was finishing it but, whatever. Yay!

Michael Jackson and the Tooth Fairy

Last night I went to my Dad's house for dinner. Afterward we all sat down to play Imagine If [highly recommended, it's awesome] and in that game you write down the names of all the players along the outside of the board. There are 8 places so if you have less than 8 players you fill in the spaces with names of people and they don't have to be living or real. [In the past we've used Brittany Spears and Kevin Costner for instance.] This time we used Michael Jackson, Santa and the Toothfairy.

Now before I continue, let me just say that I sometimes say things before I think about them and how other people will react to the words that jump out of my mouth. So there I am staring at these names on the board and I laugh and say, "Wow. Out of all these names one is dead and two aren't real." There was a moment of shocked silence in which my dad gave me his sideways-bug-eyes look and my step-mom stared over at me with her jaw on the floor. This was at the exact same time that my sister was shouting "THEY ARE TOO REAL!" and my brother chimed in "Are not!"

Apparently my kid sister hadn't discovered the truth about the tooth fairy and Santa yet. Oops. My bad.

To quote Homer Simpson, "Doh!"

Random Fact Friday

French kissing involves all 34 muscles in the face. A pucker kiss involves only two.

On a different note, I had an optometrist appointment last Wednesday. Is it me, or is it kind of stressful? They're asking you all these crazy questions "Which is better, 1, 2, or 3?" or "How about now? and now?" I felt like I was back in school and the professor was messing with my head.

Apparently I passed the test though, I got my prescription for contacts renewed. Yes!

It's Good to be Queen

Today at work I went to my locker in search for a spoon and found this little lovely taped to the front:



I had to smile because I knew my friend Denise was the culprit. And it's totally true. So, as she suggested, I renamed my blog.

Thanks Denise!

NaNoWriMo

So apparently it's NaNoWriMo which, for those of you who have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, is National Novel Writing Month. Who knew there was such a thing?

All kinds of people. I'd heard it so much that I finally googled it.

Basically, all the writers of the world (?) professional and aspiring write a 50,000 word novel just for a challenge. Deadline is November 30 at midnight. Just to give you an idea, the average novel is around 100,000 words.

Sounds like fun. I write only as a hobby (and I guard my writing viciously, people rarely read it--the most anyone has read my stuff was when I took a creative writing class last year [loved it!]) I might even be tempted to try it but it's already the 8th, almost the 9th, and 50,000 words is a tall order, and I'm kind of a sissy.

But still. Totally awesome idea.

The Lady With the Cookie

Yesterday was hectic. It was Halloween and it was busy. On top of all the fun things I already needed to do I periodically ended up in a check stand [I work at a grocery store]. At one point a woman in one of those electric wheelchairs came through my line. She bought only one item; a shortbread cookie that was shaped like a pumpkin and had the words "Happy Birthday" scrawled across them in neon green frosting. I thought it was cute but I refrained from commenting on it as I helped her count out the exact change for her purchase.

Some time later I was off on the floor doing my own thing when the woman wheeled up to me and asked to use the phone to make a call and find out when the city bus would be stopping. So I walked her to our office and helped her make the call. Afterward she told me that when she first arrived at our bus stop today her wheels got stuck and a deaf man helped her get unstuck and off the bus. They got to talking and he told her that he was having an awful day. It was his birthday and he felt like no one cared. So she came inside and went to our bakery to pick out a cookie and asked one of the girls behind the counter to write "Happy Birthday" on the cookie. She then came through my line, bought said cookie, and tracked the guy down to give him his birthday cookie. She told me he cried and I could sympathize. That cookie had probably made his day; it made mine.

It's nice to know that there are people in the world that care, even if you're a complete stranger.

Happy Birthday, Man From the Bus.

Here's Johhny

It's here.

Every fall there comes a day when I realize that the holiday season has begun.

Today was that day.

The days are shorter/darker/colder, people become more and more frantic and difficult, and the days seem more and more chaotic. Suddenly anyone that works in retail is swept up in the whirlwind of the holidays just trying to keep their heads up--forget about swimming upstream. All you can do is try to get through it. And we do. But it also means the inevitable change from autumn to winter.

I hate winter.

I am not psychologically prepared for winter. But it's coming. It actually snowed yesterday [thank goodness none of it stuck]. All of us here are just hoping this winter is better than the last two. We had so much snow last winter that Spokane effectively shut down for days. Roofs collapsed, people were stranded in their homes because they couldn't get out of their driveways or the streets; it was chaos.

BUT

The holidays have their perks too:

Halloween
-candy and scary movies [although Hocus Pocus is my usual Halloween movie of choice]

Thanksgiving
-Turkey Soup is a delicious inevitability at my Dad's house
-my Step-dad's sweet potatoes [my mom and I fight over them every year]
-pumpkin pie

Christmas
-well having a paid day off is always great
-playing Santa's Little Helper at work is fun, plus we always have a smorgasbord of yummy holiday goodness [including prime rib] set up for us in the back of the store on Christmas Eve

Have At Thee, Germs!

I feel a little like I've lost a few days. Poof. Gone. Being sick will do that. I've spent the last four days dying of plague in the fetal position either on the couch or in bed fighting what I suspect is the flu. Today was the first day back at work, for which I was thankful. [One can only stand a certain amount of daytime television before wishing that whatever ails them will finish them off.]

I've decided that from now on I'm going to get the flu shot. The only reason I didn't this year was because I was too much of a tightwad. Lesson learned.

Now begins the daunting task of decontaminating disinfecting everything.

Sigh.

I Love This Song

I heard this on the way home today. I tried to embed the actual music video but the links have all been disabled and you have to watch it HERE but here's the song:





I've also been very into this song too:

Happy Happy Happy

Stephenie Meyer's book The Host is going to be a movie!

Hurray!

Tacoma

I went with my dad and siblings to Tacoma to visit in September here's a few pics.

Left to right is Cyndal, Casey, Me, Jamie, Tami, and Dad. We were short one, my brother Andy missed the trip.

We went for a walk [in the pouring rain] and Dad, Casey and Jamie stopped several times to pick "nature's candy" a.k.a. Blackberries while the rest of us milled around getting wetter. This was right after breakfast, I might ad.


We found this little guy on our trek. He seemed to be enjoying the rain more than we were.

I feel like I'm repeating myself...

I'm loving that it's really fall now. The trees are starting to turn and the air has that crisp, sweet smell. The nights are pretty chilly, but I suppose that's an acceptable trade off. The shorter days aren't though.

I'm hoping to go to Green Bluff soon for the harvest festival [every weekend in October] and to wander through the corn maze, which never gets old. [Except when people cheat and ruin it for you.] Getting lost and having to backtrack is part of the fun. So is frozen fingers, sticky caramel apple lips, and heaving around pumpkins and gallon jugs of fresh squeezed apple cider. Yum.

I love the fall.

On a side note, I killed a large spider yesterday in my bathroom after only minimal amounts of squealing and jumping around.

Mama would be so proud.

Wild Things

I can't wait to see this movie. I remember loving the book as a child and the previews look great.

Happy Friday

I'm having a hard time thinking of something "blog-worthy" at the moment so I'm going to be brief.

Brain hurts, want daiquiri but have to work early. Inventory sucks.

The End. [ha.]

Actually that sums up life nicely at the moment.

Happy VGNO!

Forbidden Fruit

Recently the two coke machines in the back of the store have been removed due to our Coke vendors neglecting the machines [Either the machines didn't work or they were out of everything. Always.] And I rarely, if ever, drink pop [soda, sodapop, depending on where you live] for a variety of reasons [the sugar, the calories, the way it strips the enamel off your teeth, the link to obesity and problems with bone density, etc.] and I found that I really didn't miss it. Oh, I'd have a Dr.Pepper now and then but only on rare occasion. I'm more interested in coffee for my caffeine fix. I love coffee like a fat kid loves cake.

But then, the coke machine was gone. Suddenly I had Coca Cola on the brain. I've been craving it ever since, I even had a dream about it last night. So today at lunch I bought one of the 20oz. bottles for $1.61 and drank [almost] the entire 240 calories of it. Which is saying something because normally I'm a terrible pop-drinker. I'm the type that will open a can, drink half, and throw the rest away.

I think it's that whole forbidden fruit thing.

Yes.

Another post about tattoos. What can I say, I have ink on the brain.

So I've been thinking about what kind of tattoo I want. What I want it to represent and what it will mean to me. I think I have a pretty good idea.

First off, I wanted something that had some meaning. I said I was going to stay away from more floral. I lied. I am a lying liar.


The lotus is a symbol [and has been for thousands of years] of rebirth and the cycle of life, probably because of the way they drop below the water at night and resurface with the sun. This seems appropriate as this tattoo is kind of a post-graduation thing for myself and graduation was [as far as I'm concerned] the first day of the rest of my life.

But what kind of lotus? There are so many different styles of tattoos. I like the tribal tatts, the bold, flowing lines, but everyone has one and I want to be different [just like everyone else]. So I've been thinking about henna tattoos. I love the style of henna. Again, with the flowing bold lines but with henna the lines are softer and less severe. Which I like. So here are some pictures that are kind of along the lines of what I'm thinking.

I'm thinking the best way to go about this is to print off some of these and take them into the guy that I'm going to have do it so that he can use these to design something for me. [Incidentally this tattoo artist did the one on my ankle for me and the one on my moms ankle when I was a kid.]

Thoughts? Comments? Don't be shy!

I Want

...another tattoo.

Every now and then I surf the net looking for inspiration. I know I want my next one to be a small one and I want it on the front of my left shoulder like this:
...but I can't decide what I want. I keep coming back to things like dragonflies, stars, etc. You know, the same thing everyone else has these days. I already have a rose on my ankle so I'm thinking floral is out. My first one kind of just came to me and I've wanted another one since I had that one done six years ago. I promised myself I'd wait until I graduated college for tatt #2. Which I did. As a sort of victory thing, so that it would have some sort of meaning aside from just being pretty.

I just can't make up my mind.

Ugh.

Ready or Not

Here I am, ready to usher in the new Year of Amanda, year 24. I always find my birthday to be a bit of a relief [when it’s over]. I hate being on the cusp of a birthday, it makes me feel a little discombobulated. Don’t ask me why. I feel better when I have a solid number to compare myself with. 24 rather than 23 and 7/10. Maybe it’s because I found myself actually looking forward to turning 24.

24 will be the first school free year since preschool (if you want to get technical about it, which I do). Makes me feel a little like a real grown up. Even if that is the only real change, my being graduated, it is a big one. I’m currently struggling to recalibrate myself so to speak. College, ultimately, was a huge part of my life for years and years. It was the reason I gave a crap about graduating from high school. It influenced almost every decision I made from where to live to what groceries to buy. It made me a different person than I was before. It was (I thought) the driving force in my life.

Then I graduated.

Suddenly, I find, I am not working towards anything in my life.

Apparently I’m goal oriented.

Who knew?

It isn’t that I don’t have other goals, but some goals are more tangible than others, we can only control our lives so much. For instance, here’s a general list:

• Graduate College
• Meet Prince Charming
• Buy Charming house in suburbs
• Buy Pooch Charming
• Have multiple Charming Children with Prince Charming
• Oh and have Charming Job (interesting that that’s on the bottom of the list, isn’t it?)
• Live happily ever after, retired and living a charmed life vacationing in Italy/Spain/Ireland/etc.

Now then, does anyone have Prince Charming’s phone number?

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Today I had an interesting conversation with my all-time favorite customer at work, Nan Something-or-rather. (I know I shouldn't play favorites but it's true.) She's the sort of person you always walk away from feeling good after a conversation, no matter how brief. Unbeknown to her, she is the one that got me to start knitting [which I now love] and she's handed me all kinds of little nuggets of wisdom over the six years I've had my job.

Today Nan was smiling and bursting with happy, bouncing around like a kid while she told me in a singsong voice that she was in love. A little background about Nan, she's sixty-something and very independent. In her own way, she reminds me that its okay to be a happily single, independent woman. Which may sound funny, but sometimes I forget.

She went on and on about how wonderful this man was and how much they had in common [they are in the same *Gold-Wing club] and I couldn't help but grin along with her. Because, as she said, there's hope for everyone. Our society has this idea that once you hit a certain age you'd better be paired up or else. Apparently that's crap. Good to know.


*A Gold-Wing is a kind of Harley. Yes, Nan rides a Harley. Which she loves more than she has ever loved or probably will ever love any man. [I can't help but admire her for this, because I'm too chicken to ride unless as a passenger.]

Holy Leapin' Arachnids, Batman!

So here I am packing odds and ends for a weekend away and making sure I have clean laundry to come back to. On the way to the washing machine I find that there is one small large [fuzzy, eight-legged] obstacle that looked something like this:



Now, it's no secret that I'm an absolute girl about insects with a special place in my heart own personal hell for arachnids.

It's my parents fault. Really.

I mean what sane parent allows their small child to watch the movie "Arachnophobia." I have a hard time killing the little buggers too. I know it's ridiculous to think that they will rally the troops and attack or something, but every time I see one I think about this:



[If you were wondering, I check my shower every time.]


So, as we have established, I am much to much of a girl to kill said nasty. So what was my solution? I contemplated skipping the laundry all together but there were things I wanted to take with me. So I tip-toed around the spider hoping I would not provoke it. [Some spiders will actually run at you {e.g. Hobo Spiders and yes, we have them}]

So far, so good, but I still haven't gotten my stuff out of the the dryer.

Soaring Part 1

For graduation my dad bought me a gift certificate for the Spokane Soaring Society. You sit in a little glider plane that's towed up about 3000 feet or so and then release to ride the air currents. It was pretty awesome. (At least until my stomach had had enough, which is weird for me. I NEVER get car sick or motion sickness.) I didn't actually get sick but I was feeling queasy enough that the pilot headed back sooner than we otherwise would have.

Still, absolutely a memorable experience. Thanks Dad!

Here's some pictures I took. I'll be getting more from my dad in the next few days of me in/next to the glider.

This is the plane that towed us up.
This is the glider I rode in.
The Cockpit
The view

Hugs

I saw this video on Mine to Thine and it made me think about an experience I had. I and a few friends were camping out at the Gorge for Creation 2000 when I was in junior high school. It was HOT, the showers were freezing, drinking water stayed cold for seconds only, and using the outhouse was a horrific and traumatizing experience every time. It was a three day weekend and by morning number two, I was cranky.

I rolled out of my sleeping bag, donned a pair of sandals and went shuffling off to the outhouse, still in my pajamas, contemplating the niceties of civilization [plumbing, for instance] and I must have been scowling. Or frowning. Because as I was about to walk by a gaggle of [very cute] boys one of them says, "Aww, someone needs a hug."

And before I knew it there were about four [very cute] guys giving me a group hug. How could that not make me smile?

I have no idea who they were, and I never saw them again but I remember the hug and it still makes me smile.

Early Morning Shenanigans

I currently have a friend staying with me a few weeks while she's looking for her own place. I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment so this means she's sleeping in the living room. This morning I had to work at Dark'o'clock and I made darn sure that my coffee pot was set to go off and be ready for me when I crawled made my way to the kitchen.

I grabbed my enormous plastic coffee mug [about 32 oz., no joke] and filled it by the light of my refrigerator so as not to wake my guest. From there I tip-toed to the bathroom [did I mention it was dark] thinking 'Wow, it would really suck if I dropped this...'

And then...guess what I did.

I. Dropped. My. Coffee.

Just as I was about to set it on the bathroom counter I lost my grip [or something?] and fumbled, trying to catch it [which of course made it worse]. Luckily most of the coffee fell into the sink and down the drain but because I fumbled trying to catch it in my zombie-like stupor surprise, it had splattered all over the walls, sink, toilette, bathtub and my floor. And I giggled. How could I not?

I asked my friend later if she heard any of the commotion and she hadn't, she'd been dead asleep. Figures.

Note to Self, hold coffee with both hands next time.

What a tease

I ordered a book and a movie from www.amazon.com last Wednesday and qualified for their free shipping. This means that the items will be shipped together and at the speed of a slug crawling uphill. I checked the status this morning and was elated to find that my package was in transit [somewhere areound Illinois] ...and then I glanced down and saw the arrival date. Friday. Ugh.

If I wasn't being a cheepskate I would probably have it tomorrow.

:(

Side Note:

After a persistently hot, dry summer it's suddenly cooled off these last few days. It's 62 degrees out right now, the air is crisp and smells like the promise of rain. I know it's only a teaser, mother nature is baiting me, and Autumn [my favorite season] wont truly begin for at least another month. But its nice. It makes me happy.

I'm ready for hot cider, scarves, sweaters, and the bright colored leaves.


Oh and happy VGNO!

But it's a Classic...

"'And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens--Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered DO haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts HAVE wandered on earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! only DO not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I CANNOT live without my life! I CANNOT live without my soul!'"

- Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, Ch. 16


This last weekend I reread Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I'd read it almost ten years ago so I'd forgotten most of the story. I usually avoid books that I think will be painful or disturbing but this one's a classic so I read it again. I'd forgotten how dark and twisted it was. The main characters make you want to scream up till the end where the author attempts to turn the story around with a happy ending (which is kind of like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.)

Still, it's a great book. But now I feel the need to read something bright and happy. Maybe Pride and Prejudice (even though I just read it not too long ago). I could use a stroll in the park with Mr. Darcy.

;)

Hello, Mr. President

Between working and shopping at the grocery store I work at I think I spend enough time there. So it irks me to no end when I dream about being there. But last night I had a dream that the President came in [he bought something like a coke and some peanuts] and we had a short and awkward conversation that went something like this.

Me: How are you today?

The President: Good, thank you, and you?

Me: Good. Good.

The President: Good. It's all good. Well...not THAT good. (he smiles and I think he's talking about recession)

Me: (I shrug and bite back a smart-ass comment about politicians talking in circles while he walks away) Have a nice day.

Then in my dream I started chiding myself and telling myself that of all the people I have meaningless conversations with every day, why was it so weird to have a meaningless conversation with the man that runs the country?

It was actually pretty funny, I woke up laughing. I guess you had to be there.

This and That

Things I don’t understand:

• Men in kilts
• Why most women absolutely cannot put on mascara with their mouth shut but I can [maybe it’s my super power]
• People that wear flip-flops in sub-freezing temperatures
• Why I always seem to lose chap stick before I use it all up
• How ladybugs get into my apartment
• Infomercials
• The phrase: “For Pete’s sake!” Who is Pete?
• Leg/arm warmers
• What happened to the other sock [one of life’s greatest mysteries]
• Boys in skinny jeans…why?
• Why later shifts feel longer



Tidbits:

Today my official Bachelor's degree arrived. [Hurray!] And for the record, it's prettier than I thought it would be. Imagine my horror then to discover that I do not have a frame it will fit into.

Drat.

It's been pretty hot in these here parts but today, just now, it's raining! This is good news for the grass/plant life, those of us with allergies, and those of us who love the smell of rain. There also is an accompanying light show and what my family calls "Thunder-Boomers."

So...I'm gonna go watch for lightning.

This is Totally Blogworthy

A friend sent me this on facebook and it's just great. Watch.



It's too bad I have no rhythm because I'd totally do this if I ever got married. What a fun way to mix up the traditional wedding.

Home Sweet Home

• rediscovering an old favorite [CD/book/movie]
  
• being able to sit and enjoy a cup [or two] of coffee without being in a hurry to go somewhere/do something
  
• flipping through magazines/reading a good book
  
• a good, hot shower after camping or a day at the lake
• coming home after being away
• sleeping in my own bed
• the way dogs get excited to see you EVERY TIME you walk through the door
• my air conditioner [ha.]

OMG, Me Too!

I've been following Single Girl's blog since it showed up as a blog of note some time back. Today she posted This and it made me laugh because I saw this very secret on Post Secret this week and nodded my agreement* [to my computer monitor, but whatever.]



*granted, I'm not actually 24 for another month and a half or something [I just round up at this point, there's no fighting it.]

Anyhoo, I'm off to go see if:

-my laundry is done washing
-my sink is unclogged
-I can allocate all/most of my camping gear for this weekend
-the dollar store has any of the stuff on my shopping list for said camping trip [let's hear it for cutting corners!]


Wish me luck.

Liked This

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

--George Bernard Shaw

Feeling Uninspired

...and forcing myself to blog.

But what to blog about?

I guess I could talk smack about the latest installment of the Harry Potter movies. It was, to be frank, boring and unmemorable. Sorry Mr. Potter.

I was disappointed [not that it will stop me from going to see the next two movies when they come out, because yes, I am that much of a nerd.]

On a completely different note...

I just read the Host by Stephenie Meyer. It. Was. Fantastic. I enjoyed the Twilight books but this book, I think, is her best piece thus far.



The Host was a completely different take on the whole body-snatchers idea [although it's a science-fiction piece, it's more about the people than anything]. It picks up after the invasion of these creatures, after they've taken over and the wild humans are trying to stay "wild." It's a story of friendship, tolerance, self-sacrifice and survival. The sort of story that makes you react emotionally. I loved it. I can't wait to see what Stephenie Meyer comes up with next.

Renaissance Fair

Last weekend my sister, a friend and I went to the Northwest Renaissance Fair. If nothing else, the picture below of my sister made the whole trip worthwhile.

I heart you sis, haha.


This one is of the "gypsy camp" where they told/acted out a story of a magic pasta pot.

Some random Peacock that was roaming around.

The castle, where the games and jousting were to take place. (Sadly I missed the jousts, which was the reason I wanted to go.)

It was fun to see all these people "in character" and all the skits and things they did. Hey, it's something to do.

This weekend is my mom's birthday so tomorrow there will be Cake and Sunday I'm going to see the new Harry Potter movie [Yes!] and maybe go to the lake.