Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Randomosity re: Movies

I was looking around online and found a fun link -- Summer 2008 Blockbusters!!

Now, I can't say that I always will be in agreement with the reviews given (since, for example, I stopped watching R-rated movies a few years back... even though it TICKS me off when a great movie is rated R and then I totally have to give up hope of watching it unless it comes on TV and I just HAPPEN to be watching it then. But sacrifice is a good thing. Maybe I'd be a terrible potty-mouth and a puppy-kicker if I kept on watching all those movies. Who knows?), BUT there were some on the list that I would very much like to see. (And sadly, Tropic Thunder is rated R. But it looks HILARIOUS. *sigh*)

Son of Ranbow:



This one I heard of a while ago from Eric D. Snider's website ... and, oh, I so want to see it.

Of course I'd love to see the new X-Files, Batman, and Indiana Jones films. And, I'll confess that this looks cute (As in "Cute" with a capital C. ... Hey! I don't have to deny my inner five-year-old!!)



And then, even though Always Watching didn't give it a good review, I really thought that Henry Poole Is Here looks like something I'd enjoy. AND it's only PG. (Hey, to me it's a big deal! I don't see why everything seems to be rated-R nowadays. It's just silly.)



It gives off the same vibe as "Waitress" did. And I liked that movie. (I also need to rent Juno. I've wanted to see that one for a while.)

But, yeah. If you need a list of movies to gear up for? Check these out. Not all of them have trailer-links from Always Watching ... but some looked pretty fun.

Like our favorite sassy black man as a superhero (Hancock), or the new Mike Myers vehicle (the Love Guru), or (oh, I HOPE it's not rated R) the intriguing one (The Fall) ... and I think I'd rent the next Mummy one. I mean, Jet Li AND Brendan Faser? Why not??

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Why I <3 our prophet ... and In which I get a little preachy, I think.

(Also, why I <3 the personalized Google homepage)

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, I very much am a fan of the Google personalized homepages. Michael and I both have our own set up.
(His is very nice and organized. One main page for weather, email, and some news feeds. One page for comics.)
(Mine? Well, it's organized ... for me. I have a main page with my email, some bookmarks, weather, the Nat'l Geographic Photo of the day, the moon cycle, a couple widgets for friends -- like Sheri's widget and the countdown until Bri gets back to town. Then I have a news page, a comics/fun stuff page, one for "smarts" with feeds to Neatorama and mental_floss and such, one full of blogs, one full of crafting blogs, one full of parenting blogs ... Yes, I am a little OCD, no?)

BUT, as I was saying (because I so WAS saying this), on my "News" page, I have some RSS feeds for Church News and such. I also added widgets for quotes of the day for Gordon B. Hinckley, Neal A. Maxwell (who still is one of my favorite apostles. I was SO. DANG. BUMMED when he passed away), and (of course, our living prophet) Thomas S. Monson.

Today the quote from Monson (I don't know how the widget's creator has them organized. For all I know, they're completely random. No bother to me.) is
Choose your love. Love your choice.


It just speaks to me. If you love something/someone, choose them. If you've chosen them/it, love them or it.

So many relationships would be better if this advice was followed.

If you love learning, choose to expand your education.
If you love sports, choose to practice and better yourself for them.
If you love your spouse, choose him or her. Let them feel/know that you love them.
If you've chosen to tie your lives together, don't allow yourself to "fall out of love."

Which bring me to another quote that I feel is very relevant, especially in this day and age:
Love is a verb.


I've heard it around too mnay times to give it an attribution. If anyone knows who said it, let me know. I'll correct it and give you total props, okay??

But, really. You can choose whom you love. You can choose to treat people with love.

Just as you can choose to withdraw your love. Which can be really sad.

Love is not just that little rush of hormones and fluttery-feelings. Love is something that one DOES.

I like to liken it to parenthood: You love your children. Even though sometimes they make you want to rip out your hair and devour them like hamsters do to their young.

You spend time with your children. You praise them. You try to teach them and to lead them so that they will be better than you were ... and in doing so, you become a better person (since everyone learns best by having a good example).

Why can't we do this with others in our lives?

I have to work at this, too. Sometimes I get a little offended. (Truly, I'm still coming to grips with a "mentor" teacher <-- Since I still can't refer to her without putting mentor in quotes, you know that I'm still not completely over it.) I need to buck up and start loving the people that have offended me. Because, really, they probably need my love most of all. And, truly, I probably will grow the most by learning to love them.

So, yeah. That's really my thought process today.

I mean, if I use an example from my marriage -- Michael likes having a clean house (Truly, so do I, but I don't always love the work that I have to put into it. :P). When I've let the house go, he starts to feel like I don't appreciate/love him.
So, an easy way to let Michael know that I do care is to have the house tidied ... or at least don't let it get too out of control (since a tidy house and toddlers are sometimes mutually exclusive).

Suggested reading: The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.
Really, I think his books (he has some variations. I own "the Five Love Languages for Couples". The books all have some different case studies/examples, but the lessons from each are the same. Follow the link to the website. There's even a test there!

(For the record, I'm a "Words of Affirmation" type.)

Why I <3 our prophet ... and In which I get a little preachy, I think.

(Also, why I <3 the personalized Google homepage)

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, I very much am a fan of the Google personalized homepages. Michael and I both have our own set up.
(His is very nice and organized. One main page for weather, email, and some news feeds. One page for comics.)
(Mine? Well, it's organized ... for me. I have a main page with my email, some bookmarks, weather, the Nat'l Geographic Photo of the day, the moon cycle, a couple widgets for friends -- like Sheri's widget and the countdown until Bri gets back to town. Then I have a news page, a comics/fun stuff page, one for "smarts" with feeds to Neatorama and mental_floss and such, one full of blogs, one full of crafting blogs, one full of parenting blogs ... Yes, I am a little OCD, no?)

BUT, as I was saying (because I so WAS saying this), on my "News" page, I have some RSS feeds for Church News and such. I also added widgets for quotes of the day for Gordon B. Hinckley, Neal A. Maxwell (who still is one of my favorite apostles. I was SO. DANG. BUMMED when he passed away), and (of course, our living prophet) Thomas S. Monson.

Today the quote from Monson (I don't know how the widget's creator has them organized. For all I know, they're completely random. No bother to me.) is
Choose your love. Love your choice.


It just speaks to me. If you love something/someone, choose them. If you've chosen them/it, love them or it.

So many relationships would be better if this advice was followed.

If you love learning, choose to expand your education.
If you love sports, choose to practice and better yourself for them.
If you love your spouse, choose him or her. Let them feel/know that you love them.
If you've chosen to tie your lives together, don't allow yourself to "fall out of love."

Which bring me to another quote that I feel is very relevant, especially in this day and age:
Love is a verb.


I've heard it around too mnay times to give it an attribution. If anyone knows who said it, let me know. I'll correct it and give you total props, okay??

But, really. You can choose whom you love. You can choose to treat people with love.

Just as you can choose to withdraw your love. Which can be really sad.

Love is not just that little rush of hormones and fluttery-feelings. Love is something that one DOES.

I like to liken it to parenthood: You love your children. Even though sometimes they make you want to rip out your hair and devour them like hamsters do to their young.

You spend time with your children. You praise them. You try to teach them and to lead them so that they will be better than you were ... and in doing so, you become a better person (since everyone learns best by having a good example).

Why can't we do this with others in our lives?

I have to work at this, too. Sometimes I get a little offended. (Truly, I'm still coming to grips with a "mentor" teacher <-- Since I still can't refer to her without putting mentor in quotes, you know that I'm still not completely over it.) I need to buck up and start loving the people that have offended me. Because, really, they probably need my love most of all. And, truly, I probably will grow the most by learning to love them.

So, yeah. That's really my thought process today.

I mean, if I use an example from my marriage -- Michael likes having a clean house (Truly, so do I, but I don't always love the work that I have to put into it. :P). When I've let the house go, he starts to feel like I don't appreciate/love him.
So, an easy way to let Michael know that I do care is to have the house tidied ... or at least don't let it get too out of control (since a tidy house and toddlers are sometimes mutually exclusive).

Suggested reading: The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.
Really, I think his books (he has some variations. I own "the Five Love Languages for Couples". The books all have some different case studies/examples, but the lessons from each are the same. Follow the link to the website. There's even a test there!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Excuse the general silence that was ...

I can make excuses --
1- We visited family
2- I was trying to recuperate from the pestilence that had taken root in my sinuses (for about a week), then decided to migrate into my lungs (Coughing until you puke up some bile? FUN!! <-- Not really.)
3- Sleeping to get over my plague

(Seriously, Today I scheduled a doctor's appointment. About two hours before the appointment rolls around? I feel FINE. Like, I'm breathing normally through both nostrils and my lungs are clear. Wither the fries?!? And I was able to cancel the appointment. And I'm still feeling better. Not quite 100%, but TONS better than even yesterday.)

Bruise and Bucket are being cuter and cuter. Bucket actually BONDED with my stepdad ("Poppi" as we refer to him, since my mom is "Mutti." And we didn't think he'd much relish being "Vatti," which sounds suspiciously close to "fatty."), so he now ADORES her. (He and Bruise have always enjoyed each other's company. They like to "play" the piano together. Poppi does a nice job. Bruise still is working his ... um ... modern jazz style. :P

Besides that, we had a good weekend, for a traveling one. We dropped Michael off with his carpool buddy, I cleaned up the house and packed. We loaded up the car (We= ME) and jetted down to pick him up, drove down, saw my Nana.

(Aside, Bucket LOVES Nana. As we were driving up the street to Nana's house, she pipes up, "I go see NANA! I pway wif Nana. I pway books and toiws (toys)." And I'm just all, "Whoa. She's got a good memory. It's been like a FULL month, maybe two, since we went to Nana's house." Also, Bucket can be a little shy/snobbish/introverted around lots of people. --- She THREW herself at Nana.)

Then we went to Dad and L's to spend the night. I ate ribs for the first time.
Dude, I've been missing out.

Next morning (Saturday, if you're keeping score), we watched cartoons and then met up with Mom at her school's fundraiser (Yum! Doughnuts!) and went to Mom and C's for a visit. This has been the first time that Bucket has actually given C the time of day, really. They ended up watching cartoons together while Michael and I chatted with Mom (as Bruise ran between rooms/conversations) and watched Pop-Up Videos on VH1 (Oh, how I have MISSED Pop-Up Videos. They're one of my secret addictions. I would watch them every chance I got when I lived at home. When I wasn't watching Daria. ^_^)
And, as you can see above, I came home with the link to the online Pop-Up Videos.

Life is Gooooooooood.

By the time we got home, though, my sinuses were killing me (again). And I had started coughing more. So I finally caved and took my inhaler. And I ended up skipping church again to sleep. Slumber, my elusive lover, how I have missed thee!!
And why does it seem that I am only getting the good, deep sleep on Sunday, when I SHOULD be in church? Seriously, people are going to think that I'm faking it and really going inactive or something.

But I did make an appearance after church so I could renew my temple recommend. Yay!! I can go to the temple again! I'm no longer feeling like a total reprobate!

Today, Michael stayed home to take care of me. And to watch the kids if I needed to go to the doctor's office. As I mentioned previously, I didn't quite need that trip. But I was more than happy to have him home.

We finally set up the digital receiver up to the antenna on our house. WOW. Our signal looks WAY good. Like we'll be able to READ the questions when we watch Jeopardy! Who knew?!?

And, I'm really out of stuff to say, so I'll close up with the latest fun stuff:

LINK: What Teenage Angst Novel Are You? - By E. Lockhart (A YA Author)

Right now, I'm "Kissing Vanessa." Yet another book to add to my to-read list.
I was something else on Friday. Was it "Twilight?" I can't remember.

Want to be depressed and amused at the same time?
LINK: What Other People Did When They Were Your Age -- Enter your age, see what people did. Between the ages I was this year? Yeah, I could be really depressed. I haven't written a novel/screenplay, climbed any mountains or run in any marathons, I haven't even gotten drunk to where my friends could dress me as a clown.
What is my life coming to????

And this commercial (It's in French. I don't really know what they're saying. But, be assured, it's cool.) makes me want to practice when I'm grocery shopping.

Too bad I have kids in my cart.



Dude. Color me impressed.

Now to flush my sinuses with more saline solution. Pray that this pestilence will decide to LEAVE. Or that my immune system will start kicking some serious virus-patootie. I'm sick and tired of being sick ... and tired.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Kitchen Sink ... or everything but.

So, since there's not a WHOLE lot going on in my life at the present moment (at least, not YET), I'm gonna share some links and videos with you.

Now, since my memory is starting to go (Yes, I'll admit it!!), you may have seen some of these before. And if so, it's been a while.

(But I'm VERY tempted to repost that cute Discovery Channel commerical of "I Love The Whole World." It is now Bruise's FAVORITE song. We watched the video about, oh, eleven times this morning. And he'll say, "Yeah" and "Nope" with the astronauts. Which is just about the cutest thing EVAR!!!!1!)

In no particular order, here we go!



HELP da Police
I really wish I had more British sketch comedy on TV. Oh, yes, I do.
And this is an example of what I do when I sing along to songs in the car.
So, Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know" suddenly has the line "Are you thinking of my when you HUG her." (And "hug" is also the word that fills in in Nine Inch Nail's "Closer" when it suddenly plays in my head. Y'all have times when you hear songs in your heads, right? It's not just me, right?)

ALSO: Bucket was totally rocking out to the song as she cuddled on my lap.
(She was being a "baby girl," as she told me. She assured me that she's also my big girl. Because I asked, you know, just in case.)

And Hera's "Feels So Good" ... which I first saw on Cute Overload:


Okay, is it just me or does she totally have that Olivia Newton John sound to her. I think it's a New Zealand thing. And I really do kinda dig her Icelandic facial tattoos. Not that I'm getting one, or even thinking of getting one ... I just think it's kinda cool-looking.

This video, "The Sushi Conspiracy," never fails to make me giggle like a giggling giggler ---



Oh, ho! I'm still snickering ... Whoo!

Now, to break things up, here's an article (Bri, you already know this one):
8 (Pointless)Laws All Comic Book Movies Follow (nabbed from Neatorama, I believe).

As Bri and I discussed, "It's funny because it's true!!!!!1!"
Michael agrees. And he's the one who knows comic books well. At least, he knows them better than I do. ^_^


Which brings a repeat of the "Spiderman 3 Super Set!" because it only fits SO well after all the ragging done in the previous article:


Oh! If you want some GREAT comic art? Well, my new favorite comic book artist is Katie Cook! She's adorable!! And so are her drawings!!!!!

If only all work safety videos were this ... special: Forklift Driver Klaus (auf Deutsch with English subtitles [Thank goodness! My German is so poor now!!!]), nabbed from Neatorama:


(Yes, it is a parody. Really.)

Here's a great video that I originally saw on either Back In Skinny Jeans or FitSugar (cannot remember which! Sorry!). Regardless, it's great. Love the music, love the message ... in awe of the mad jumping skillz:



More links! (followed by more videos! Hey, I warned you!!)

On Consumerist, I LOVE it when there are good things. The happy news makes me all happified! And this was happy news!
(It's nice to know that there are good people ... and good customer service ... in the world!) ("I love the whole world ... Boomdiyadah, boomdiyadah ...")

With all the stuff going on with the FLDS churches and stuff, it's nice that even VANITY FAIR is getting on board to let people know that not all "Mormons" are polygamists with horns and "magic" underoos and dreck like that.

(As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since I was THREE, I can honestly tell you that I don't know a single person who is a polygamist. ... Well, one of my uncles might have not had a divorce finalized when he married my aunt, but he's not even a member of the church! So, really, I know ZERO Latter-Day Saints who are involved in polygamy.)
(I can also mention that my underwears are not magic. But they do remind me of covenants that I've made with God. And the temple? It's wonderful. ... And by wonderful, I mean that. There are no immoral practices done therein. My husband and I did not consummate our marriage in front of witnesses. And there is NOT a basketball court within, so there's no co-ed nekkid basketball. We don't practice ritual animal sacrifice. We're really kinda boring in comparison to all the rumors spread about us. Really, the most riotous we get is when we have a kegger with root beer. Or is someone spikes the red punch with some cola *GASP!!!* Really. But that's not at the temple. The temple's like church. But holier and cleaner and amazing-er.)

AND, for the LDS-ers in the audience, here's a new song to help teach the new first presidency and twelve apostles!
(Michael will tell you that he'd like it a whole lot better if it weren't so countrified.)


And HERE's a good idea for a blog/website.
Seriously, I love random acts of kindness. I should totally do more of them.

And, since you know that I cannot send you off to face the world without a laugh, here's a great, unaired experiment by the Mythbusters. Hilarious ... and wonderful to make those 8-year-old boys laugh, too.

Kari Byron is such the good sport. Good for her!
(Sorry for her g-d- exclamation! Naughty miss!)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Life and a Link and a Couple of Videos

Yesterday was ... interesting.

I was getting all ready for church. And then I got extremely cold. So I took my temperature. Twice. 96.7 degrees.

(When I get sick, I tend to run subnormal temperatures. It's this weird thing that I got from my mom. I mean, I run a little below average anyways ... like 97.8 -- File that under "weird, weird information that you will really never need.")

So, I soaked in a hot bath and put on a pair of sweats, got the kiddos ready for church, and texted Michael that I was staying home. After he took the kiddos to church (and there wasn't any crying and screaming), I spent a little time online. Then crashed in bed for a couple hours, waking up when the kiddos got home ... and they wanted to crawl in bed with me and sleep (Read: not sleep).

They were really good for Michael, though. As they all drove away to church, the kiddos called out, "Bye, house! Bye, Mommy!" They read books in the foyer at church. Bucket impressed the Nursery leader by saying, "Mommy, Daddy love ME!"

Oh, Bruise was at the table yesterday at breakfast. I was sitting on the couch, reading a book (so, at this point, I was barely ten feet away, what with the new layout). And Bruise goes, "Mommy?" And I say, "What, Bruise?" And he says, "Lobf you." And I go, "...?!? I love you, too, Bruise."

So, yeah, even thought I have this virus-thing, I know that I'm loved. I just have to get over the post-nasal drip thing and then I'll be all better. Because that's what's causing my throat to be all burning-the-pits-of-Hellfire-sore and all.

Me, overly dramatic?? Noooooo!!!!

(And, Melissa? You totally flatter me. No wonder I adore you! ^_^ Thank you!)

So, the not-so-fun stuff that's going on ... Well, my mom went to the hospital after she got home this weekend. I'm not all sure on what time. Kidney stone(s). The doctor didn't see any left inside her ... but they did end up giving her a double-dose of painkillers. So she won't be coming up this week. If y'all can say a little prayer for her, that'd be greatly appreciated.

Also, another of my dear friends called up ... he and his wife are getting divorced. That makes me sad. And I wish I could do more to help. (He, bless his heart, first apologized for only calling when there's drama.*shakes head* I'll take drama. I enjoy talking to my "lil' bro", regardless of the situation going on. And I feel special that I'm the one he calls when he needs to vent or for advice. I mean, really, what else are "little/big sisters" for? (Really! I'm six months older but I'm shorter. So I am a little, big sister. That explains the whole title thing. In case you were REALLY confused. And I wouldn't blame you, since I do tend to adopt my friends and their families. It's not the most common thing. ^_^ But, really, when have *I* ever been normal?) (Um, like NEVER.)

(And if you could just say a little prayer for him and his family, that'd be cool, too. Thanks.)

BUT, for some good news: When my mom came up, she took me shopping for my birthday. I finally decided that I'd like to get new pants for my birthday present. So I got two pairs of jeans. That don't have holes in the right knee. And they fit better so I don't look all saggy-booty-ed. Dude, y'all, somehow I went down a pants size. Score!
(I really have NO IDEA how it happened. Michael says stress. And eating better. I say it's a miracle. Seriously. Let's get me to the Vatican. Saint LlannaLee has quite the ring to it, no? Almost as good as "Saint Jayne." <--Firefly reference joke!!)

And, since how could I leave you without some fun videos and links ... Well, here they are!

"Kosher or Not: A discussion about imaginary animals" -- Funny. Some parts are even FUNNY!!!! But I'll give you a heads up about some language. There's an F-bomb dropped. But, if you can get past that? Hilarious. (Found via Neatorama. As is the last one. But not the middle one.)


Excellent recital piece. It's a little long (like six minutes ... but it really picks up around the 47-second mark). Bucket was impressed. She may even take piano lessons sometime.
(Found on the mental_floss blog)

And, it's a day early for Earth Day .... but I love this one SO, SO, SO(!!!!) much that I cannot wait that many hours to post it!!!!! (via Neatorama)



Oh, how I love the Discovery channel. If I had cable/satellite, I'd watch it just about ALL frickin' day long.

Happy Earth Day Eve, everyone!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Can't think of a clever title ...

Things are back to more-or-less normal.

My Pampered Chef party went well. People liked the garlic butter and the dip that I made (Seriously, just whip some cream cheese and salsa together. SO easy. ^_^). And I learned how to make an approximation of a risotto. ^_^ And I earned some free stuff. Which was VERY nice. AND I got to see friends (and to meet IN PERSON Melissa!! Along with her two daughters. --- I hope I made a good impression, Melissa. 'Cause I was NERVOUS! What if you liked my blog, but found the RL me not quite so entrancing??), which is good. Because I've become quite the hermit.

And now I'm over my "Oh-EM-GEE!! People are going to see my house!! What if they look in my CUPBOARDS?!? Or in the medicine cabinets?!?11?" ---> Blame a friend of mine for that. The first time she slept over at our apartment, she laughed to me about the PLETHORA of toilet paper I had stocked in the bathroom. And I've now been insecure about my medicine cabinets and cupboards since. ... And Michael was trying to goad me into putting "inappropriate" items into the medicine cabinet. Just SO those who peeked would get a nice surprise.
("Oh, yeah, honey," I responded. "You want me to tuck the edible panties in with the kids' towels??" ... Yes, I do have a pair. From a gag gift at one of my bridal showers. SEVEN YEARS AGO.)
(and I don't think I blushed as hard at those as I did at the lingerie from my Nana.)
But I took the high road and didn't stick in anything, um, questionable.
Because, unlike my mom, I don't have to take every dare.
(Story behind that: On their honeymoon, my dad dared my mom to kick sand in his face.
He didn't think she'd do it.
He was wrong.
My mom doesn't like to leave dares alone.)

But, yes. I'm now over my "OMG PONIEZ!!" state of mind. Thank goodness. And I'm still keeping up (mostly) with the dishes and all.

The living room's keeping Friday's open-er floorplan. Because I kind of like it. Even if people who sit on the loveseat can't easily converse with those on the couch. Or see the TV. Oh well. But you can look out the window and all. So ... it's not much of a consolation, is it? Meh.

Oh, it's been snowing. And, did I mention, it's APRIL??? Seriously, we're having the craziest weather EVAR!!!!1!

And, a few days ago, I had turned off the heater, since I was having the back door open. (Oh! I was cleaning out the laundry room!!) ... and I only remembered last night, as it was pretty cold. Since it was SNOWING, that I should turn it back on. Oops!

Also, my throat is driving my BONKERS. I have this funky post-nasal drip thing. And I don't like it. It needs to go away. Michael thinks it's allergies. Which I really hope not. And what am I allergic to?? (Cleaning, maybe?) I noticed it when we got done with the auction for church (That auction that I was kinda, you know, IN CHARGE OF.), so I'm thinking it's more of a reaction to a sudden LACK of stress. *sigh* I just want it gone. I'm tired of being all snotty and drippy and all.

And, to distract you from the mental image of my nose, HERE!! Cool links and a video!!!!

"Jurors open hearts (and wallets)to help out crime victim" (Neatorama) -- Just when you start to lose your faith in mankind, something like this happens. Short story: Jurors in Texas were hearing a case of a mentally-handicapped man who lost his life savings to some person who has less morals than a dirty, low-down deceiver. They passed a $10,000 fine and five years of hard time to the gal behind the theft ... and donated money from their own pockets to the victim. Seriously, y'all, how sweet and wonderful is that??


And bonus-video-which-I-was-not-going-to-include-but-feel-that-it-ties-in-with-the-topic:



(LOVE those Green Brothers. They are made of awesome. And I think it IS important to do something to help rid the amount of worldsuck that is present.)

Link #2 -- (Also via Neatorama) Our new national motto (or what it should be): "Our worst critics prefer to stay."

I mean, honestly! Where else do you get to whine, moan, gripe, and complain about your nation and its government ... and not get killed for it??

Not that I'm saying it's a GOOD thing to be all down on the greatest nation on earth (If you disagree, you're a Communist! :P)(Yes, Cristall, I do remember that nobody blames things on the Communists anymore. I'm trying to do my part.)
BUT I do find it funny that after all the kvetching that people do? They don't want to move to another country. So, as bad as they find it? They still don't want to leave. ^_^

AND, the video I promised. You all have probably already seen it (maybe via Neatorama, since that's where *I* got it). It's been making the rounds quite a bit. I still snicker like a snickering snickerer when I watch it:

An Engineer's Guide to Cats:



(Yeah, I kinda have a soft spot for the cat-guy. I mean, "corporal cuddling?!?" He's my new internet idol. :P)

So, yeah. That's about all that I've got for now. So I'm gonna go and try and get through my (ever-larger) library book pile.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Mai kleen hawse ... Let me show u it

SO, here's the proof that I really have been cleaning and not just heartlessly ignoring y'all.

Exhibit A -- The kitchen.


Yes there are dirty dishes and the kids' toys and the books that I need to repair ... and the pile(s) of my library books ... BUT the counters are not covered in piles of CRAP like they usually are!!

Exhibit B -- the entertainment center.


I have now moved the VCR so that little boys and girls will not put papers, expired gift cards, toothbrushes, etc. into the VCR. It annoys me very much when I find things like that in there. ... The only thing I want to find in there? A video.


Exhibit C -- The children's/guest/hall bathroom


I replaced the shower curtain with a cute printed one, cleaned off the counter (put all that stuff in an organized fashion into the cute over-the-door organizer that Nana got me when I was leaving for college). It's mopped and swept and cleaned and shined.


Exhibit D -- The dining room (and Bruise enjoying watching a show while snacking)


The books are in some semblance of order. There are more pictures on the walls (not that you can really tell from this ...
I still need to vacuum. AGAIN.


Exhibit E -- The wall you face upon entering the house
(with Bucket appreciating Mommy's hard, hard work)


Lookit!! Lookit!!! There are pictures! In frames! And not just an empty, empty expanse of blank space!!!!!
I'm so, so, so frikkin' PROUD of the fact that this wall is not naked anymore.


Which bring us up to where I am wanting to go --

Where have I been??

Um, yeah ... Sorry for the long, unbroken silence coming from my general direction.

My excuse? Well, I don't totally have a really great excuse. I'm having a Pampered Chef party tomorrow. It's the first BIG party that we've really had. Where I've invited a group of people that aren't related to me (Oh, I do have family coming. I have people who aren't family coming, too!!!!1!) ... So, in short, my brain blew up and the pieces landed in OCD-Territory.

And I've been on a rather large cleaning-jag for about the last week.

And, here I am -- coming up for air and sporting a much lower MHN (mental health number).

I still need to do dishes again, rearrange the equipment in the entertainment center (Hey, I never said I was over all the OCD tendencies yet), vacuum (AGAIN. Those messy children of mine. *rolls eyes*), shop for the rest of the risotto ingredients and stuff for appetizers or whatever ... And read about 20 library books. So I can go through the 80+ magazines that I've collected. (Hey! Most of them are free subscriptions!! And I practiced RESTRAINT by not buying the newest Glamour when I hadn't read last month's issue. Dude, I deserve a frikkin' trophy!!)

But, really, I've been really busy. And I'm feeling the effects. I'm ready for a nap. And, hey! I got a bath this morning! Woot for me!! (and I got to read Neil Gaiman while I was doing that! Multi-tasking ftw!!!)

What have I done?
-Cleaned off the kitchen countertops
-Organized all but two bookshelves (but cleaned off the top of one of those two)
-Washed about a metric crapload of clothes. Folded them. Put them away.
-Gotten all the mold out of my Birks. ...Do they sell packets of silica gel for one's closet?
-Vacuumed the entire house
-Cleaned both bathrooms. Organized them. (I SO flippin' NEED a trophy for that.)
-Cleaned off my desk. It's not all that great-looking. But, hey, I've made an effort.
-DUSTED.
-Did, like, three loads of dishes.
-Washed the cushions of the dining room table chairs.
-- In doing so, dripped, which stripped some of the (dirty) wax off the kitchen
floor.
-Scrubbed the kitchen floor.
TWICE.
-Mopped the kitchen floor and the floors in the hall bathroom and the laundry room.
-Cleaned and vacuumed our bedroom.
-Rearranged the cords and equipment on the tall dresser (TV, VCR, converter, DVD player, Playstation, antenna). (Ha!! TOLD you I was all OCD. And, besides! It looked BAD.)(So what if no one will be going into our bedroom? I still know it's there!)
-Hung up pictures.
-Hung up more pictures.
-Moved some pictures.
-Thinking about hanging more pictures. And, if I do, which ones to hang where?
-Went through the kids' dresser. Weeded out all outgrown clothes.
-Played Travian. (What? I like my little villages. Even if my freaking oasis got attacked. Grr. Sounds like the dude was trying to farm me ... seeing if I was inactive. Doof.)
-Broke about all my nails (Even thought I did wear gloves while scrubbing the floor!)
-Yelled at my children
-Etc., etc., so forth.

I mean, really. For working on all this for about a week? I'm pretty happy. Now if I can just keep it up. (and get the rest of the wax stripped off the kitchen floor.)

Now, since I've stuffed the children into nap (Hey, I warned them that if they got whiny or disobedient that it was nap time!).

So, I'm going to close this up (for now) and rearrange the entertainment center while I have a moment ALONE. then to stick a last load in the dishwasher, fold a load of clothes, read and maybe nap ... and post pictures of the house (mai hawse, let me show u it) and some fun things I've found online. Because I'm all about the sharing. You know I am.

Kthxbai!!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Sharing Tiiiiiiiiiiiiime!!

First off, Congrads to one of my friends and past neighbor, Sandra!!
She now has her own clothing label!! Go her!!
(It's always nice to see it when my friends can follow their bliss. And it totally works!)
So, really ... if you want some cute tops, and you love the Indian (As in Hindi, not Native American) look, go buy her stuff!!!! (I personally love this and this.)

If you want one of the SWEETEST THINGS EVER (Watching it makes me tear up. And then Michael's all, "Are you CRYING?!?" And I'm all, "Shut up!" And he doesn't cry. Because he has no heart. ... Hey, he says it himself. I'm just repeating it.:P [Love you, honey!]), here's a great link from Neatorama about a five-year-old blind pianist. Seriously, y'all. there are miracles. Yoo Ye Eun is totally one of them. and if you don't feel touched by this video, you must be a zombie. Or an alien.

And since I can't possibly leave you in tears, here are some fun little videos.


(nabbed from Neil Gaiman's blog.)

(As is this one. Um, it's kinda ... special. Very clever, but not quite as family-friendly as my usual fare. But it makes me snicker and giggle something fierce.)



Oh, I'm so, so terrible for liking that. I KNOW!! But it makes me laugh. And I'm an awful person and so on the road to HELL for this. You don't have to tell me. I'm fully aware of it. *martyred look*

THIS website, however is USUALLY more family friendly:
Stupid Game Show Answers -- And, oh, my dears, Michael and I laughed ourselves silly for over 30 minutes. Really, I laughed so hard the wax in my ears melted AND my neck got all itchy. I think I burned off enough calories to make up for the delicious dinner I ate on my birthday!!
There are videos, audio recordings, and snippets of transcripts.
Forget anti-depressants, THIS is one thing that I NEED when my mental health number gets too high.

Example:

(Seriously! Even Ken Jennings is on there! And Alex Trebek makes a good joke! I love those guys!!)

And, lastly, the title sums it up well: The Best Game Ever



This one by Improv Everywhere rocked my socks. I was thrilled to watch this.

Really, what would I do without YouTube? It completes me.
(Well, it, reading, chocolate, and Mr. Husband. In no particular order.)

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Coincidence?

As I looked at one of my widgets on my Google Homepage, this is the quote it had:
[River forgets Simon's birthday]
River: "Day" is a vestigial mode of time measurement, based on solar cycles. It's not applicable.

Out of Gas


They neglected to put in the end of her quote, though. "I didn't get you anything."

It still makes me laugh.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Random quiz




You Are a Semi-Colon



You are elegant, understated, and subtle in your communication.

You're very smart (and you know it), but you don't often showcase your brilliance.



Instead, you carefully construct your arguments, ideas, and theories until they are bulletproof.

You see your words as an expression of yourself, and you are careful not to waste them.



You friends see you as enlightened, logical, and shrewd.

(But what you're saying often goes right over their heads.)



You excel in: The Arts



You get along best with: The Colon



What do you think? So you think this describes me?

(Also, shout out to Kari, seeing as how it's her birthday! Yay!! Hope it's most excellent!)

Monday, April 07, 2008

The little things

As I was reading to Bucket, she looks at me and I ask her a question about the book.

"I love Mommy." was her reply. Totally unrelated to the book.

"What?" I ask.

"I love Mommy, Daddy, [Bruise], [Bucket]."

Wow. "What else do you love?"

"I love churk."

"You love church??"

"Yeah."

And, suddenly, all the drama and fuss of life is put in its place.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Raaaaaaaaandom-ness-essence

Here's a little smorgasboard (and isn't that a FUN word? It always makes me think of that old cartoon version of Charlotte's Web ... where Templeton's chowing down at the county fair. Or is it the state fair? No matter, really. Catchy song, though.)

First up: Man takes his mugger to dinner!
No, really. Social worker gets mugged. He gives the kid his wallet, then invites him to dinner ... telling the mugger that the mugger's going to have to foot the bill because he has the social worker's money. The kid returns the wallet. They go to dinner and talk. The social worker gives the kid 20 bucks. He gets the knife (because he asked for the kid to hand it over.)

Okay, I think this is cool. I mean, really ... This is totally what Christ is talking about with the whole "turn the other cheek" stuff. Social worker, ftw!!

NEXT: Flying penguins! (Yet another reason I *heart* Neatorama)



I love those Monty Python boys, too.

I do enjoy a good deal of the xkcd comics. I especially love it when there's references to Firefly or LOLcats.

Summer Glau
When Serenity was coming to theaters
A great Summer Glau/Firefly/Serenity joke. It makes me snicker everytime.
And a LOLcat tribute
(Little warning: Sometimes xkcd isn't quite ... family friendly. Just so you know.)

In the "Making you think" category: The French president is making a push to teach young students history by having them each research the life of one of the 11,000 French children who died in the Holocaust.

On the one hand, what a meaningful and personal way to learn history!
This is a really unique and powerful way to teach that the Holocaust was truly what happened when prejudice goes out of control. (Not that there should be prejudice at all, really. But, still! This was madness!)

At the same time, this may be a little ... traumatic and overwhelming for 10-year-old students.

I still say that it's an excellent idea. Have the students talk about this experience and what they're learning with their parents and teachers. Let them see the world through the eyes of a Jewish child doomed to the ghettos/work camps/death camps/etc just for his or her religion and/or pedigree.

Like I've mentioned before, it SCARES me that we will be losing all the first-hand survivors of the Holocaust. I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER want to have anything like that happen on this planet again. Nor any other planet. We just can't let it.

And, really, -- getting back to the topic at hand -- studying a first-hand account and researching the life of a real person ... that's what history is all about. Historical fiction is a wonderful thing ... but it's vital that one add to that. history is stories, yes. But it's not all just pretty stories where everyone ends up happy and coming home safely from a war. It's gritty and fierce and visceral, often.

I think that 10-year-old children may be mature enough to understand that life is often hard and very unfair. And researching the life of a child who lived 60 years ago ... it will be a very powerful lesson.

I think that President Sarkozy has an excellent idea. I hope that it works. I hope that people appreciate what he is trying to accomplish.
Heck, I should try and do some research myself.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Back in the saddle ... mostly

Thanks to everyone for all the good thoughts and karma. I really appreciate it.

Bucket's feeling lots better. I still am giving her some Children's ibuprofen every so often (or Tylenol), when she needs it. The glue is still in place. (YAY!!)

I'm still a bit bushed, but I'm feeling lots better. Not nearly as drained as I was last night.

Bucket did wake up once last night, crying. so I got out of bed, padded into her room (where Bruise sat up to see what was going on, then rolled over and fell back asleep. Bless him. I couldn't have dealt very well with two awake children.)

When I got into their room, she was crying, "I water, I water, I water."
So I got her a sippy cup. She drank it (not all of it) and went back to sleep.

As did I.
After I looked at the clock and saw that it wasn't what time I thought it was. I was thinking it felt like 3 A.M.-ish.
It was 1.

I woke up while Michael was getting ready ... and did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen a bit. Since the water got turned off today (they should be nearly done now. They're doing some work. 7:30 A.M. - 10 A.M. ... Let me check and see if it's back on.)
(Yup, it's back on. The dishwasher can finish the load I started. Yay! ... the kitchen smells much better.)

So, last night, the missionaries called to remind us/confirm that we're feeding them dinner tonight.

Elder H is very funny.
He asked how I was. I said that I was better now than I was earlier. So he asked what happened. And I said, "Do you want the long or the short version?"
We chatted about Bucket and Michael reminded me to ask if the elders would prefer pancakes or waffles.

"Oh, Sister [My last name]! You have my heart!" was Elder H's fervent reply. "I love breakfast for dinner!!"
"Well, it's Michael, really, that your heart belongs to. But as long as it's in my keeping, I'll try to keep it safe." I joked.

And I also warned him that the house might not be all that clean. And that it might not smell so nice (Oh, I need to clean out the kitty box. Ew.), and if that was the case, PLEASE just pat my head and say, "Oh, Sister [My last name]. We're just glad that you feed us." And that I would feel oh-so-much better.

And, bless his good sense of humor, he laughed.

Well, now to change the cat box and to do some hardcore vacuuming and to put the kids' clean clothes in their dresser. Michael'll be home around 1. (I love Fridays ... even if the rest of the week, I don't see him for about half the day. Sometimes even less than that if we have meetings.) He'll help make the waffles and hash browns. I think I'll be in charge of the sausage gravy. And if the elders want eggs, we can do that, too.

And maybe we'll all get a nap. That'd be nice. Really nice.

Other good news: It looks like Bucket won't have TOO much of a scar. She's precious, regardless. And she's sweet and smart and clever enough that I'm not worried about a scar hampering her changes of attracting her future sweethearts.

Hey, Bruise already has a couple scars ... Chicks dig scars. Especially scars on boys that are sweeter than aspertame, but without the nasty aftertaste. ^_^ And he's certainly clever, too. I think he'll be a Mr. Fix-It before long. ^_^ Always a nice thing.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

The Dramarama of today

*sigh*

I deserve that sigh. After today, I think I deserve quite a few things.

How did it start? How did I find myself FREAKING THE CHICKEN OUT, then running around? How did I find myself faced with THIS?!?!???



Oh, my dears, let me tell you.

SO, there I am, at the computer while my darlings are watching Toy Story 2. Bucket comes running across the room, trips, and FACE-PLANTS into my desk! She starts screaming and I pick her up to find that her mouth's full of blood. I immediately check her teeth, thinking that she must have knocked some sweet baby tooth out of her HEAD ... but no. She's (as you can see) split her lip. Pretty seriously.

So I call Michael and, oh, thank goodness he picks up as I'm RATHER freaking out and I tell him that Bucket's hurt and I think she needs stitches ... while she's shrieking in the background. He (thank goodness) remains calm. He tells me to call up the clinic, which I do ... to talk to a wonderful receptionist (she knows the kids from their first doctor's visit. Very awesome). She sets me up with a come-in-when-you-can-and-we'll-fit-you-in appointment.

So I load up the kids. Bucket's sitting in her car seat, chatting about how she has an "owie" and that she fell down and "No, Mommy. No singing. I READING!!" as she has How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? spread across her lap and legs.
I had given her a dose of tylenol ... she's rather a trooper. Until I tell her that we're going to get her owie fixed and that there might be a shot involved.

"Nononononononono!!!!" was her reply.

We got in, and instead of stitches at the ER(which I was SO. DANG. SCARED. would happen -- they're EXPENSIVE!!!!!), we get to have the option of gluing or stitches. I opted to glue, since it would be a little faster and wouldn't involve the injection.

And when we got home, she looked like this:



Which lasted for about an hour, as Bucket peeled the glue off.
*glower*

SO, I call the clinic again. The doctor's so nice that he says that we can come in and he'll do it again, no charge. The other option is to go to urgent care, spend another co-pay, and get stitches.

I gave Bucket a stern talking-to about how she is NOT to touch, poke, breathe on, or glance at this new gluing job. TWICE.

And we drove BACK into town to go to the clinic and did it again.

And I felt like a bad mom for various reasons:
- I have to pretty much ignore my poor Bruise to hold Bucket while we're gluing her lip/face back together. (What do you cal it? It's not the pink part of her lip ... it's just below it ... *shakes head*) ... but he was good as gold and sweet as anything during the second time. He just sat and played with his cars. The first time, he wanted to be held, too. Which I couldn't do.
- I couldn't prevent my baby girl from needing to be run to the doctor's office.
- I freaked out and forgot that I can call the clinic and should do so first thing for medical advice.
- My daughter may have a scar ... but, as the doctor assures me, if she does? She can always have some little plastic surgery to get rid of the scar.

SO, after we glued it back the second time (I say "we" like I really did all that much. I cuddled her while the doctor held her skin together and the nurse glued it and the doctor held it for longer so the glue'd set.), we put a bandage on it. And I told Bucket that if she touched the bandage or the glue? She'd be getting a spanking. (Which led her to freak out when the bandage fell off ... she was a little drooly. And I let her know that it's okay if it falls off by itself. I know she didn't do it. And she sat on my lap and cuddled and gave me kisses while telling me that she's sad. *sniff!*)

So now she looks like this:


And Bruise is trying to be a clown. It's totally out of focus, but very much him. He was pretty good today, playing peek-a-boo with his twin in her trials ... except when he steals her toys or water bottle, runs off with them, and lobs them over the child-gate into our bedroom. Grrr.

Good thing he's cute.



He was demanding that I take a picture with his hands in it. Funny boy.

And, in some good news, our insurance finally got the claim for when Bucket dislocated her elbow in November processed. ^_^ Instead of owing around $200, we owe about $40. That's nice ... since I still have to pay the hospital for when the babies were born. Oy.

But, really, I am ready to sleep for a week.
And to wrap my children in cotton and silk, so they cant get hurt anymore.

I hope that everyone has had a much calmer day than mine.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

No attempt at a clever title

What's been going on since I last blogged?

- The young women's meeting last night went very well. Our centerpieces look lovely. I forgot to take pictures, since I was too busy chatting with these fun young ladies.

Some of them are too smart for their own good, methinks. A conversation:

K: Are you on the internet a lot?
Me: Well, yeah. Probably more than is healthy. <-- See I own up to it!!
K: I thought so. You're always "I read this on a blog!" or "I found this online" or you're emailing back and forth with my mom all the time.

Guilty as charged.

Today I about killed my son. (And by "about killed," I mean I got really mad, screamed, spanked him, and sent him into timeout while I called Michael to calm down.)
His crime? He started to pull the tape out of my VHS of "Emma."

I think he may now realize (FINALLY) that Mommy does NOT approve of when he plays with those big, black boxes. And that, even though he's an adorable little boy, cuteness will NOT get him out of everything.

We didn't go to storytime today. I hadn't gotten a shower and just wasn't really motivated. We'll try for tomorrow.

However, I did take the kids out with me so I could do some yard work. We now have about half the amount of leaves in the front yard. I also pulled out the dried stems from last year's irises on the side yard. Go me.
And the kidlets were really well-behaved. I mean, there was the one part where I had to ask Bruise to PLEASE not stand in the road. And the other time when he went jetting off around the corner of the house. (What I wouldn't give for a fenced yard!!)

We also got a package from my mom today (I knew what was in it, since she ordered it when she was up here last. Bruise and Bucket are enjoying their new Sesame Street DVDs as we speak). The kidlets loved "helping" to open the package.

Funny aside: I gave Bucket a refill on her water and said, "Here you go, Bucket."
She misunderstood me, since I don't call her "Bucket" all that often. She readily answers to "Princess" and "Sweetie" and "Munchkin."
BUT she looked at me and said, very seriously, "Not bucket. CUP."

I also finished a book. I enjoyed "Dragon Slippers" very much. More than I thought I would. It was very cute. And would make a decent screenplay, I do believe. ^_^
Looks like she's a member of the Church. Makes sense, since I learned about Dragon Slippers on Shannon Hale's blog, not that all the authors she mentions are LDS. But, still.
And, it looks like there's a sequel, so now I'll have to add THAT to the 500+ books I've marked "to-read" over at Goodreads.com. *grin*

Well, since Bucket's taken over my lap and I'm trying to type around herartistic endeavors (which usually culminate in blocking my view of the keyboard and -sometimes- the monitor), I'm going to close up. But, oh, she LOVES drawing with this pink mechanical Eeyore pencil I got in my stocking about, what?, within the last five years, anyways. ^_^ I don't mind her playing with pencils so much ... as long as she doesn't point them TOO near my eye. Then I start to freak out. ^_^

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Getting my geek on: Book sites

As you can see on my side bar, I have a couple of widgets for book sites. And I thought that I'd talk about them. Because I'm a freak like that.

I have the most experience with Goodreads. It's nice in the fact that you can see what other people are reading, rate books, discuss them/write your comments about them.
The other plus for me is that I have friends using this site.
When I first started using Goodreads, I just made it so I could keep track of all the books on my "saw it/read about it on the internet and what if I lose my bookmarks or the pieces of paper I've scribbled all these titles on??" list.

(Truly, I can't forget to mention Amazon.com. I enjoy looking up books and then following the reccomendations and other books that people who bought "this item" looked at. I could waste a god hour or so that way, if I allow myself to.)

Shelfari is new. I only learned about it last week. And it seems that I actually learned about something before everyone else and their dog (which is usually how it is. I'm SO often the last to know).
The cool thing about Shelfari is that it LOOKS like a bookshelf.
I'm not about to give up my Goodreads for it. But it's nice and visual.

The newest site I've found (and that would be this morning) is Booklamp. The idea behind it is about matching books ... if you like [title], then here are books that are like it in the areas of description, dialogue, pacing, action, and density. It's in SUCH the new state that it's not really working ... they admit it. BUT you can request books for them to add into the database. (Title, Author and ISBN required ... so I go to Amazon. ^_^) I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out.

If you're looking for ideas for books, What Should I Read Next? is a decent search engine. You can even register and add books -- so you'll get even more tailored results.

I also am a member (but not very active) over at bibliophil (because my dear librarian-friend, Cynthia invited me!) and Library Thing, both of which are rather like Goodreads. (LibraryThing is free up to 200 books. That's probably why I don't use it much ... says the girl with over 1300 books over at Goodreads. Like half of those are on my to-read list.)

A couple more sites that help you to decide on what book to read:

Whichbook.net: what are you in the mood to read? Click on the corresponding option. It'll narrow it down for you.
The book quiz: Find your literary match. (It's fun, anyways!)
And literature-map.com: Enter an author and they'll map out a bunch of other authors. It goes with the assumption that if you like this author's body of work, these authors will be up your alley. the closer another author is in the "map"/cloud/arrangement, the more likely it is that you'll enjoy his or her work.
(A funny thing about literature-map, some of the author names hover ... like they're not quite sure about the placement. Makes me laugh.)


Funny, on mental_floss, they have a discussion about "Deal Breaker books" ... what would be the book(s) that would bring about the end of a relationship? A lot of people seem to really hate Dan Brown's books.
(I don't know. His books seem fine to me. Do I think they're the paragon of modern literature? Nah. But I've read worse.)

I don't know that I really have a deal-breaker book. If you really loved Birdman (the only book to give me repeating nightmares for WEEKS ... Yeah, I kept dreaming that I'd been abducted by a sadistic rapist. And he was driving me to where he was going to ... well, yeah. and I KNEW what he was going to do. So, I'd wake up in a cold sweat. Over and over and over. *shudders* I threw that book away. Like in the garbage can. I don't do that to books. For that one, I made an exception. And Stephen King? Doesn't phase me too much, nightmarewise. I do think that Room 409 is one of the freakiest short stories. Like deliciously, wickedly freaky. But I liked The Sun Dog even better. Enough to make you think twice about that Polaroid camera.)
I had one nightmare over a different book, one that T loved and lent me. About a virus that affects only women. So, in my dream, they used a different treatment involving testosterone ... and I was growing a pen!s. Yeah, I woke up patting at my pelvis. And thanking the Lord that I was not going to freak out my husband by suddenly having equipment I was not meant to have.)

(Oh, hey! You got a bonus section of Allanna's crazy dream chronicles! Aren't you THRILLED?!? :P Seriously, my subconscious is a very scary place to visit. Unicorns, Neil Gaiman's Sandman and Death, recombinant DNA, various celebrities and school friends, road trips, goblins and boggles, sunshine and flowers, incense-filled sepulchers, ... it's like Edgar Allen Poe meets Lewis Carrol and then got together with the Powerpuff Girls. After they picked up a biology textbook and a copy of the Princess Bride. All while quoting Monty Python and Dorothy Parker.)

(Seriously. You should try living with it. :P)

(Maybe that's why I read so much.)

If you want to comment with any deal-breaker books, I'd love to hear them! Or you could comment over at mental_floss.

Okay, that's enough for now (Meaning that I've run out of material. But still! That's quite a few websites of bibliophila, no? And I didn't even mention Bookswim, where you can RENT books, like Netflix. I haven't tried it myself, but I'm loving the idea ... especially if I didn't live near a decent library.)

What's kept me busy (i.e., not blogging, anyways)

Well, besides general laziness. (Jus' keepin' it real, okay?)

When we moved into our house, we had a carpeted bathroom. (It's the same color as all the other carpet in the house a deep brown with an orangey-red tone. I never took a picture ... at least not that I can find. Sorry!)

In February, we riped that puppy out (a shower door that drips water out when you open it plus some cat urine quickly let you know that a bathroom really is no place for a carpeted floor. Unless you've got some extreme back problems), which left us with THIS:

You know you're digging that paneling. *gagging* It's gonna be painted. And soon.

And we immediately sealed it with the best stuff we had on hand. A seven-year-old can of paint. Which gave us this (still totally preferable to what we had. With this? You can totally allow the shower door to drip as you open it to step out and grab a towel):

Crazy tilting angle, Batman! (You'd have no idea how many pictures I take that when I show them to Mr. Husband, his reaction is "Na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na BATMAN!!!)(And still I keep him. ^_^)

And then we saved up some pennies and researched and figured out what to do ... which lead to a total of nine hours (ish) of me whining about how I can't measure a straight line and "NO, I DON'T need a straight edge to cut them, but don't YOURS look nice!" and "That's IT! I'm renaming "factory edge" as "effing edge! Who comes up with this stinking crap, ANYWAYS!?!?" It also involved our newly-found mantra of "It's good enough. We're going to caulk it!" (Talking about the edges which are a pain and a half to do, let me tell you.)
(And yeah, I'm JUST that much of a joy to work with.)
And here's the end result:


And the hardest part:

It's a good thing I married an engineer. Or this would never have gotten done.


Witness my mad caulking skillz!!
No, seriously, I do have rather mad caulking skillz. If you ever hear me getting down on myself, you remind me that I've got me some mad caulking skillz. When I told Michael that I had them, he was all skeptical, "You sound pretty confident there." BUT, my dears, after I was done, he was all, "Wow. I'm impressed."
And I, being so mature was all, "I TOLD you I had some mad caulking skills. Jonnie-Bean taught me well!"


And here's the price you pay for having mad caulking skillz. My hands were dry for about a day later (since I didn't wash them off right away). But that's why the Lord in His infinite wisdom created that nice knock-off Neutrogena sesame seed body oil (I'm cheap and poor so I buy the Voldemart knock-off. But it works! And smells pretty!!)

But, yay! New floor!! And it looks so nice! It makes me happy every time I have to go into the bathroom. Or walk by it. Or need a long, hot bath.

And, really, isn't it a god excuse for why I haven't blogged as much? (Well, this and the fact that I'm reading, reading, reading to get through some of the books in my to-read pile??)