Firefly's Haven

Good news and Dinner

2012-02-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today Boyfriend Jon celebrated a huge success. I am so proud to announce that he has self published his first book on Smashwords. Jon wrote this story originally before we met and I've had the privilege to watch it transform through several revisions. It's a sweet, but realistic (if you can call talking animals with armor and swords realistic) tale to kick of the Guineawick Series.

I'm not saying this just because he's my boyfriend. This story is well written and he agonized over the plot and character developments for months. It's a short light read that will be worth your time. Besides...it's free. You can check it out here.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/130321

So to celebrate, i offered to cook a nice homemade meal for him. Whatever he wanted. Boyfriend Jon leaned back into the cushions of the couch and pondered for a moment with a goofy grin on his face, still riding the high of the 10 downloads so far. Then he grinned even wider and looked at me and said "Chili Dogs".

"Are you kidding or being serious?" I asked dubiously.

"No, totally serious." he responded, nodding decisively.

I thought hard. My dad had made sure we all knew some decent basic recipies from his standard menu. But Chili Dog had never come up. I ended up having to ask Boyfriend Jon what a Chili Dog was.

He was aghast again. This is not the first time a seemingly "normal" dinner meal was something that never graced our table.

I was 18 or so before i had my first ever taco and burrito. It was at a friend's birthday party and i was amazed. I brought the idea back to dad and he agreed to try it. My mother was not so enthused.

She has what we refer to as Food Allergies to keep it simple for waiters. Although she's not allergic to anything, she does get massive migraines based on the food she consumes. So our dinner table, never had any hot spices, too many onions, mustard, aged cheeses (mozzarella and american were fine but nothing else), no fresh baked yeast breads (she believes that the yeast is still alive after it comes out of the oven so she needs to wait a day for the yeast to 'die'. don't ask...i don't know where she got that logic), Lima beans (we as kids were still forced to eat them, but she didn't have to), citrus juices or zest, complicated gravy's, curry, sour cream or nuts. That's just the major things. She won't eat standard apples from the store because the peels have a "chemical" that organic apples don't. And other things like that.

We were constantly hearing "i can't eat that" and having to check food labels against her list which grew every year. The food we got was plain and my brothers claimed it was tasteless. We learned to cope, mostly through garlic.

I can't say i blame her for her caution either. I've seen her in the hospital throwing up, with the blinds drawn and we have to talk in whispers so her head doesn't pound. And my mom is TOUGH. She went through shoulder replacement surgery with no pain killers other than TYLENOL!

So in the end when we parred down the burritos to food that mom could eat...it was tortilla round, re-fried beans, lettuce, plain cooked hamburger and some cheese. It wasn't nearly as appetizing as what i had tasted at the birthday party.

So I know i missed out on a bunch of things, and sometimes Boyfriend Jon looks at me with pure shock that I've never had a Manwich or chili dogs, fried rice or chow mein, or something else that was a major staple of his childhood. To be honest i can't remember the last time i had a taco.

And it's not a matter of being resistant to try things, but i don't automatically think of the same kind of celebratory food. For me, luxuries were Jeiger schnitzle, Eggplant parmesean, paprika chicken, and Perrogies. All in all i'm very interested in trying out chili burgers and seeing how i like them. We'll see how it goes.

Want to say it, but can't

2012-01-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

The primary topic of my brain is a something i can't talk about yet because i'm afraid i'll jinx it. It'll be a couple months before i can talk about it and then you can expect a long series of posts about it. I promise.

That's the main reason why my posts are few and far between lately. When something exciting is coming it starts occupying my mind months ahead of time. I usually start planning my September birthday two months ahead of time. And by the time it's over, i'm thinking about Christmas with a vengeance. Halloween and Thanksgiving get thrown in when the birthday plans are settled. The bigger the event is, the sooner it starts occupying my mind.

I don't know why, i can't help it. At least I've gotten better about not talking about it until the more socially acceptable 2 weeks. Well, with some things. Other things the words just tumble out of my mouth to the few people i can talk about it with. I can keep a secret, but everyone knows i'm keeping it.

I can put some theories to rest though. For some people, i am not becoming your sister in law in a couple months. For other people, Doctor Shiva the Destroyer is not actively worried that i'm going to die in a couple months. This thing will most likely be a very good thing and i'm hoping any bad parts will be mild.

There that's the closest i can get to saying stuff but not jinxing it.

This bug is kicking my butt

2012-01-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

So quick updates cause i've been remiss in my blogging.

Christmas Eve was busy but wonderful. The feast of the Seven Fish went off with a few mild hick-ups but overall, we had plenty of food and good wine.
My Christmas with the family was a lot of fun, and i got a bunch of much appreciated gifts.
I spent the week between Christmas and New Years Eve cleaning, mending, and doing odd projects
Then New Years Eve morning, i took a plane and caught up with Boyfriend Jon in California for a week where i was introduced to a much more extended selection of his family and friends, and took the first vacation when i actually relaxed rather than doing a marathon of tourist-ing and shopping.
Boyfriend Jon's family is so warm and inviting if a little crazy and bustling and loud. New years eve had at least thirty people over, and the party to celebrate Nick's graduation from the fire academy had 40+ people. It was really overwhelming but everyone was very nice to me.

When the party was over, i had developed a small cough and some bubbling in my right lung. It didn't seem bad so we just went to bed.

But at 3am i woke up and couldn't get warm, not even by getting the extra blanket from the closet. And suddenly the coughing was much worse. My shivering woke up Jon who came to snuggle but instantly noticed that i was burning up. Next thing i know, the wonderful man has gotten dressed and gone out into the night to get me medicine. I tried to go back to sleep after that, but i was still cold, and getting stiff and sore.

When we woke up to pack for the trip back i felt like an old woman, i couldn't move except to hobble, and the simple task of packing took much longer than it should have. We boarded the plane and for the first time in my life, i slept during the flight. I never sleep on planes cause there's too much to look at. When my mother heard this upon picking us up, she even commented, "oh you really ARE sick".

So for the rest of the weekend and into the week, i fought the bug. And by fought i meant passed out on the couch and snored and was pathetic. Finally when it hit the point where i had had the bubbling in my lung for a full week, i went to the doctor.

My normal doctor couldn't see me, so i was introduced to another. This lady was a young, slender, soft spoken asian-indian woman with no trace of accent, who checked me over and then went Shiva the Destroyer on me.

Now, it's worth noting that i hate hospitals. And having been an overall healthy kid, i almost never went into them. My parents developed a habit of, no need to go in if there's nothing wrong with you. So Annual Physicals happened every 3-5 years. When i had to start paying for them myself it became an "as needed" which turns out...translates to every 7 years. And usually it was because i was in there for something else.

Like this time. Suddenly this sweet lady was pointing a menacing finger in my face and chastising me for not taking care of my health maintenance. I was scheduled for xray and bloodwork as penance for my forgetting. And she repeated with the same menacing finger pointed at me that she had better see me back in her office in "one week. one week, i mean it. I'll have the front desk start calling you no stop if i don't see you in here in exactly one week. Don't forget...i mean it....one week" as she was moving out the door.

It's different than my other doctor. She just kind of has an "oh well," attitude about everything having to do with me. Quite frankly, it's nice to have someone who cares even if it does get that finger pointed in my face and her nurse is thoughtless and rude about her comments.

Perhaps i've found a new doctor. Doctor Shiva the Destroyer.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

2011-12-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

There's been quite a delay in my posts. Partially between a burn out from writing in general, and partially due to the chaos of the holiday season.

Updates:
Boyfriend Jon has gone off to the wilds (aka, California) to spend the holidays with his family. It leaves me with two weeks of pure alone time after work. Although i miss him terribly, I've already started putting it to use; cleaning my bathroom from top to bottom. I'll wash the floor tonight.
Other cleaning is in the works including an entire empty and reorganize of my cupboards, emptying and sorting of all the boxes that have miscellaneous items shoved inside them when i had company coming over. Maybe i'll actually figure out where on earth my second hammer went to.

Then i have projects galore to work on. Wood working and sewing projects which for the time being will remain unspecified because they're Christmas presents.

All i can say is i'm very happy that i found a wood supplier online that has bubinga, one of my favorite woods.

Also, in my family, we have a holiday tradition that many people don't know anything about. It's called the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It stems in my family from my grandfather, my dad's father, who was born in southern Italy. It's supposed to be very religiously related, but there's very little rhetoric in my family. We believe what we believe and that's all there is to it. The Feast of the Seven Fishes has it's own traditional meaning for us that has nothing to do with religion. It is a very special time.

When we were little, on Christmas Eve morning, dad would get us out of bed early, (7am), and treat us to hot chocolate at a coffee shop (which almost never happened during the rest of the year) then we would go to the local fish market and dad would carefully select and buy all kinds of fish and seafood. Shrimp, Sole, Salmon, Halibut, Clams, Crab (more about this later), Scallops, and occasionally Eel, Catfish, Trout, and other random seafood made the menu. Most years, we had no idea what was going to be on the table when everything was concocted.

Then we would stop off at the grocery store and pick up any extra ingredients that were necessary. Then it was back to the house. By that time, usually it was past noon, and food preparation began immediately. I always got tasked with shelling shrimp and de-boneing what i could. And my dad would cook everything, dressed in his blue and white striped apron, going in and out of the back door to check on things cooking in the BBQ.

When the shrimp was done, as with all holidays, i got put to setting the table, arranging shrimp around the rims of these short glasses with snowmen painted on them, and filling them with the sauces. I made sure we used the gold rimmed goblets with snowflakes, and pulled out the candles. And after my grandmother died, her favorite silverware was used.

My mother would go outside with a pair of garden nippers and bring back in several branches from our cedar trees and occasionally the neighbor's pine tree. Then she would arrange it all, with some pine cones and ribbon into a beautiful center piece.

It took all of us years to figure out how he did it, but all the dishes hit the table at the same time. At which point we would dig in to spinach and garlic halibut, seared scallops, grilled salmon, a plethora of other mouth watering dishes.

Even this makes me want to throw up!

When i was really little, everyone in the family would get a kick out of putting the cooked crab right next to my chair. Then dad on my left would rip off the legs and arms with gusto while i tried not to think about those horribly sickening sounds. Then being a trouble maker, he would leave the head of the crab staring at me. I couldn't have been more than five and he would try to get me to touch it, only to make it move when my finger was a hairs breath away.

One year my mother got the hair brained idea to run the cleaned out crab head through the dishwasher with the idea of keeping it to add to her collection of shells. Only she didn't count on my brother Johnny to be the one to empty the dishwasher that night. I'll give you three guesses as to what a sevenish year old boy did with a scary crab shell that made his little sister scream. Oh yeah, he chased me with it. It was cruel, but i survived usually by screaming so loud that my mother put a stop to it. Though to this day, i'm still terrified of crab in the shell. No problems with the meat, it's quite tasty actually. Just the disgusting, creepy, freakish exoskeleton, makes my stomach turn.

Anyway, that was the story when i was little. Now it's a whole different ballgame. Dad still throws a fit if any of us so much as thinks about not attending. But he always has volunteers to go do the fish shopping. When we had fifteen people to feed, the table would be filled with different dishes. Often only limited to seven KINDS of fish, but multiple variations of all of them. Now, we're all more health conscious. Baking instead of frying, and reducing the amounts of butter and cheeses in all the dishes. Also, my sister and I join in on the cooking often bringing a signature dish or two ourselves to save our dad some of the labor.

This year is another first. My sister finally finished her kitchen remodel and wants to host the Feast at her place. My father was giddy that he wouldn't have to cook. But then my sister ended up having to work. So we're going to try preparing some dishes ahead of time. And we won't be without some of my dad's signature dishes this time around.

Full schedule

2011-12-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

It seems like every year, after NaNo is over, i hit the ground running trying to play catch up on all the things that fell on the wayside during November.
And then after 2 weeks, suddenly i remember all the things that need to be done before December and the frantic scheduling begins.

I have one...tw...three...............five maybe six wood working projects for christmas presents, including helping a buddy make something for his fiance. As far as i know this friend has a decent cursory knowledge of wood working, as in if i handed him a sander, i'm sure he would know what to do with it. On top of that, i've managed to whittle my christmas list down to about 150 total.

Also, two sewing projects...it's looking like my new duvet cover project is going to be put off until i have spare time.

And finally, some good news.
My sister had a perk to go to a spa hotel overnight for free. And when work travel got in the way of going before the offer expired...guess who she called.
Oh yeah, Canada, baby...look out. Here we come!

NaNo 2011 - Day 29

2011-11-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

So on November 24th at 4:50pm, i completed the designated 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo.

And then i stopped writing.

I can't really explain why other than to tell you that my brain keeps demanding that i fix this crappy first draft that i wrote. Yet, i seem to be finding every excuse possible to ignore it.

I've finished the entire Hunger Games trilogy and loved every second of the books. They're complex, twisting, and raw real...not teflon real. you know what i mean: the main character never suffers anything worse than a hangnail. These books were marvelous.

I did write an email apologizing to my read-along-ers and explaining what i had meant to do, especially after i had figured out a much better way to go about it.

I planned out my reward for reaching the 50k: a hour long massage that my back is despairingly in need of
I planned a triple date out with my fellow NaNo-ers where even I will be wearing a dress (gasp)
I planned out my christmas gifts for my family and Jon's family
I planned out my gift to myself: a new duvet cover which i'm sewing because anything i like is over 200$

Basically i did everything i could to avoid the rest of my story. Perhaps it was burn out...perhaps it was frustration that it didn't turn out the way i had hoped. All i know, is that i'm ready for December.

NaNo 2011 - Day 23

2011-11-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

If it hadn't been for the severe sleep deprivation, i might have finished last night.

Yup you read that right. my current word count is 48,011k, and if i didn't need these silly sleep things...i probably would have kept going and reached 50 last night.

As it was i was starting to feel physical complications from my late nights and early mornings. I had a muscle knot under my right shoulder blade that was so painful that i could feel it every time i breathed. And i had scary level dark bags under my eyes. Let me tell you, i do not look pretty after chronic lack of sleep.

I did the only thing i knew how to do. I laid on the floor of my apartment with an electric blanket draped over my back turned up on high. And then i had the wonderful Boyfriend Jon massage the bad knot hard. And then i left the blanket on for another hour, typing on my story while still laying on the floor. When i checked later, the knot had dissipated for the most part.

However it is a little bit sad that it took me until 47k to write even a single scene that i had planned out before Nano started. However, the hotel chase scene was fun.

Tonight i'll reach 50. and then immediately book a massage with someone with super strong hands that can grind all the other knots out of my back and neck.

Then we'll see about finishing Foolish Luck and fixing the first 2/3rds of the story so it's not so unbelievably boring.

NaNo 2011 - Day 18

2011-11-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry that i'm not keeping up with my daily slog of thoughts during NaNo this year.
A lot is going on in my personal life, and my professional life and i just try to keep my head above water. I've barely had time to write while at work, even when i stay through my lunch hour. and then i come home and try to keep my hands off of Boyfriend Jon. No, get your minds out of the gutter, it's so that he can heat them up with his furnace of a torso.
Then there's been the endless task of making myself comfortable enough to concentrate on writing. All my normal tricks haven't been working. My back starts to ache on the couch, my butt when i'm sitting on the floor, i can't put my feet up on the dining table and i no longer have a desk due to my crazy tiny apartment. Even my characters are being uncooperative. I specifically chose characters that are NOT the strong silent type. But when i write them, they keep trying to be.
Everything this year just seems off. I can't explain how, just disappointingly off.

Normally, by the time i'm past the halfway point, i'm desperately searching for a climax to my story, which is always the hardest part for me. This year, I've been struggling with breaking out of the monotony of their normal lives. I can't for the life of me thing of how to weave mythology into the beginning, and really don't want to have this imaginary line that they cross somewhere on the Atlantic and suddenly, gods and legends become real.

For over 35,000 words and all the way up till now, I've spent my NaNo time writing the extensive back story that i thought i needed to write in order for the parts that i wanted to write all along to make any sense.

It took me 17k to get them out of america.
It took me another 17 to get them off the damn boat on their trans Atlantic crossing.
Then i stupidly put them on a train. And after three thousands words of that, i finally had enough.

This is not the story i wanted to write. It's boring, and my characters are about as deep as a birdbath. I cannot take another 15k words to get things to start happening.

Today is the 18th! Are you kidding me? I've wasted over half the month on the back story? Please someone smack me upside the head with a shoe, i'm such an idiot. There's no hook for the readers. I feel so sorry for the few people that have been reading along. It's so bad. I know it's bad, and the only way that i can think of to fix it is to just jump ahead of all the boring stuff, and worry about how to connect it later.

I can't take this anymore. I'm terrified now that i'll get to November 30th and will barely have written any of the exciting and gripping tale that i went into NaNo trying to write. And since i really don't do much writing outside of NaNo, i don't want this story to fall by the wayside and never get picked back up again. It has so much potential if i could just stop writing about the fricken train.

My NaNo this year was not meant to be this boring back story. And as of right now, the back story ends.
Ok, random plot twist generator....um no, nijas do not work...lets try again....

NaNo 2011 - Day 14

2011-11-14T14:53:00.000-08:00

I have really got to get more stern with myself over the subject of NaNo and the subject of sleep. Staying up until after midnight on a night when i need to be up at six is not a good idea. I know this very well from previous years when i have stumbled into work and done everything possible to not let my head droop onto my desk where i will surely fall into a deep snoring slumber.

Yet every year, i end up growing bags under my eyes and yawning through a meeting or two. Really, by now i should know better. And still, that didn't stop me from hitting the snooze button three times more than i should have...sleeping in an additional half hour this morning. Too late to grab a shower (thank god for dry shampoo) too late to put together a new outfit (thank god for cardigans) and too late to arrive on time (mostly because i almost forgot my badge).

But i'm here. Working away as my mind feels like it's filled with fuzz.

Three pieces of good news.

1) I decided to take a break at lunch and re-read what i have done so far in my story. It started out to just be a reminder, but I ended up listening to my voice as an author. I had been thinking that my story beginning was 14k words of pure crap. But in reality, it wasn't half bad. It's drawn out and there's very little to keep anyone reading, but the writing is good and my characters are talking a great deal more than normal. So thus far, it's just a slow start story. Which is better than i had expected from myself. I know we're all our worst critics. But it feels about 10x as molasses like when it takes you a day to get through each chapter.

2) I found my Kindle! it was hiding in the couch cushion. this is a good thing because over the weekend, i wasn't very inclined to write as i should have been and i was able to pick up the Hunger Games that i had just barely started before NaNo. Normally, i intensely dislike first person narrative books. But this one has genuinely captivated me. I like the setting and the character is believable. I'm always a sucker for a female who's a survivor. Although the story line is extremely similar to Battle Royale (Koushun Takami) which was written about 5 years earlier...it's still good in its own way. But then again, i adore the Avatar movie even though is basically Dances With Wolves.

3) On Sunday the 13th, i celebrated my 2 year anniversary with Boyfriend Jon. True to our normal form, we hung out with a friend, played some board games, went out for a good meal, wandered around the scary Walmart, then went home and went right back to writing. We lead such extravagant lives.
As for reaching the two year mark, all i can say is that it doesn't feel like it. Most of the time i still feel like we're in the giddy, silly, blissful stage usually seen around the three to six month stage of a relationship. I love this man and don't know what i'd do without him.

NaNo 2011 - Day 9

2011-11-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

Silly me, i've been so caught up in my break neck speed that i've forgotten to post my numbers. Usually when the site for NaNo comes up, my word count widgets pop up on my site and keep track of how i'm doing. But the site is having some glitches since the relaunch and my widgets arent' working.

Today is November 9th. My word count before having typed anything today is 20,028
My goal for tonight is to pass the halfway mark...something that has never happened so early. usually i'm a day or two ahead of schedule. Not almost a week.

I'm pretty darn proud of myself.

Boyfriend Jon crossed the halfway mark last night. And i'm right on his heels.

And of course...just as i'm getting ready to post this...i find out that my widgets have started working again. Go figure.

Check out the left side of the blog for my NaNo 2011 track record. The days turn green when I've written 1667 words for the day. Yellow if i'm over the daily quota but didn't write the 1667 words. Red, if i didn't make either.

NaNo 2011 - Day 7

2011-11-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

So last night, i finally got my timeline and route in order and went to bed thinking about how to write it. I woke up and was all energized to go.

I was in such a good mood that even an extra dump of work on my desk couldn't phase me. Cause as soon as I got home i was going to kick some NaNo butt! Hiiiyaaa!

And then my sister called.

Oh yeah, i'm the horrible daughter that forgot her mom's birthday...is tonight. In the words of Homer Simpson: D'OH!

Not to mention i found that apparently i'm taking her to the Verizon store tonight to help her pick out her new smart phone. Which since my mom is not extremely technologically savvy...means extensive answering of questions. Which will probably take a lot of time. Time i had hoped to get back into the swing (finally) of my story!

Yeah...life happens.

NaNo 2011 - Day 6

2011-11-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

Whoops. Usually i'm a bit better about keeping up with my thoughts and feelings over the course of a November. The truth is, this year, i'm (was) neck and neck with one of my friends so just about ever spare second was spent writing on my story.

Today being the sixth, i should be at about 10,000 words. Due to the fact that the friend I've been neck and neck with is going for one hundred thousand words as opposed the regular fifty thousand, she's helped push me to push out over 16 thousand words.

The official count right now is 16,425 while i take a break and get some work done in completing the company calendar.

14k of that was completed by Friday. After that, a small conversation with Boyfriend Jon led me to question my entire timeline of my story. Turns out, not paying attention in pretty much any of my history classes was a problem after all. My memory of events and corresponding years was faulty and caused an enormous hole in my story that could not logically be breached in any way that still made sense.

It had a huge effect on me. I was instantly frustrated and i frantically searched about online for some other way of fixing this huge hole. I snapped at poor Boyfriend Jon, and a headache took a strong hold at the base of my neck. There was no logical way i could get two young men into Europe, but not to join the war, without completely deviating from history. Finally I got an idea.

I have an Uncle, who is renowned in our family for talking about WW2 at great length and even occasionally exhaustion. Now normally, when he goes off on his rants, i leave the room or stare at him until i start to nod off. WW2 history doesn't interest me in the least. The only reason i'm writing about it is to give the story an urgency and an easy bad guy. Not to mention Indiana Jones is one of the inspiration and who is Indiana Jones always's fighting? oh yeah. The Nazis.

But now, at day 6 i was being forced to consider the possibility that i would need to completely alter the timeline, perhaps even choosing a completely different era. That might have been less daunting at day 6 if i was actually following the 1667 words a day. But 14,000 words is a LOT to have to compeltely re-write.

So, back to my Uncle. When i called he wasn't home so i enlisted my cousin to do what the women in our family refer to as the sweet insistence. Which in this case involved her standing over him with the phone in her hand telling him how much his niece (me) needed his help and without him my entire project might fail. Of which i said no such thing, but i got a phone call back from him in a surprisingly short amount of time.

As i laid out my problem for him, he kept interrupting me telling me about where else in Europe the Germans were fighting during 1939. Border disputes with the French were the least of the battles as the Germans moved over eastern europe. Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia taking advantage to try and get their share of the land. May i just say...power hungry idiots!?

But when i explained the path that i needed my characters to follow, he gave me two lumps of SOLID GOLD. One being that i could land my characters in Spain which was a neutral port. Neutral port to neutral port meant that they were less likely ("accidents" happened all the time) to be sunk by U-boats.

And if i made my characters arrive in France before June 3rd and if they left to go into Italy before June 10th (when Italy declared war on France), they would be able to go straight through without too much of a problem. It would be even better if i gave them some way of diplomatic immunity.

So there you go. You've now been caught up with my frenzied recalculation that has taken up most of my weekend. As a matter of fact, i don't think I've written 2 thousand words all weekend. I just was so not feeling it. Which is why i said that i WAS neck and neck with my friend. I think the last i hear she was coming up on 22k. Which i'm so excited for her but my competitive nature is like OMFG! STOP TYPING SO I CAN CATCH UP.

Boyfriend Jon is also eliciting a similar response as he's approaching 20k right now, or so he tells me.

NaNo 2011 - Day 1

2011-11-03T11:22:00.001-07:00

I tossed and turned the entire night through til the morning of November 1. Plot pitfalls, tangents, uncooperative characters, a messy apartment, huge food fights at the write ins, my parents guilt tripping me and a variety of other nightmares danced through my dreams all night long. But when i slapped my alarm clock and seriously considiered calling in sick, it suddenly hit me.

IT'S FINALLY HERE! NANO HAS BEGUN!

I was practically prancing into work and using every spare second (of breaks of course) to type.

By 9:30pm, i was there. 5,006 words. I had mostly re-written or typed up the original plot bunny and added some depth to my characters. I was hoping to avoid the back story dump, but i think I've figured out a way to make it help pass some boring time in the story line. If not...oh well, that's what editing is for.

Adventures in being a Write-In Host

2011-10-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is the 3rd year I've been a write in host and my 4th year doing NaNoWriMo. Every year, i learn new things. Every year there are new challenges to overcome, new tactics to acquire. Every year, i have to learn how to overcome my weaknesses, or how to shore them up with other people's strengths. It has opened my eyes to a lot of things regardless of whether i want to acknowledge them or not. The following is a list of the advice that i have developed over time to have a great Write In and things i wish i had known before I ever agreed to be a Write In Host. So, after you've posted something on the forum...

Be the Leader: Be flexible enough that you can roll with any problems that arise, but not so flimsy that people walk all over you. By coming to your write in, they're expecting you to lead it. So be ready to lead (and have fun with it). Think kindergarden teacher style.
Don't take yourself too seriously. Make fun of yourself, other people in the room, the whole nano experience. But don't take things too far. If you accidentally insult someone, sincerely apologize.
Have a ton of energy and be encouraging: I spontaneously break into dance and i'm always bouncing around to check on people. Just don't let the Write in get sleepy and don't let people fade from notice. If someone's stuck, take some time to see if you can give them ideas.
Smile as much as you can. New comers are often timid and uncertain. Shaking hands with them and greeting them individually can often break the ice. Look for people hovering around the edges, often times behind you. If you have younger kids in your group, introduce yourself to their parents if they're there.
Have a set of introductory questions: My favorites are:

Your name
What you do to pay the bills (and or pass the non NaNo-ing time)
Your NaNo experiance or lack there of or how they heard about NaNo
Your highschool mascott - for something random to get people talking.

Have people helping you: I have always had two helpers. One who's good with technical questions and one that's good with plot questions. That way i can focus on being the cheer leader and being the diplomat for conflicts which will arise, trust me.
HAVE A PLAN: People will show up late, so don't expect to get started on time. Know ahead of time if everyone just wants to put their head down and write (i'm personally not a fan of this method, but whatever works for you). If you're doing Word Wars - know how long each word war will be, and plan for breaks. Know what your prizes will be and how to determine who will win. A lot can get written in short little sprints.
Be polite but firm when there's turbulence: Cram a lot of bodies into a small area, there's bound to be some friction. Get the story from both sides, then find a compromise. Handle any uncomfortable subjects privately with the individual. There is no need to embarrass anyone.
Know your Location: Work with the manager directly for scheduling and resource requirements. Don't just surprise them by showing up and expecting to be accommodated. Also, with a lot of people, a lot of laptops and a lot of power needed, know where your outlets are and bring power strips and extension chords as appropriate. You might want to check with the manager about AC too, cause those laptops put out a ton of heat. Also:

Clean up after yourself. A sure fire way to not be invited back is leaving the place a mess. If you move tables, move them back, clear off any trash etc.
Have a sign or a way for other NaNo people to identify you: The ducks aren't always enough, so make your location clear

Be respectful of everyone's individual writing style: This is one that I'm huge on. You can't think "it's my way or the highway" when it comes to writing. There's no perfect universal formula for writing a good story. Everyone needs to find their method and if it's not your way, it's ok! Also, don't let others make newcomers think one way is superior, cause it might not be the best way for them. Actually, just being respectful in general will get you a long way.

Other things to think about:

A group roster (for networking purposes)
Ducks (or your area's mascot/identifier)
Identifying Newbies and Veterans
Plotters vs Pantsers (please don't make it a rivalry)
Any fund raising you want to do

The best part about the last several years is the experiences. I wouldn't trade the last 4 NaNo's for anything. Even when i was stressed out and thinking about quitting, these write ins kept me going. Just as I love passing on NaNo to people who've never heard about it, now i have advice to give to those who are looking to start out on their own Write Ins. I started with no rules, and only a glimmer of an idea of what to do for a write in. Now we've grown from a small handful of people to almost 30. It's fun, there's lots of laughter and i can't wait for the year to begin.

Box breaking

2011-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

My company is very conservative when it comes to their graphics. From my desk i can see at least ten examples of the kinds of things they like. Orderly, simple, nothing too extravagant, too bright, or different from the layouts they have used since the 1960s.

The annual calendar had been done by the same lady for at least 10 years and each year, she just kept the same layout and just changed the banner graphic. They were...nice. Not amazing, but nice.

When i came on board for last year's calendar, i started playing around without being asked. When i came across the idea to put the graphic behind the calendar and have the date squares be just slightly translucent...all of a sudden, they were amazed. It was something they'd never considered before and they LIKED IT!

This year, something similar happened. They had two ideas and wanted some examples of different ways to go about it. So i gave them what they wanted. 2 examples and some simple variations.

My design :) Planet Saturn with the
Cassini sattelite in orbit.

And then, something struck me. A perfect design was already there, i just had to clear away what wasn't working (read: the standby layout). So i started playing around...again without being asked. I split the months into two 6-month sections for the top and the bottom. Then i put the graphic all the way across the back, and year and other graphics in the middle. The result was really cool. I liked it. Two co-workers liked it. Boyfriend Jon liked it.

So i went to the presentation meeting and handed them what they asked for. They hummed and hawed over it for a few minutes until i offered my take on the design. It didn't take long for them to agree that my design was their favorite with some minor tweaks, which i had expected to be brought up. But overall they loved it. which makes me so happy.

So now, the Saturn planet is being re-done for color correctness, and the rings will be cleaned up but then i'll start adding the dates, holidays and other necessary information. It's shaping up to be a very pretty year :)

Anxiously Awaiting

2011-10-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

NaNo is coming! NaNo is coming!

The countdown has reached 6.5 days. Less than a week to go. Butterflies are beginning to wake up in my stomach, my dreams start to inspire tiny little tidbits of my future story, research is now boring and i really just want to get started!

I mean really, i can only read so much about real history before i want to start messing around with what might have caused certain events. I don't even mind putting my 70wpm typing skills to use transcribing videos for my mom's deaf student, because it's awesome practice for nano.

My excitement makes my foot tap when i look at any calendar, my voice shows obvious enthusiasm when talking about it with other people, even if they're non NaNo-ers. Its on my mind almost non stop.

Why can't it just be here already?!

On the plus side, this year's novel is based off of a plot bunny that spawned itself all the way back in 2008. I even wrote about 5,000 words of it on non NaNo time. The basis is solid, and the characters are strong, but those 5k words will be great to inspire the new beginning. In a sense, my first three days are almost already written. I just have to re-type them in a different pattern and tuck in a few changes here and there.

My fingers are ichy. Come on November!

Getting swept up

2011-10-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

You know the feeling that time slows down the closer it draws to an exciting event. Yeah, that's not happening for me.

So much is going on that i'm trying to just relax and flow with it. Boyfriend Jon is left on a jet plane again last night to go back to California again. He's going to be gone all weekend. I'm a little bit, just a tiny little bit, glad he's going to be gone. Sure i'll miss him like crazy and probably take a flying leap into his arms when he comes home, but i have so much to do this weekend.

Last year, i slid myself into position to do a graphics project at work, designing the next year's company poster. I came in with 2 weeks to deadline and the team and I knocked it out of the ballpark. People are still (it's october) commenting to me about how much they love the calendar and wanting to know if i'm going to be working on it again.

I'm excited to say, I am. :D

I got the go ahead yesterday to start designing the 2012 calendar. More specifically, i got the go ahead to play around with 4-6 different options to give the team options to choose from before we pick one and get to work. There's a bunch things i really want to do differently. I want to take chances and try completely different layouts. The catch is that my company and the other members of the team are a lot more conservative than i am. So i'm limited in how much i can change things. But sometimes, things just work out for me.

One of the designs involves the beautiful planet Saturn, one of my favorites to mimic for digitial work. I plan on making that the one i root for (and maybe tweak to look a little bit nicer). But i also feel compelled to make a drastic change to the layout to allow for a completely different perspective than the rest of the team is expecting.

Honestly, i could sit and learn from Photoshop tutorials all day long and never be bored. It is a serious stress relief to me. Even if i'm having trouble with the steps, i still can't tear myself way from it. And it's the best feeling in the world to finally get it right. Triumph will be mine.

To give the calendar a completely different feel from last year, i even get to learn new techniques. It's going to be so much fun. And, i'm getting paid for this. Best weekend ever!

NaNo 20 questions featuring Boyfriend Jon

2011-10-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry in advance for the very long post those of you who don't follow NaNoWriMo.

I went to a plot workshop over the weekend with Boyfriend Jon. One of the biggest things we took away was the concept of writing down the conditions under which we each write best. Our most productive writing environment. It quickly became evident that we had two very different writing styles. But it was also good, because now we know how to help each other. Some of his answers were completely surprising to me. He's going to post this over at his blog too.

1. In what location do you write best?

Anne: I can write pretty much anywhere. I can be productive writing at home, but it's harder because that seems to be the only time of year that I actually want to fold laundry. Anything to procrastinate. So often times, I leave and crash at Boyfriend Jon's place or at a quite location. Coffee shops and bookstores usually have too much stimulus since I'm one of those people that talks to everyone. Other than that, specifics don't matter. Floor, couch, desk....I’m flexible.

Jon: I've tried writing in a variety of places, but I've done my best at home on my couch, or lying face down in bed. I've tried coffee shops, but I'm usually too distracted or worried about being kicked out. My first year of NaNo I wrote the majority of my novel on the bus to and from work; not easy in the snow!

2. When is the best time for you to write?

Anne: I write very well when I can sit and be uninterrupted for a while. But I guess my best breakthroughs come either when I first get up in the morning or in the later evening; 7-12pm or so. Don't tell my boss but sometimes my lunch hour of writing goes a little longer than it should.

Jon: My best hours are usually after 10pm. There's nothing more satisfying than burning some midnight oil, especially when the words are just flowing. There's also less distractions: either I keep writing or I go to sleep. When I write during the day, I'm much more likely to take long breaks, or work on some other projects.

3. How do you structure your writing time? Do you prefer short sprints or long marathons?

Anne: I can do both, it mostly depends on what I’m writing about. If I’m trudging through some tedious dialogue, I have to take it in sprints or I get sick of it. But when writing action, I can't just stop mid jump kick!

Jon: I need the long haul. I usually spend the beginning of every writing session reviewing what I wrote the last time, and when I'm done writing I review what I just wrote. Sometimes I even leave notes for myself for when I sit back down. That overhead doesn't lend itself to short sprints: when I do write in short bursts, say on the bus, I usually lose a lot of time trying to get myself into character.

4. Any other environmental factors? Light? Temperature? Noise level?

Anne: My eyes start to hurt if the only lighting is my laptop screen. Also, I rarely turn on my heater, so I prefer to have it cold enough to need my slippers and maybe a light blanket or else I'll start getting sleepy. One other item that always seems to surprise people is that I have to have some background noise. I'm not talking music or white noise; but I flip on some uninteresting TV show and leave it on in the background. And somehow, I’m able to ignore it and write.

Jon: I prefer writing in the dark, maybe a single lamp, but that's mostly so I can see any written notes. If it's too cold I get jumpy and distracted, but then again, too warm and I'm just as likely to take a nap, especially if I'm working in bed. Slightly cool air with a blanket works for me. As for noise: the closer to silence the better.

5. Do you like to listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?

Anne: Ironically, I have a lot of trouble listening to music while I write. Lyrics end up getting written into my story and often times I get some mellow calm music when I have a really intense scene to write. Then I spend ten minutes trying to find the right music for the scene and by the time I get back to being able to write, I’ve forgotten what I was going to write. Occasionally I’ll get lucky with instrumental music like Spanish guitars or soundtrack music, but overall...I just put the TV on and ignore it. Someone once suggested that I get a white noise machine and try that....but those suckers are expensive.

Jon: I can't listen to anything with lyrics while I'm actually writing. But I'm a big fan of instrumental music, especially electronica and movie soundtracks. I've a selection of soundtracks I return to regularly while writing: Gladiator, The Lord of the Rings, or more recently the Tron sequel. I used to think listening to movie soundtracks would distract me; far from it. I usually listen to the music just barely above a whisper, they way background music should be. But I'll admit, sometimes, right before writing session I'll listen to a playlist of loud, up-tempo, and high-energy rock music to get me in "writing shape".

6. Do you like to write with others around you, or do you prefer to fly solo?

Anne: I'm definitely a social person. I like to have other people nearby that are doing either the same thing or something quiet so I can concentrate. It's something about the camaraderie that I like. But I can write just fine on my own.

Jon: I honestly prefer to write alone. I need time to hem and haw over my words, talk myself through scenes, or otherwise not have to worry about anyone else around me. I don't get much writing done at social writing functions: I'm usually way too interested in hearing about other's stories, or bouncing ideas off the other writers.

7. Do you keep any drinks or snacks handy?

Anne: I'm a pumpkin seed fanatic. I generally fill a gallon bag after Halloween with baked pumpkin seeds...and they're gone in a couple of weeks. That and my handy camelback water bottle and a fresh supply of ice cold water. I avoid caffeine in general, but I drink a cup first thing in the morning during NaNo so that I’m not falling asleep at my desk from burning both ends of the candle.

Jon: Nothing in particular. I just try to avoid anything that will get my hands sticky. I keep a water bottle close by, and take breaks to go eat elsewhere.

8. What's your preferred writing medium? Are you on the computer, or rocking the old school pen and paper?

Anne: I type about 70 words per minute. My mom was a stickler for home row being a computer teacher so the computer is natural for me. I haven't had my laptop very long and you can already see the rub marks on the spacebar from my right thumb.

Jon: Computer. I grew up writing on the computer, it's just too powerful a tool for editing. I'll write a lot of notes on paper, but usually those get transcribed if I'm really serious about them. The bulk of my writing gets done on a little netbook with a whopping 14 hour battery: I can use it all day without worrying about finding juice.

9. So you use the computer, which program?

Anne: Microsoft Word is good enough for me. I already know all of the formatting hot keys, and when I maximize the screen, it eliminates distractions. So I never needed a special program. The only thing i wish Word had was a bigger buffer at the bottom so i don't run into the bottom of the screen. I feel like my words start getting crowded when they get too close to the bottom. They need room to breathe.

Jon: I've tried a bunch of writing programs, even written some of my own. When it comes to straight-up, get-it-down-on-paper writing, I use a free program called FocusWriter. It let's me have a full screen with a large font, just a paragraph or two on the page at a time so I don't get the urge to edit. It also lets you set and track writing goals, so you can see when you've hit your quotas for the day.

10. Do you allow yourself access to the Internet? Do you find it to be a distraction?

Anne: I have so much trouble turning my internet on and off...that I just leave it on and close down all windows except the one I’m writing in. Also, I back up my document to Google Docs so I need to be able to paste it over at a moment's notice in case I need advice from my sounding board.

Jon: When I'm on the netbook, I usually turn off the WiFi while I'm writing. But, occasionally I'll need to look something up, something I can't just put in a placeholder for, and then I try to keep myself limited to research. I do however, like to keep tabs open to various name generator sites, just in case I need a quick name.

11. Do you have any other must haves? Good-luck writing charms?

Anne: I have one of those tray tables from As Seen On TV. It's very helpful for my posture to lean back in the sofa and not have to reach far for my laptop keyboard. Also I have to have something to put my hair up, even if it's a pencil. If it's down, I’ll play with it and effectively not type.

Jon: My feet get cold. I have a pair of old man house slippers that I've adopted as my official writing shoes. They give me about a 20% boost to my word counts.

12. How long have you been doing NaNo? Why did you start?

Anne: This will be my 4th year in the NaNoWriMo team. My 3rd as a Write In Host. I started because my best friend told me it would be great and that it would be great for me. Of course that was the year he abandoned NaNo (silly things like 400 level physics classes...psh!). However, he was right. The community, the friendly competition, the built in cheering squad, it all worked for me. And that was the first time I had EVER actually finished a novel. After that, I was hooked.

Jon: Four years: I started the same year as Anne. I've been writing creatively with my friends for years, and that October I had an idea for a story much longer than anything else I'd ever dreamt up. I don't remember how I found out about NaNo, but I remember really pushing myself that year.

13. Do you like to use writing prompts?

Anne: I love writing prompts, but only when I get them before or after NaNo. They have a tendency to spawn plot bunnies like nobody's business. Three of my stories came out of plot bunnies that just grew and grew until they became fully fledged ideas. I even managed to weave plot bunnies in a few more to those stories. They're great devices to get the creative juices flowing, but I have to be careful that I don't drown in them.

Jon: Yes and no. I've never found them to help me get further along in my own works, or even get me in the mood to write. But I do enjoy the exercise, if anything I love taking a breath from whatever I'm knee-deep in and just write something else for a change.

14. Every writer hits a creative wall now and again. What are your top three techniques for getting unstuck?

Anne: 1) I have to talk it out. Since other NaNo-ers are fully engulfed in their stories, I have a couple of non-NaNo-er friends who are willing to keep up with my story and offer advice to help get me unstuck. Sometimes the tiniest phrase in the conversation jars my roadblock loose. 2) If my sounding boards are unavailable, I walk away from my computer and do some mundane task. Last year, I had a eureka! moment while scrubbing my tub. And 3) if all else fails, I skip ahead.

Jon: First, I sit back and recall what all of the characters are doing at that particular moment in the story, or what they were doing the last time the reader saw them. That usually gives me a few new openings. Secondly, I get up and act out the scene. Standing up, moving around, and saying the dialogue out loud helps me better grasp what the scene is trying to accomplish. Finally, if I’m still stuck, I’ll just start writing completely out of character, sometimes even out of genre. It doesn’t take long before I say to myself: “Of course the character wouldn’t do X, they’d do Y instead.”

15. Do you like to plot out your story in advance, or do you write more by the seat of your pants?

Anne: I'm about 90% Pantsing and 10% plotting. I know my characters very well, and set up the setting, and I have a handful of bullet points that I want to cover before I reach the end. I think my biggest problem is that I don't think out the climax at all. I have gotten to Thanksgiving Day and not had a clue how my story was going to end. That makes for one exciting Turkey day.

Jon: I've been writing creatively for about five years now, mostly short stories, and I've experimented with a variety of ways at approaching writing itself. When I pants a story, I end up with five pages about a goat chewing cud. So I've come up with a level of planning that I'm comfortable with. I write out an outline with all of the scenes I want, just a one-liner like “introduce Hester”, or “reveal about the cat”. Afterward, if I don't have enough scenes to make a story, I flesh out in between scenes to pace everything appropriately. Then, each writing session I look ahead a few scenes in the outline and make sure they still make sense with what I’ve been already writing. I usually end up changing 10-40% of the outline as I go along, as add, delete, or move scenes.

16. What aspect of writing do you think you are best at? Worst?

Anne: My strength is writing intense, thrilling scenes. Also I think i do a good job of not having characters that are invincible emotionally and physically. My weakness is definitely dialogue. Many of my characters end up being the brooding quiet type. Sometimes i can work it to my advanage, but most often not.
Jon: Pacing, and keeping the story interesting. I want to like my own writing, and if I can’t get excited about a piece, then I need to fix it. Because I plot and plan so much, I also like to think that I give readers plenty of things to look out for, or rewards for even moderately reasonable attention. It bothers me when I read stories that have so little long-term arcs, or so much unnecessary fluff, that the story could have been pared in half, without damage to the plot or the characters’ development. But all that planning and plotting has a downside: it’s sometimes hard for me to keep track of exactly what I have and haven’t said, and judging how much the reader can reasonably be expected to remember. I have it all in my head, often many versions, and combined with minimal descriptions, sometimes I don’t say enough and the reader gets lost. A scene that makes perfect sense to me is confusing to the reader, because of information I’ve forgotten to emphasize or even put down in the first place.

17. What inspires you to write? What inspires what you write?

Anne: I write because I have an overactive imagination. It's a way to get all the random images I see in my mind's eye out so I have time to make sense of them. Also I come from a long line of Italian story tellers. The need to entertain has always been strong. In addition to an overactive imagination, I have an overdeveloped sense of justice. And I know in this world, too often the bad guy goes free. So it gives me immense satisfaction to have my villains get their comeuppance.

Jon: Sometimes I having noting but a bit of dialog, or single image in mind, that I want to see, that I want to justify existing. Then the exercise is to figure out a story that will make that dialogue or image happen and make sense. I don’t care about getting published, or making money. I think everyone should so something creative, not professionaly, but just well enough to share with friends. As for what inspires my writing: real life, books, movies, video games, even some of my stranger dreams. I rate my media not just on it’s own merits, but if after experiencing it all I can think about is doing something creative. I’ll watch a terrible movie and call it great if afterward I feel like writing.

18. How does competition affect your writing?

Anne: I'm the youngest of four children and I grew up in a neighborhood full of boys. To say I’m competitive is an understatement of a major degree. I don't hate other people when they win, but I’m still gonna do my darndest to come out on top. I think my original friendly competition (along with a healthy dose of flirting) with Boyfriend Jon is what got me through my first year. Without that added incentive, NaNos 2-4 might never have been.

Jon: I’ll admit, the first two years of NaNo I enjoyed competing with Anne, and keeping up a playful game of chase on the website. Last year I wanted to hit 100k for me and for my story, it wasn’t a matter of competing with anyone but my own goals. I just want to write the stories, I’m doing it for me. I’m not competing with anyone.

19. What incentives do you have for completing NaNoWriMo this year?

Anne: The same ones I did the other years. A pedicure and a foot massage - one of the few girly indulgences that melts me completely. Also, Boyfriend Jon and I might have a little bet going on, but I’ll leave that to the imagination.

Jon: I’ve been editing last year’s novel for six months now. This year, NaNo is almost a fun break from that, a chance to explore some of the other ideas I’ve left on the back burner for a while.

20. Are you planning on trying anything new this year?

Anne: This year, in addition to finishing my story again, I’m aiming for 60k words. I definitely think it's doable and I think it will give me enough room to flesh out my story adequately. Also as a Write In Host, I’m starting a Black Friday Write in to counteract the lost time on Thanksgiving Day. Hopefully that will be a big enough hit that we can make it an annual event.

Jon: I’m going to write two independent short stories instead of a single novel this year. I’ve got one idea I really want to put down, and it’s rare I can think of something that can be so self-contained. But also I want to continue my series with the next short story so I have something to look at while I give my novel a breather. Practically speaking, I’m also trying to have a more scheduled writing time, something I can turn into a habit to keep after the month ends.

As a side note, this "interview" was conducted on a website called http://willyou.typewith.me/. It allows multiple collaborators to write on the same document at the same time. We kept having trouble with it shutting down but i think that was a problem with my internet connection and not the site itself. There's no way to save the document, so copy and paste to a word processor often.

NaNo terms explained: Plotter vs Panster

2011-10-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

In Nano, there are two extremes in methods of writing your story. This will be my third year of hosting a Write-In. And the majority of writers that i have witnessed, lean one way or the other. Very few have ever fallen in the middle. I have seen great stories produced by both sides of the spectrum, so i can honestly say that i don't believe one way is better than the other. It's all up to the writer.

Plotters- These are the folks that need to carefully lay out their plotline before a single word of the story ever gets written down. It's their map, blueprint, whatever you want to call it. The story is not ridged and boring when done this way since even the outline comes out of their imagination (or memory if the genre calls for it). If you think of it like a building...they know when they lay the first brick what the structure will look like when they're done.

Pantsers- These people find plotting everything out before hand too restrictive. They write by the seat of their pants the whole way. Most often, they know a few details about their story (like the main characters) and a general idea of some bullet points that they'd like to have happen along the way, but the rest is a mystery at the beginning. Often times, somewhere, the story will take a turn that the just did not see coming and they'll follow it to completion. I've heard this type of writing called "Organic" before. It might seem like this method would just lead to rambling on for 10k words, but it also makes for some really interesting tangents.

Think about it this way: if you're in a park or a garden, and you're not required to walk on the path, can you still reach the same destination? Of course this bars any unforeseen lava pits or rabid bunnies that will pelt you with nuts if you leave the path.

My point is: Don't let anyone tell you that one way is better than the other. You need to try which ever one seems more natural for you. Maybe you fall somewhere in the middle or closer to one way or the other. But don't force yourself to follow a set path if it doesn't work. You're not like everyone else, so why would your writing be?

Me? I'm definitively a Pantser. The one time i tried to plan out a whole new world and a story that would fit into this one idea i had...i was miserable the whole time. I have never come so close to quitting. I kept realizing that my characters would never behave the way i needed them to, and the story just wouldn't work, no matter how much i tweaked the alien planet they were on. It was frustrating beyond belief. In retrospect, if i had followed where the story would have gone instead of where i wanted it to go, i think i could have salvaged the story.

However the first time i did NaNo, i was so limited on time that i wasn't able to plot. My main goal was to reach the 50k line before the deadline passed. I had 2 characters, and a two sentence description of the overall story arc. So my story just grew. I'm not saying it was easy. At Thanksgiving dinner, i seized my cousin by the shoulders and frantically told her i had NO climax what-so-ever. But thanks to help from several people, i passed the goal early and even, for the first time in my life, FINISHED the story. It was a thrill like i had never experienced before. It kept making me want to go back for more.

This will be my 4th NaNoWriMo and i cannot wait for it to start.

When left unattended....

2011-10-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

Boyfriend Jon was gone all weekend with his family, leaving me to my own devices which may or may not have been a good idea. Turns out my life is totally boring without him around.

Friday, i went to see my college buddy's brand new, just got the keys condo....of which they had already tore out the carpet and tile. They were laying in snap together fake wood flooring and my girlfriend was trying to use a floor filler on the very much destroyed chip-crete floor next to the entryway. Upon suggesting that she use floor leveler for that much area, we realized all of the chip-crete was a loss thanks to the jackhammer when the tile was removed. I mean, we were moving it around with our hands it was soo loose and cracked. So i drove her to Lowes and made sure she got the right stuff. Because of the 3 hour cure time, we decided to do some demolition instead so she handed me a hammer and we got to work.

Her dad was impressed with my knowledge of home repair. I think originally he thought i would be useless because he tried to explain to me how to paint with a roller. (eye roll) Thankfully, we never ended up getting around to painting and i was able to keep my mouth shut from "oh please there's easier ways to do that." Eventually, through helping out with just about every problem he was having to teaching my girlfriend tricks to working with his tools...we found a respect for each other, craftsmen to craftswoman. We even got to talking about how to go about doing the crown molding and running a water line for a fridge with an ice maker.

But by 5pm, i was dead tired from taking Boyfriend Jon to the airport at O-dark-thirty. So i went home.....ish. I stopped by target with an idea to cheer Boyfriend Jon up when he got home. I bought a black shirt, some iron on white letters and some red and glow in the dark shirt paint. I made my self a I (heart) My Geek tshirt to pick him up from the airport in...and then because it's me... i made it glow in the dark too. :D

I spent all day Saturday, doing laundry, doing the shirt project, cleaning and topped it off with making myself my favorite dinner. Let me just say...the shirt turned out AWESOME.

It only took me most of a day, but Big Bang Theory Season 4 was another winner. Didn't see some of those jokes coming and i like the addition of Amy Farafowler to the cast. But it was so SHORT! i felt like very little happened this season and the obligatory "cliff hanger" for the season was less than thrilling.
Also...TEAM LENARD AND PENNY!

What can i say? I root for the underdog.

Hello...i mean Goodbye September!

2011-09-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that tomorrow is the start of October. I mean really, when the heck did September arrive let alone bolt outta here like a bullet train? The only real events i remember don't even feel like they were in September at all. I mean we had full on July and August sunshine all the way up til my birthday on the 24th. Heck, yesterday it got over 80 degrees! I slept with a fan and just a sheet! Where's the crisp air, the morning fog, the changing leaves?...ok i'll admit that the leaves are JUST beginning to change.

(warning, don't click on link unless you can resist Wikipedia)

Maybe if i listen closely i remember the Doppler Effect as September zooms by. And here's Sheldon for a visual:

In other news on of my birthday presents to myself arrived. Season 4 of Big Bang Theory. I only got to watch about 3 episodes before i made the leap to get rid of cable altogether. It's the only show i miss. So i bought it without having seen the episodes. Fingers crossed it doesn't disappoint...not that it ever has.

This morning, i took Boyfriend Jon to the airport, leaving the house at just after 4. I'm an early bird and i guess i finally did get to see some morning fog and feel the crisp cool air. It was invigorating, i got home at about 5:15 and flopped on my bed and didn't think i could fall asleep. I laid there for about a half hour and seriously considered getting up and just going in to work over an hour early.

The next thing i know my alarm to tell me to get out of the house to go to work went off. At this point...i'm surprised that it didn't take a come along leaver to get me out of bed. Suddenly, I was SOOO exhausted and at that point, my brain seriously began to consider calling in sick and just skipping work today.

I've already had two cups of coffee and still feel like a wrung out sack o-potatoes.....or something similar to that metaphor. Going back for a third.

The next segment of life

2011-09-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, i passed the Quarter Century mark in my life. It was hailed in with an incredible gift from Boyfriend Jon which was so sweet it actually made me cry. He made me a book of pictures of us that had quotes from our many conversations.

I think my favorite out of all of them is:
A - I just got a really nice compliment. Ian called me a genius like four times in one conversation.
A - I just found sawdust in my ear.
J - LOL

That and he bought me a star globe that lights up my whole room. A perfect gift for an avid star gazer and someone who had stars painted on her ceiling until she was 21. It was wonderful.

The next day we met up with friends Annie and Ian and Ian's sister and went to the Fair where we all rode one of the more sedate roller coasters. Though i think Jon and Annie might disagree on the "sedate" part. We watched Mutton Busting (kids riding sheep like bulls) and that was hilarious if outrageously hot (no shade). We visited the animals, and ate all sorts of weird stuff. I personally didn't partake of the deep fried stick of butter or fried Oreo, but those were among the discards.

After that, was dinner with a more extensive group of friends at Red Robin after an extensive reservation debacle. For the record, restaurant chains should have consistent policies regarding reservations. Not, this one takes reservations but that one doesn't.

I visited with friends i hadn't seen in more than a year, chatted about how life was treating us, and generally had a wonderful time. But I gratefully sank into bed almost as soon as we got home. My legs were worn out.

On Sunday, i had some serious news reach my family. A long time friend of mine (from back to the tween years) was hit by an IED in Afghanistan. Thank goodness he's ok if a little beat up. His unit also made it back ok, a little worse for wear but all alive. Since his birthday is the day after mine, i personally can't think of a better birthday gift than surviving something like that.

I wish wars like this didn't come practically every generation. I hate watching real people being used as pawns up for the discard. I will gladly defend this country with my dying breath, but i don't think we should go overseas to do it. That becomes a very slippery slope in my opinion.

In other news, how is it possible that i started out with 8 drawers filled to the brim with stuff, replaced them with 8 drawers which were shallower both in deapth and height....and i now have 2 almost completely empty drawers. Especially considering that i didn't really throw anything away besides a few scraps of paper?
How odd is that?

The Stages of Furniture

2011-09-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Just like stages in life, most furniture goes through a relatively defined path.

When we are born, we're put into cribs that our parents have purchased. In my case, being the youngest, it was a hand me down crib that had scratches on the wood, and the rattle spinners were missing in a couple places and one of them had rusted stuck. it had survived all my siblings, and many moves throughout the states. It was ugly but it worked.

Later, i shared a room with my brother and we slept in bunk beds that my father had built. To this day, i'm not sure how we never managed to knock the bunk bed over given all the flips and jumps we made out of the top bunk.

For me? ICK!

When we got too old to share a room together, Dad took a saw and cut the bunk bed in two. Shortly thereafter, my brother and I got a little lucky. My older siblings were moving out. My brother got the older brother's thick and clunky wood bed and dresser that had under the bed storage. I got the white and gold french provincial bedroom set that my sister loved. I hated it on sight. But i had to live with that until i graduated.

(The point of that was that when we are young, we get whatever someone else buys, rarely getting a say in the matter or using hand me down pieces.)

Since i went to community college and not a university to live in the dorms, i'm going to skip over the part where you have the exact same storage as everyone else or make do with the plastic bins and drawers which are the cheapest form of storage.

Then you move out on your own. This is the point where you finally get to start making decisions for yourself. It's also the point where you realize just how expensive it really is. So you begin to build your collection from family or friend donations, sidewalk rescues, garage sales and craigslist. Sometimes you get lucky and find a nice piece. But more often than not...you get the mismatched, scratched, or painted a million times collection that just gets the job done. Sometimes it even manages to give an eclectic artistic feel. More often than not....it looks, feels and smells scavenged.

Then as your life moves on, and you get that job that pays just enough that you have some extra to play around with. It's at that point that you get the Grown-Up Furniture Set.

It's not the best materials, but it all goes together or at least looks like it does. And best of all: you got to pick it yourself! It works exactly as you need it to, it fits into your space and it looks good in your eyes.

As of today, i sold the mismatched dressers and chest of drawers that had been housing my assorted belongings. Even got more than i paid for them, thank you very much craigslist buyer. They hauled them out at lunchtime, and tonight my dad will be bringing in my new side by side 8 drawer dresser with a mirror to go with my matching night stands which i installed over the weekend.

Wanna talk lucky? Remember a ways back, i refurbished an Ikea bed frame and put it up on specially built stilts? Then those stilts were too long and i had to cut them off with a sawsall? Yeah, the nightstands are EXACTLY level with the top of the mattress. I was so shocked, i got the level out just to make sure. How unbelievable is that?

Originally, the set would have run me almost $180 but i talked them down to just over $150. Awesome sauce! Pics to follow.

Best part of all, not even a hint of white french provincial. Thank god!

Quarter Century

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

In short of just two weeks, it'll be my 25th birthday.

Wow. Just wow. How the heck did i get here so fast? I feel like i'm still getting used to being 21! And then i start to think back over my life and i'm just blown away by all the things that I've experienced.

In my lifetime:

DNA is used to start convicting criminals and free innocent people
The Berlin Wall falls
The first President George Bush was in office
The Hubble Telescope was launched into orbit
The Soviet Union collapsed
Operation Desert Storm (where my brother would end up going)
The official end of the Cold War
Bill Clinton elected as President
the LA Riots after the Rodney King verdict
The rapid growth of the World Wide Web
The bombing of the WTC
OJ Simpson arrested for double murder and later freed
Oklahoma City Bombing
Mad Cow Disease hits Britan
The divorce of Princess Diana and Prince Charles
The Unabomber arrested
The Hale-Bopp Commet arrives
Pathfinder reaches Mars and sends back pictures
Princess Diana dies in a car crash
A sheep named Dolly is the first successful cloning
President Clinton has the Lewinski scandal
Star Wars is re-released with all new digital alterations (Han originally shot first)
Kuala-Limpor bulids the tallest buildings in the world
Titanic becomes the most successful movie ever (scoff)
President Clinton Impeached
The Y2K bug causes worldwide concern
Horrific shooting at Columbine school
The ILOVEYOU virus causes a heck of a lot of trouble
Reality TV takes off (forever dropping the bar on good tv)
George Bush the second scrapes by a win for President (537 votes)
September 11th happens forever changing America

I was walking past the old Junior High School library when they made an announcement. I went in and watched the smoke and chaos on a live feed on the projector wondering if my aunt was alive since she works in NYC. (much closer to central park i later learned)

The Xbox is introduced and Halo flys off the shelves.
The introduction of the iPod MP3 player and iTunes
We go to war against Iraq
Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes Governor of CA
MySpace and Facebook debut, Myspace being completely public gains popularity faster
The Mars Rover lands on Mars
George Bush wins re-election
Facebook no longer just for college students. Quickly outstrips Myspace
Hurricane Katrina hits the gulf causing massive destruction
The Introduction of YouTube and Twitter
The Introduction of the iPhone
Barack Obama wins the election, the US's first black president
Chrysler and GM go bankrupt
Charles Sullenberger lands a plane on the Hudson River instead of crashing
Michael Jackson dies
the Wiki Leaks
Haiti and Japan earthquakes
Osama Bin Laden captured and killed
Prince William and Kate Middleton wed
Space Shuttle Atlantis lands, marking the end of the space shuttle flights

It's hard to believe i was alive for the birth of Email, cell phones, electric cars, media that can reach you live from the other side of the planet, satellites leaving our known solar system....it's all stuff that just as far back as my dad's generation had no concept of. I mean, even my sister, just 14 years older than me, reminds me of a time when you simply memorized everyone's number that you would need.

I'm not trying to incite a political debate about which event is most important out of all the events of the last 25 years. I just am sitting back and marveling at the path the world has taken in my lifetime.

Yes there have been horrible events mixed in with extraordinary advancements in technology, science, the women's movement, equal rights amendments, and even art. But just thirty years ago, most of this was the filler of pure science fiction.

However, the bonehead that let Reality TV in needs to be slapped with a dead fish.

Closet Shopping

2011-09-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

I hate shopping for clothes. It's the worst, most depressing and humiliating task i can think of. Although i adore my gal pals and know they are beautiful and supportive...going shopping with them is a struggle with my ego.

They're size 8/10 and 12/14. They have entire aisles dedicated to their size. Whereas I as a 18/20 have at best a 3 foot long section to look through. And I can try on every single item in that section and not find a single thing that fits.

Since this has been the case through most of my life, I never developed an affinity for going shopping. Either nothing fit or i looked like i was dressed by my grandmother. Hence, i hate clothing shopping in general and find it to be a necessary evil. Occasionally i get lucky and find something that i like and fits, and then i buy four of them.

Over time, i found shops that catered to my size and didn't have grandma style clothes. But where jeans are normally $40, mine are $58. Where tops are normally $20, i pay $50. So i still didn't go crazy with clothes.

I've been tightening my purse strings for quite a while but with a wedding coming up, I had to find something nice. My closet currently contains:

Slinky black dress numbers 1, 2 and 3 and slinky red dress number 1,
doesn't fit anymore dresses 1 through 5,
Red ballgown (aka totally inappropriate for a wedding)
Super casual red print dress (aka totally inappropriate for a wedding)
and two skirts that i love but are very uncomfortable to sit in.

Did i mention it's going to be in the mid to high 80's on that day?

So i called the only person i could think of that would have a solution: My sister.

She grew up very skinny and spent entire summers going shopping with our aunts on the east coast who all love to shop. I grew up on the west coast, wearing camouflage and scraping my knees. But now, ironically, we've evened out to just about the same size and shape. Although she still has about four bra sizes on me.

She loves to shop. She has three closets (two of them are double hung) that are stuffed full of clothes. To the point that i could barely push stuff aside to look at them. From theses closets she pulled out a dozen dresses for me to choose from and borrow.

I was skeptical at first. Usually with a dozen i have about a 30 % chance to walk away with 1. But by dress four fitting nicely, i was actually enjoying myself. In the end all but three fit me reasonably well, but i took the four best with me to decide after spending some time in them.

Four dresses of varying niceness, for free, in the span of about an hour from start to finish. All the hard work was already done thanks to my sister. I can go formal with the green beaded one, I can go comfortable casual with a navy one, retro with a polka dotted one, or feminine with a peachy flowered one.

Now i understand the appeal that my skinny gal pals feel when going shopping. Shopping in my sister's closet has options. Options are FUN! Not to mention it's free. Best Shopping Trip EVER!!!

Broke, Frustrated and Getting By

2011-09-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Most of these last couple of weeks I've just been overwhelmed. I've had a lot of bills come in at inconvenient intervals, and lots of things i needed to spend money on. With my rent, car payment, car tabs, and a medical bill all coming out of the same paycheck, i was effectively broke. And I hate being broke. This doesn't happen often. It's gotten tight before but I've never been down this low for this long. At least looking back, i had some fun.

Two weeks ago, I attended my first Bachelorette Party. It was...interesting. I have no problem with nudity, having been an art student for several years. But paying that much to watch very skinny women took their tops off while the hunky men kept their briefs on...was kind of a let down. However, there were plenty of cirque du sole style acrobats and feats of sheer strength which were amazing to watch. I personally could have done without the furry and bondage acts though. Not my thing.

I was also designated driver. Also not a problem since i rarely drink. But it never fails to amuse me how people claim they're not drunk when they can barely walk in a straight line. And the bachelorette took the cake with her quote for the night. I showed them my bamboo parasol that i had just purchased and she took one look at it and said "Do you have any idea how big of a drink you could fit that in?" as she swayed in her heels. Everyone got home safe and had a good time.

That was the end of the festivities for a while:

I was asked to help fill in for a position that was abruptly vacated (in a good way) which had nothing to do with anything i'd ever done before. I was told that i would get written instructions, 1 on 1 training, and be able to call on the person who designed the position for help if i had questions.

Heh, yeah right. Not only were there no written instructions anywhere, i had about 2 hours of instruction before my trainer went on a week's vacation. This also took 2-3 hours of my workday away to fumble through my new appointment with no allowance for overtime. My team was not happy about loosing my assistance and made a point of telling me so like it was my fault. And the two women who have been the bane of my existence had a field day with my mess ups and passive aggressive conversations on the other side of a cubicle wall.

I've been miserable in pretty much every regard of my job for the last two weeks. Boyfriend Jon has been a saving grace listening to my broken record of "i hate this and this and that too." I know i should be grateful to even have a job in this economy, but i don't feel grateful to work in a hostile work environment where nothing ever changes no matter how much you shine.

I drove my frustrations into physical work. I think this is the first Monday where there are no clothes to be folded, no dishes piled high on the sink, and no sentient life growing in the fridge. There are still my containers of random junk that i haven't put away properly scattered all around and a large garbage bag of mixed up keep, junk and trash from my car. I had planned on getting some of them taken care of, but instead spent the time outside enjoying the rare beautiful weather at a potluck with friends, car shopping with Jon and a Poker night with more friends.

Oh the car shopping. Boyfriend Jon is looking at cars. So it's been a couple weeks of going to dealerships and trying to not cringe away from the salesmen, test driving, and hours of talking about the pros and cons of each car. But he thinks we found it, even though we went there on a lark. Watching him, reminded me so much of when i bought my first car. I remember that feeling of "I'm tired of looking, this is my car!" and the knot of anxiety in your stomach when you start taking numbers. I remember researching that car to death and in several cases, knowing more than the salesman. I was determined to not let them screw me over and in the end, and even my dad was proud of how much i got knocked off the sticker price. We'll see what happens in the near future for Boyfriend Jon. Whatever the case may be, i'm behind him 100%.

Eyes bigger than my lap

2011-08-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

I bought my first personal laptop when i was a senior in high school. Technically i was in running start and going to my first year of college, which is how i got mom to put it on her credit card while i paid her cash. She was very hesitant, but understood it would help me dramatically. Indeed, for the first time in a long time, i

In the days of "Dude you're getting a Dell" i succumbed to the marketing and ordered a Dell Inspiron 5150. Lappy served me very well until i ran it practically into the ground. I gave the old laptop to my sister and two days later, Lappy died, never to be resurrected again.

But i had already ordered Sarah. A(nother) Dell Studio 17 inch laptop. My reasons originally were: I want it to run WoW flawlessly, be great for photoshop and to not have to cramp my elbows in when i want to type.

However i didn't think about certain things. Like for instance what would happen when i met soon-to-be Boyfriend Jon, how little of an urge to play WoW I would have in favor of his company. In a matter of a month, i kicked my WoW habit and suddenly started noticing certain things about Sarah(laptop).

While her insides were still magnificent, and a great gaming machine, her outsides were, not suiting my needs anymore. She was a honking 9 pounds and LITERALLY double the size of Boyfriend Jon's netbook. I love her dearly, but i started to think if this was really what i wanted.

The conclusion i've come to is that i no longer need a blazing fast gaming computer. I need something portable that's great for photoshop, but otherwise is used for standard fun.

Thus begins my adventure into the realm of laptop selling, something I've never done before.

Discovering Hawaiian Music

2011-08-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

With the exception of the most famous modern Hawaiian song "What a wonderful world" (which really isn't a Hawaiian song) by Hawaii's greatest musician (Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole) I had never given Hawaiian music a second thought. I heard it at the end of 50 First Dates and really loved the new take on the Judy Garland Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I couldn't even pronounce the artist's name. But i knew it when i heard it and stopped to listen. But that was the grand extent of my knowledge of music from the islands.

Enter Boyfriend Jon, who has Hawaiian heritage, to introduce me to the big man from the big island, and a handful of other Ukulele players and very talented guitarists. We made a trip to EMP and he taught me how the instruments developed in Hawaii. Next thing i know i'm a sucker for most Hawaiian music.

Now normally at work, i'm not supposed to wear headphones because apparently i'm not supposed to tune the world out when i'm there for the sole purpose to assist people. But i got put on to a project which required me to concentrate and i got my boss's blessing to put ear-buds in to drown out nearby conversations.

Quickly i found that my normal stations on Pandora; rock, country were not good choices because i couldn't concentrate through the lyrics. It's a problem when you're supposed to be re-typing a technical document and a sentence comes out: "this part list will be superceeded by document she's a bad mamma jamma from down in Alabama"
Needless to say, i had to find something new.

I'm not sure how i remembered, but I started a station with Israel's What a wonderful world/Somewhere over the rainbow and the song after that was a beautiful Ukulele solo with a peppy beat. My Hawaiian station was born. I could concentrate and still listen to beautiful music.

In a few hours i started to notice a change in my mood about having to re-type a 35 page document because some genius had lost the digital copy and of course no one thought i had anything better to do. Instead, my brain started thinking about how this really was great practice to get my fingers in shape for writing for Nano. I started doing my own word sprints just to see if i could get my typing skills back up to my Nano levels.

I finished the document two days ahead of schedule feeling not only relieved that it was over, but triumphant.

I even found a song that never fails to make me smile though i normally would think it to be silly and childish. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobbie McFerrin gets me laughing no matter how bad my day is or how much my co-workers are being pills.

Now i'm sneaking one bud in my ear so i can still hear people calling for my help and enjoy the music.

Genes I wasn't born with

2011-08-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Summer is undoubtedly wedding season. In the northwest, i'm convinced that while you almost never have a perfect chance of full on sunshine...your odds of less or no rain are greatly increased between June and September. So every relation i know of seems to think this is a great time to get married. I don't think i was born with the "lets get married right away" gene. I'm much more of a fan of "eh, we'll get there eventually" and "why can't this just be a simple thing?"

As a fellow 20 something...with many friends in the 20 something range, weddings are around every corner.

I have people whom i barely talk to the rest of the year asking what i think about these paint chips for their wedding colors. Especially those who respond to my polite "its your wedding you should be happy" with "NO!!! What do YOU think???!!!!"

I've been invited to multiple bridal showers, bachelorette parties, wedding favor making parties, putting stamps on envelopes parties and thankfully only one wedding that i plan on attending.

There's a distinct influx of "So when are you and Boyfriend Jon getting married?", (most of this comes from our mothers).

I even got a wedding cataloged that was misdirected to me instead of my neighbor. Seriously...are those prices REAL? put half of the basics together and that'd pay off my car!

I hear about the games that were played at the bridal showers and think "WHY? who wants to be trussed up in a toilet paper wedding dress?" I don't see the point. Why do i need to know this inside joke between the bride and groom? And, call me a prude all you want. I'm uncomfortable buying sexy lingerie for another woman!

I'm very happy for the couples i know that have made this huge decision and i genuinely hope they have a happily ever after ending. But it's all this extra stuff that i recoil from. I can't help it. Too much of it in a short amount of time and i start searching around for something very anti-wedding. A motorcycle ride, a marathon of blow-em-up blood and guts games...anything to get it out of my mind.

The only wedding decision i have come to is that i want to set up a pay pal account instead of a registry. Tradition be damned. I'd rather have a solid start of a nest egg than a gravy boat or candelabra....whatever that is.

The Battle of the Pizza Order

2011-08-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm a person of simple tastes...too simple according to Boyfriend Jon.

My favorite pizza is just cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. With a big fluffy tasty crust. My second option is Hawaiian style (i may be crazy, but i like fruit and cheese!) This is not to say that i won't try new flavors, but there are certain combinations i have discovered i don't like.

Boyfriend Jon loves meat, veggies, and lots and lots of flavor. He has several favorites, but is frequently trying new combinations. "How can you just like only cheese? ....it's just....well, that's the base of a pizza!"

Not too long after we started going out, we found one that we both liked. Papa Murphy's Gourmet Chicken Garlic.

But then came another disagreement. Thick and fluffy crust....or thin and crispy? the lines in the sand were drawn.

For me, Pizza is meant to droop and fold easily...not break in half when you fold it. But Boyfriend Jon finds it easier to dip when it's like that.

I think we're gonna have to face it...we're never gonna be able to get just one whole pizza that we're both totally happy with. Till then, it's 2 pizzas. Two very tasty hit the spot pizzas :)

At least this didn't put a damper on dancing like silly in the hallway and his new rendition of "save the last dance" minus 90% of the actual lyrics. He had me practically falling down i was laughing so hard. Hard to not love this guy, even when he doesn't order his pizza the same way.

He always reminds me that neither of us is perfect, except for each other...

...except when it comes to pizza. <3

Recounting the invasion of Canada

2011-08-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot going on lately, most of it is more personal than i'd like to post. But several months ago, i was invited to join a huge camping trip on a ranch in Merritt, British Columbia, Canada. By the time last week drew to a close, i was more than ready for an escape.

We set off north for what we thought would be just over a 5 hour drive. Shortly after Lynnwood however traffic slowed to a crawl in all lanes for construction. This went on clear past Everett tacking on additional hours to our drive. Crossing the border was a cinch and we chugged along for an additional couple of hours, stopping every now and then to stretch.

By the time we were rolling into Merritt however, the sun was sinking rapidly and it quickly became evident that both the directions and my memory of the trip four years ago was quite insufficient.

Finally we found a sign that looked promising. Well, it wasn't. And then we decided to pull out the phones and get our GPS going even though we were roaming. We rolled in as twilight was gripping the valley and set up our tent as quickly as possible.

The next day, i was immensely thankful that i had insisted on setting up in the trees next to the river. The temperature rose to 88 degrees and the river was invitingly cool. After a trip into town, where we got a double tube, we went down the river. Or rather, we made a mad, paddling dash for the left fork in the river and then mad paddling dashes to avoid log jams, and rocks and cliff walls. But in the parts that we just drifting with the current, it was pure bliss.

However at some point between getting into the river and getting out, my right foot became VERY unhappy with me. Turns out that i broke my second smallest toe. We did some quick first aide and then i put my foot in the river to save some of the ice from the cooler.

But that misfortune didn't stop us. I played Bocce Ball for the first time in my life and won 11 to 5. I chatted with the people in the group, played with the dogs, caught up with the people that invited me, read by the river, and got an awesome tan.

Finally it was time to go and we made for the border. While we were waiting in line, another diver alerted us that we had a flat. A nice big nail decided it really liked my tire. And of course this was after 6pm on a SUNDAY which means that every single tire place within a 10 mile radius was closed. Finally we got out the trusty smart phone and found a Sears that was open. In getting there, we found a Walmart with a tire center and pulled in.

After 40 minutes, $11 and many heartfelt thank yous to the tech who stayed late to help us, we were back on the road home.

I think we rolled in around 10pm and made a Beeline for a hot shower which was the most glorious of all the adventures of the weekend.

Next comes the adventure of unpacking while nursing a broken toe. This should be interesting.

Rest In Peace Rusty Roo

2011-07-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

The moment finally came, and the decision was made. We put Rusty the poodle down yesterday at 4:15 yesterday. It was a peaceful end to his love filled 15 year life.

It was the hardest day of my life. Holding him, giving him extra treats, taking off his harness and using my long nails to give him a good scratch in all the hard to reach places. I was crying so hard the whole way as dad tried to talk me out of going into the room.

"It will upset you terribly" he said.
"I know." i replied
"You really don't know." he pressed.
"I'd feel worse if i didn't."

There were so many things i wanted to say but every time i got started my throat felt like it closed off. I think that was the quietest car ride my dad and i had ever shared.

In the end, I didn't go into the room. The vet requested that if a family member couldn't keep it together, that they weren't present. I knew there was no way i could watch my puppy slip away without bawling. So i sat in the car crying into Molly's fur while she looked out the window probably hoping that dad would bring food back for her. Indeed when a beagle was being walked near the car, she kept licking her chops. Finally i reminded her it was a beagle not a bagel.

Everything else yesterday was trying to get from one task to the other. Reading James Herriot to mom since she's still recovering from surgery. Trying to coordinate the family for tomorrow going to and from Seattle. Driving back with my sister and trying to figure out what in my closet would work for a bachelorette party. Cleaning out all the garbage in my car to get ready for camping this weekend. Forcing food down my throat despite it clamping up several times. Trying somehow to explain to Boyfriend Jon what i needed from him when i didn't even know myself. And finally falling into bed exhausted and feeling like a wrung out towel.

When it rains it pours.

I feel like the Little Red Hen

2011-07-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

For those who have never heard the story of The Little Red Hen, i'll give a quick summary.

A hen lived on a farm with a dog, a cat and a duck.

She found some seeds and asked the other animals to help her plant them. They all reply with "Not I". So she plants them by herself. After a while, the seeds grow into wheat. The hen asks the animals to help her cut the wheat. They all reply with "Not I". So she cuts it herself. She then asks them to help her take the wheat to the mill to be turned into flour. Again, they won't help and she does it herself. When she gets back, she asks them to help her make the four into bread. Again, they won't help. Finally when the bread is done and smells delicious, she calls them and asks them to help her eat it. Naturally they all rush to help with that part. When they arrive she reminds them of their refusal to help before and promptly eats the bread by herself while they have to look on.

There is a team at work who constantly is having potlucks and group outings and moral events. Occasionally, my team (which is bigger) gets invited too. Many times, I've been asked why we don't throw our own pot lucks. Finally, with another team member's help...we've arranged for a potluck and given almost 3 weeks worth of notice. Surprisingly...out of over 50 people....less than 15 have signed up. It's two days away and reminders are constantly met with "i can't think of anything to bring".

Something tells me many of them will be happy to show up to help eat the potluck meal so long as they don't have to work for it. I can literally feel the resentment brewing between co-workers as they come over to me to complain about how many people haven't signed up.

And they wonder why we don't have these very often.

Nano Novel #4?

2011-07-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, i realize that its only July. But my mind is already thinking about the next NaNoWriMo. (I write the first draft of a novel in the month of November. Check out the NaNoWriMo tab above for more details)

Perhaps its the very November-esque weather, or the constant rain, or finding an old collection of stories i read a great deal as a kid. Who knows. But i keep having to squash the countdown to November that my brain is trying to start.

I started a plot bunny way back in 2009. I think it was shortly after i had finally gotten around to watching the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I had the idea for an adventure novel. But the idea quickly fizzled after about 5,000 words.

Why? Well, i hate history. Especially the fact checking part. I couldn't come up with a adventure similar to Indiana Jones without doing some research. So the story went onto the back burner and quickly from there into the archives.

But the intro was strong, the characters were vivid, and i had grand plans for the way their paths would be woven together.

Jimmy and Jason Lewis. Twins whose temperance couldn't be more different. Jimmy is a charmer, suave and has an insane amount of luck. He's the kind of guy who could be broke and find a 20$ bill in the gutter just by bending down to tie his shoe. Jason on the other hand is a brooder, worrier, and pessimistic. He's constantly thrust into his brother's shadow but feels like he has a duty to protect his foolhardy brother. Ironically, Jimmy's luck has a habit of saving them both.

Rebecca Carlson. The daughter of a widowed professor who has been brought up to be quick witted, logical, and headstrong instead of the socially acceptable demure lady. Her Aunt Alice takes it upon herself to smooth out the rougher edges which is like dulling a knife with a Brillo pad.

I had dreams of an adventure through Europe, dodging the Nazis and being mistaken for spies. But i didn't know enough about WW2 and always have trouble staying awake through my uncles long winded lectures.

But it wasn't until I ran across an old book i read often as a kid that i suddenly had amazing inspiration. I have always loved Mythology. Mostly because there is no way to fact check these legends and stories. It was exciting too- heros, goddesses, wisdom that would last the ages, and the ending were not always happy. I shocked the heck out of my teachers when i read the Odyssey at age 9. And i still find it fascinating.

Suddenly i had my answer. What if my characters found some of the old immortals which had managed to hide themselves away from the world as it grew each century to present time.

After all the struggling last year with the story line that just refused to be easy, i almost decided to quit NaNo all together.

Now...i can't get my brain to stop. If i can't get a decent summer, can it at least hurry up to November?

The importance of great kitchenware

2011-07-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

My number one pet peeve that i have is people who don't take care of their kitchen equiptment. Good cookware is essential for me. My family always pushed and emphasis on quality in the kitchen and i quickly learned why my mom refused to let us put pots in the dishwasher, instead making us wash everything that had to do with the stove by hand.

I started out with practically nothing in my kitchen arsenal aside from a basic four serving corelle ware dishes and some silverware i got from value village. I had to rely on the roommate's cooking tools. I was immediately horrified at my first roommate's so called cooking tools. And no...most of them didn't get the job done. They were scratched, dented, stained, cooked unevenly, food stuck, and didn't sit flat on the stove. Probably because she always threw them in the dishwasher or left the burner on. I couldn't fathom someone being so careless but there was nothing i could do.

I swore that i would never have pots and pans that were THAT crappy. I remember hiding my one fantastic universal pan in my room instead of in the kitchen. When i got an amazing professional stainless steel set for Christmas, they stayed in the box until i moved out despite my yearning for quality pans every time i cooked.

My next roommate had her own set, which were already getting scratched. But they at least worked. I seasoned them for her and I did my best to take care of them when i used them though she always looked askance at me when i hand washed them. My professional set stayed hidden away in my garage. Finally, i moved out on my own and i was so excited to finally pull the pots out of their box. They were just so pretty!

It's hard to believe that in just a handful of years, I've filled out my collection with quality, nice looking, serviceable kitchenware. Especially since the roommates are no longer a factor. I still drool over kitchen gadgets and was in awe of the professional cooking store i found nearby. I started to expand my collection beyond the basics.

Everything from a kitchen aid (best invention ever!), quality wood spatulas and spoons, pyrex mixing dishes, and high quality and sharp knives. I even got Boyfriend Jon a nice set of knives to replace his old ones because they drove me insane.

But there are still so many things I need. For dinner this week, i'm planning on a green bean casserole, one of Boyfriend Jon's favorites and lo and behold...no casserole dish. Before this we had been using the disposable aluminum tins from the grocery store. I instantly thought of my parent's Visionware Corning dish. That sucker is awesome. But they're not carried in any local stores. Before i know what's happened, it's past my bedtime and I had been looking at Corning ware at every single local store that sells it for over two hours.

It's an obsession. I won't deny it. Having a beautiful and functional kitchen with great tools is a big dream of mine. A currently un-achievable dream given my apartment and income, but a constant one. Down to the fact that i highly covet my buddy Kenny's island in his kitchen. I miss the days of plentiful counterspace. I'd happily give up a dining room to have a bigger kitchen. And i can't help but imagine a home with one of those mockups you see at home depot or ikea.

So please, be kind to your good kitchenware.

Too many cooks spoils the sauce

2011-07-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

The garage sale was in a word, chaotic. By the time the signs went up on Friday, everyone was already stressed. The weather decided it would be funny to rain for 2 out of 3 days and we had way too many people all very willing to help but ultimately adding to the chaos.

In addition to the family, we had the neighbor kids who helped set up, make signs (which were cute, but barely readable) and then set up a lemonade stand to stop them from running around like crazy. Their grandparents who brought a ton of random items, and my sister's coworker's wife and her infant were also there. Then the neighbors joined in. It was crowded and loud and everyone was in each other's way and no one was 100% sure how low negotiating could go since there were so many people's stuff there.

I don't ever want to do a garage sale again. By opening time on Sunday, i was ready to call it quits. I had had enough of the arguing, the chaos and the stress. After talking with my dad, i stuck it out even though i had zero enthusiasm left. Thankfully by Sunday, everything was very quiet. We ended up watching Demolition Man to stay awake while the rain did it's best to soak us out.

Between everyone we sold about 1000 dollars worth of our old stuff. This included some big dollar items such as the piano i spent twelve years learning on, some dressers, electronics, and other furniture. As for me, i got rid of some knick knacks but none of the major items i was hoping to get some moola for. I came away with just over $40 which will be put towards a folding table for entertaining, crafts and general space saving abilities in my tiny apartment. But i'm just glad that now i'll have room to move around...once i fold laundry that is.

My saving grace this weekend was Boyfriend Jon who got me not just one beautiful bouquet, but three to help cheer me up. And then we watched and concluded the LOTR extended edition blue rays. It explained a lot of things i forgot about since i haven't read the books in a long time. But it was just nice to sit and relax with no one clamoring for my attention every five seconds. Oh, and the double stuffed Oreos might have helped some too.

Update on Rusty Roo

2011-07-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

We finally had some good news after a week of worry and stress. Rusty went in for an X-ray and they determined that it's not his larynx but more likely a bronchial infection. So Rusty is in for a month long round of antibiotics and hopefully that will help with his severe cough. We're not out of the woods yet, but at least there's some rays of light.

It was scary listening to him. Every single breath out sounded like he was coughing deep in his chest and sometimes it seemed like he was having difficulty breathing at all. His poor sides are swollen and you can see that he definitively is having some problems with his kidneys. We don't know if they're failing for sure, but at least with the doggy dope, he's not in any pain.

Meanwhile, we try to encourage him to relax and sleep as much as possible. Not that this is a problem because as long as you stay seated, he konks out.

Wallet Theif, aka Miss Molly dog is having a hard time with all the attention he's getting. She's been pawing and jumping up people more often with her "pet me! pet me!" pleading look. We know she's jealous of Rusty in that she doesn't like the attention and food he steals from her...but when you look at them together, they're a lot like an old married couple. And if Rusty were ever not there...she'd miss him a lot...except when there was food around.

Otherwise, the family is finally unwinding from all the Rusty stress and onto the Garage Sale stress. The weather seems to not want to cooperate and is threatening rain so tonight we get to figure out how to cover everything.

We have a huge, multi family haul and hopefully, we'll be able to keep track of everything and get a reasonable amount of money for it.

Me, i'm gonna spend the money on a new folding table, a new lamp a second camping/patio/gaming chair and the rest will go towards my credit card bill which still has not recovered completely from glorious San Francisco.

Rusty Roo

2011-07-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

I still remember the day mom told my brother and I that we were getting a puppy. Dad was sitting in his chair looking angry but defeated and Johnny was so happy that he forgot our sibling hatred and hugged me. We hadn't been able to have a dog before because of his allergies, but mom had found a dog that wouldn't aggravate them. The dog was a miniature poodle, and it had hair instead of fur. I was 9 going on 10 and Johnny was 11 going on 12.

Our previous dog Belle had died when i was so young that i really only had one memory of the border collie. I had recently learned the word "Vacuum" and when i spilled a bag of her food on the stairs, she started cleaning it up. I mistakenly started calling her the Vacuum. This for some reason had my older sister practically falling down laughing. When Belle died, Dad sat us down on those same stairs and said Belle wasn't coming home anymore.I think i was 4 at the time. I know it devastated my sister though. I kept trying to cheer her up by drawing pictures of dogs. Hey...i was little. I didn't understand.

I remember that the breeder lived in the same city as my grandma and that her house smelled funny. The puppies were hilarious barking and climbing all over us. The breeder kept trying to sell mom on a puppy she had temporarily named Houdini. But mom kept giving her dubious looks and looking down at her foot. It wasn't until later i understood why. A blonde colored (actually he's called apricot, but i never understood why) puppy was curled up and calmly watching the other rambunctious puppies from right next to her foot. That was the dog we got.

After a plethora of names ranging from Spazmanian Devil to simply Dog, we settled on Rusty for the rust colored spot on his hind quarters. He wasn't always calm and content to sit in your lap snoozing (until mom came in the room that is). When we got home for the day from school, Rusty would run laps at breakneck speed around our couch and up and down the hall. He didn't even have to be taught fetch, just natrually brought the stick back to us. It was even funnier when you threw it and he lost sight of it, and just looked around until he found any stick and brought that back.

Rusty was even the reason i broke my ankle in 8th grade. Going down that staircase again, Rusty got underfoot, and instead of taking the steps two at a time, i took four. My foot landed, then rolled under with a loud pop as i tried to prevent myself from falling on him as my legs gave way. When we finally untangled and was holding my leg, he got on to the step next to my face and was trying to lick away the tears.

For fifteen years Rusty has been a part of our lives. He has loved us through everything. Accidentally stepping on him, forgetting to feed him, baths, swimming lessons at the lake, and the introduction of Dubbie (my mom took care of the skittish terrier for the neighbors) and Molly (my sister's dog). He was always content to just sit with you while reading a book, or watching TV. It didn't matter, just to be with you, in the same room was enough. He has been my companion, co-pilot, confidant, hot water bottle, playmate, and an endless source of amusement and love.

He's dying. His larynges are collapsing, making him cough a lot which aggravates his heart murmur which in turn aggravates his already failing kidneys. He's almost blind and pretty much can only hear loud noises. Mom is determined to see if it can be fixed without causing Rusty any more pain or diminishing his quality of life. We should know by Wednesday afternoon if anything can be done but the doctor's prognosis didn't seem optimistic.

Although i'm not really sure he's aware of anything. The doctor put him on doggy dope and he's been really out of it. He's even walking like he's been at sea for a few months. We have to walk him down the steps to the backyard so he can do his business. And when he's sitting in your lap, he kind of stares at a random spot and sways back and forth with his tongue sticking out.

I bought the series of James Herriot. If you don't know about "All Creatures Great and Small" you should look into the novels about a country doctor in England. Heartwarming and consoling he deals with everything from birth to death of amazing animals of the everyday sort and the people whom have bonded with them. I listened to the audio books a lot as a kid and for some reason, i feel myself yearning for those words again.

No one wants him to suffer but no one wants to say goodbye either. I'm trying to steel myself against the inevitable, but anyone who has ever lost a pet, a dog especially, knows there's not much to do except grieve. I'm thankful that i have some time to hold him and pet him before the end.

Animals gone nuts!

2011-07-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Boyfriend Jon, heretoafter referred to as Typhoid Jon in this post, got me sick. I know i should have seen it coming but i still didn't avoid the plague boy as i should have. Nope, my instincts kicked in and i took care of him.

Starting Tuesday, my throat decided to be uncomfortably raw, then my nose revolted by blocking airflow. Next thing i know, I'm laying in bed with no covers cause i'm boiling hot. Then i'm freezing to the point where i have a sheet, a comforter and a down comforter and i'm still shivering. By morning, i was calling in sick and stayed home sleeping until 11am. At some point, i decided that i needed to go look in my outdoor patio closet for something.

I unlocked the door and pulled it open and was scared half to death by a dark brown rat jumping from one box to another. After doing the normal thing by screaming and looking around for a chair to stand on and calling Typhoid Jon to...well i have no idea why i called him other than to have someone sympathize with me...I finally got a hold of myself.

I'm not scared of rats. Granted, they are disease filled scavenger varmints, but i played with the pet versions and exterminated the non pet versions. We had a large nest of grain rats in our woodpile for a couple of years and dad put me in charge of trapping them. And when in the unfortunate circumstances the trap didn't actually kill them instantly, i tried to make it clean and quick. It was definitively my least favorite of all the oddball chores i was assigned, but I got the job done.

I think the scream (if you can call it that through my hoarse voicebox) was more out of surprise than any actual fear. Finally, i grabbed the stick i wedge my door shut with and started cleaning out my closet. The rat managed to escape with its life, but the nest i think it was starting to build in my christmas decorations did not survive the purge. I found rat poop and pee all over my stuff which thankfully was in plastic containers. The only cloth item, my suitcase, seems to have managed to remain unscathed.

Since i was sick, it took me over an hour to get everything out of my closet, which normally would have taken me ten minutes. Given that i was home and it was a relatively nice day, i left everything out on my patio while i washed off the rat poop and pee. Then i got interrupted by a phone call from my backup at work, asking a few questions. I sat down on my couch to talk. That's when i noticed my Kitchen Aid box tilt alarmingly to the left and return to its normal position. As i watched, it did it again!

I told my backup that i needed to go, and rushed out onto my patio thinking that i had missed something or the rat was back. Nope, this is what i saw:

It was HUGE, probably one of the largest coons I've seen in a while standing not even five feet from me with only my stuff between us. It looked up at me like "Oh what? is this your stuff? Well do you have any food?" and didn't budge. I screamed at it, waved my hands, and banged on one of the tubs with my stick. Then i grabbed my broom and poked towards it. The look it gave me clearly said "oh please, you don't think i'm gonna give up that easily do you? What about over here? any food here?" as it reached for the kitchen aid box again.

I picked up a bottle of windex i had nearby and hucked it at his head. It hit him, but he started playing with the bottle instead of taking it as a threatening gesture. Finally, i got fed up. I quickly found my blow gun and loaded a non lethal plastic stun dart in it. The last thing i wanted to do that day was clean up a coon carcass. The coon retreated a few steps when the first dart hit him, but it took NINE direct hits with the stun darts for him to finally give up and sauntered into the woods.

By this point, i had a headache, my sinuses were killing me, i was coughing up a storm and sweating profusely. Still i managed to rushingly shove everything back in the closet and wedge a box in the back of where the door would close hopefully deterring the rat somewhat. I called my dad and asked for his help putting shelves in my closet to get my stuff up off the floor.

Mercifully after that, i sank into my couch and quickly gave into oblivion for a while.

Hang on...nope...i'm not done yet. The menagerie continues if you can believe that.

The next day a robin decided it didn't like my freshly cleaned windows and began attacking them leaving poop, feathers and smudge marks all over them.

And as evening fell, the rat returned though i managed to see it before it got into my closet and threw a block of wood at it to scare it off.

Why won't the animals just let me be sick in peace?

Relationship Achievement Awards

2011-06-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's hard to find a guy who won't sulk when you beat him at Halo (considering it happens to rarely that i'm still dancing about it after i've lost the NEXT match). Who brags to his friends that you play video games WITH him. Who doesn't get mad when you throw a plasma grenade at the guy he's fighting which subsequently blows both him and the adversary up. And is very supportive of all the silly things you come up with.

We are a bit geeky. And i love being with a guy compliments my geekey-ness.

I found some custom xbox 360 achievements over at Assassionista's blog and couldn't resist. I yoinked the idea and sent these and some others to Boyfriend Jon:

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as i enjoyed coming up with them. There's a story behind all of these but that would make this a much too long post.

Co-workers

2011-06-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

This week has been filled with troubles with co-workers. We all work long hours, we're around each other for 10 hours a day. Obviously, Friday is too slow in coming to give us a break. As an admin who has to help everyone...especially if it includes the cursed printer...i make a point of being nice to everyone until they give me a reason not to be. And even then i'll be cold, but still professional. But this week, I'm tired and fed up with some of the ridiculous antics.

You could have fooled me that i work with adults who are capable of courtesy, respect and honesty. Because if i didn't know better, i'd say i worked with 13 year olds complete with cliques, nasty comments, superiority complexes, and backstabbing for no apparent reason.

Point in case, my cubicle neighbor. She monitors my comings and goings and makes a point of looking at her watch when i'm a couple minutes late. (I should note that our company is not a "TO THE MINUTE" company. We're expected to come in and leave around the set times and work 40 hours. If we're going to be really late, we need to let our boss know) If i'm early she comes to my desk and asks in a super surprised voice "What are you doing here so early?" She has taken everything I've gotten (like rotating my desk so she can't look at my screen all the time) as a personal affront that i'm getting special treatment. The truth is, i ask for something, give solid, business related reasons why, and my boss usually agrees to it. What a novel idea. I've talked to my boss and she's been reprimanded twice for this behavior. Most of the time, I can ignore her and give her non-committal answers to her snarkyness or kill her with kindness. But today, i'm so fed up that my mind is plotting exceedingly evil things.

Second point in case: I am not a servant who doesn't deserve Please or Thank You. Sending me an email which states: "The printer needs a new cartridge" will NEVER in a million years get the same response as someone walking up to me and saying "Can you please help me and change the cartridge, i'm not sure how." One of those responses will get me up and out of my chair that very second with a smile and a "no problem". The other will get a much slower response. Oh i'll do it, but it might take me 10 minutes. I made a point of letting the second person know their kindness was appreciated.

And last but not not least. I may be one of the youngest people in the entire building but that does not mean i'll tolerate being treated like you're my mother. Unless your job description has changed recently, you are not my monitor, my snitch, and certainly not allowed to PATRONIZE ME. Don't say "you did such a good job last time, i think you should be responsible for this HUGE task that we both worked on last time while i wash my hands of it." You don't delegate to me. That is not a privilege you have either earned or deserve.

Friday can't come fast enough this week. I'm so done with dealing with certain co-workers.

Other co-workers on the other hand have been great at making me laugh and get through some of this nonsense with a sense of humor.

The mountain of clothes

2011-06-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

Somehow, i forgot that i absolutely HATE folding clothes. In my haste to get my apartment looking awesome again, i decided that the shelves in my closet needed to be cleared out and everything re-done. I just happened to forget that this meant a lot of folding.

Now there is a HUGE pile of clean clothes strewn over about 1/4 of my living room. I can feel it watching me when i call friends after work to see if they want to hang out. Its "eyes" bore into my back when i decide to eat out instead of in. It calls to me as i put my hand on the doorknob to flee. "Annnneee...you forgot something..."

And i'm even dreaming about LAUNDRY. Nay, having nightmares about it.

Maybe i shouldn't play anymore and do battle with the PILE!

ON GUARD!

The Apartment Re-Do

2011-06-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

One of these days i'll get the hang of relaxing instead of working on the weekend. My arm muscles sure wish i would since they're protesting even the amount of moving needed for typing.

This weekend was the big re-do of my apartment. I have been sick to death of not being organized and having no where to put all the random stuff. My family has decided to do a garage sale next month and it's lighting a fire under me to get RID of everything in my house that i never use and have no idea what i was thinking when i got it.

Friday, I brought home the new headboard and went shopping at Walmart for new organizing stuff. Boyfriend Jon (aka sweetest boyfriend in the world) agreed to come over after he got off of work to help me put the bed together. I spent the remaining time covering paper ream boxes with contact paper. This ended up being so easy and the final product was awesome. They're still a little plain, but they look great and i can spruce them up anytime. Starting with making labels for them that aren't made out of post it notes.

Saturday, we finally took down my hanging bookshelf to make room for the much taller headboard and as soon as we put it in place, we started noticing something. It looked really high. I was undaunted, since i was certain that i had done my math correctly. Original 9 inch legs, plus ten inches of lift, plus an additional 10 inches for the mattress would just a little bit taller than my old bed had been (28 inches).

We pounded the stilts into place with my motorcycle boot for lack of a sturdy rubber mallet and then we put the frame together. Finally the mattress went on and Boyfriend Jon gave me a dubious look. It was REALLY tall. So we pulled out the tape measures. 32 3/4 inches tall. i was BAFFLED. How the heck did i mess that up? And then i realized, the ledge that the slats for the mattress to sit on is not the same as the bottom of the board. I totally missed it in my measurements. So after i kicked myself and called my dad to see what i should do. An hour later, Boyfriend Jon was holding on while i used a saws-all to lop off 3.5 inches from the bottom of the stilts. So much for my tricky foot cap that i made.

In the end, the bed looks awesome...maybe not against my Ikea nightstand and my filing cabinet/second nightstand. But it's getting there. Pretty soon i'll have some kind of theme in my bedroom.

Apparently however, my brain was not done working for the weekend. Because as soon as the bed was done, i was attacking the mess while Boyfriend Jon beat a wise and hasty retreat. I returned the storage bins i had bought on Friday and purchased ones of the right size since the stilt shrinkage. I also bought (and would end up returning and re-buying) drawers for my bathroom cabinet to organize there too. I spirited away all the winter coats, sweaters, and bulky linens that were piled high in the corners. I corralled all the miscellaneous items that had been underfoot for months. I sectioned off the living room into "Keep", "Trash", "Garage Sale", and "Clothes" and began depositing items accordingly. I couldn't walk through my kitchen due to the laundry basket of books and my bookcase. I even went through my pants, trying each one on to figure out which ones fit now and which ones had the promise of fitting without drastic weight loss.

I still have a mountain of clothes that need to be gone through and re-folded...my least favorite task, but at least I found several summer clothes i thought had mistakenly been donated. WIN!

When the dust settles in the next few days, i hope to have a clean and organized...and able to be kept that way, apartment.

Table Before and After Pics

2011-06-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's official. My sister an I moved the coffee and end tables as well as most of the bed frame into my apartment and moved my old stuff out. This means i have some room to move around again because the dining room table and chairs were shipped out too.

I've often expressed my LOATHING for particle board, but i must say, my old coffee and end tables have held up extremely well considering they survived my sister's entire college experience...10 years between and then my entire college experience, plus a few years since. It's been dinged, scratched, spilled upon, stained, and the legs have to be regularly tightened so they don't fall off....but over all it's still a sturdy great piece. Hopefully i'll be able to get some money for it at the garage sale.

Anyway...the long awaited before and after pics!
Before....

AFTER!!!!!

Do you hear the hallelujah chorus? I do.
Although this means i have to clean up my apartment from the disaster it is when i threw everything that was on top of the old tables.

The new headboard is still hanging out at my parents place where the last coats of varnish are curing. When that's done, i'll move it over and set up my bedroom. I'm sorry that i don't have pictures. Every time i thought about taking pictures, my hands were covered with stain, varnish or paint. but here's the starting point. Just so you note: the height of the frame that the mattress sits in is 13 inches off the ground at the top.

Also on the project docket: Covering paper ream boxes with wallpaper or contact paper so that i can have a uniform storage boxes on the upper shelf in my closet. Most of the boxes and baskets up there are falling apart. When i priced buying some boxes...i was astounded at the price for 1. I'm figuring that for roughly the same price as buying one, to be able to make at least three. Also, i'm going to reinforce the edges and seams with duct tape first. Mine will be virtually indestructible!

I'm well on my way to re-organizing my home!

Thoughts on the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake (Dec 2011)

2011-06-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

When i was still in high school, and drawing people constantly, I dreamed of becoming a forensic sketch artist. I started studying what makes faces look the way they do. How just a slight raise in the arch of an eyebrow can change a person from looking sweet to haughty. How mouths that naturally downturn make people seem unhappy when actually just relaxed. And how people who have the crease between their eyebrows look angry even when their minds are just far away.

None of that dream was ever meant to be, but i still notice those details especially when comparing people.

I just watched the trailer for the American remake of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

Even despite a dramatic and harsh haircut and dye job...i just don't buy her as a misanthrope, cold and calculated hacker. I just don't. Some people's faces are naturally gentler and less edgy...and hers is one of them. They can put all the dark and overly dramatic makeup on her they want, but it's still a softer person inside than the character Lisbeth Salandar is described as.

Even if you take away all the makeup and get them with similar expressions....Rooney Mara seems softer and more sweet where Noomi (star of the Swedish films) has a more edgy, harder look. Personally i think it's in the tilt of the eyebrows. Noomi's tilt in towards her nose, where Rooney's are start higher and further out. Just that makes the difference for me.

Now...if Boyfriend Jon would finish reading the books so we can watch the movies and then i can talk about them without inadvertently spoiling them.....GRRRR....i could go off for several pages about what i liked, didn't like, and what they left out of the movies that a) would have made a lot more sense and b) were HUGE parts of the storyline and character development that they just completely omitted!

Going to work to relax

2011-06-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Normally, weekends are reserved for resting. However i spent the entire weekend (except for the evenings watching movies with Boyfriend Jon while he rubbed my aching feet) working like a nutcase.

Friday, i spent putting the second coat on the end/coffee tables which really look good, and making the cuts for the stilts for the bed. It was slow but progressive. I had to keep reminding myself that i have the knowledge and skills to do the stilts without my dad. That waiting was not an option and that my methods were the right way to do this project. It's silly, but when you've spent over 20 years doing every single project with your dad by your side...it's difficult to maintain confidence when doing a completely new project. Especially in the early stages when there's so much planning, and measuring and figuring out how much wood to cut that you can get easily confused. But I stuck with it and churned out the cuts. Afterwards, I went over to Jon's and fell asleep early.

Saturday, i mitered all the edges (cut them at a 45 degree angle) and glued them up. Dad has always told me never to use the air gun alone, but since no one was around and it was only noon on Saturday, i couldn't let the rest of the day go to waste. I got lucky on three separate occasions where the nail decided to bend dramatically and shoot out of the board where it wasn't supposed to.....right next to my fingers. It was unnerving to say the least, but i steeled myself and pushed through. By dinner time, they were done and i had filled the holes with wood putty. I left around 7 after putting a third and final coat on the tops of my end tables which looked spectacular.

That night, Boyfriend Jon and I snuggled up to watch the 1980 version of Flash Gorden, a super super cheesy space opera with music by Queen and starring Topol (the father from Fiddler on the Roof), Timothy Dalton (Did a few of the Bond Movies) and a couple others who were big before i was alive. Jon hadn't seen it before and i had grown up with it. But it was hilarious to see just how cheesy it got in some places. Things you don't really remember as a kid now have more dual-meaning and more hand-over-the-mouth understanding. If you haven't seen it before, it's worth at least one watch. It's so bad that it's good.

Sunday, I spent working with my sister, helping her put up molding in her living room and entry area. When we were done, we were high fiving and bragging about how even dad couldn't have done a better job on some of the non-45 degree angles we had figured out by ourselves. Then i got some brown paint for the bed frame and went to attach the paneling to the back of the headboard. My sister joined me shortly there-after to help with the painting of the stilts and the frame. I worked until 7:30 that night before my feet and back were loudly protesting.

Boyfriend Jon took sweetness to a new level, specially making me some pot stickers and serving me while i sat at his table, kind of glazed over and covered in sawdust and paint flecks. He then put on a movie called "The Air Up There" with Kevin Bacon as a Basketball scout who goes to Africa to find a giant he saw by accident but has major promise as an NBA star. But the kid won't leave because of his tribe, so Kevin's character Jimmy...starts trying to influence him to leave by doing everything the way the natives do. As you may have guessed....hilarity ensues.

And for most of the movie...Boyfriend Jon rubbed my aching feet.
I. Am. So. Unbelievably. Lucky. <3

The Project List keeps growing

2011-06-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was very productive. Right after work, headed straight for Bed Bath and Beyond to get a mattress pad and a set of sheets that will fit my new mattress. When i got there, i started looking through the mattress pads, and just getting confused. Suddenly i hear this overly happy car salesman like voice behind me. I turned around the the regional manager was standing there offering to help me find what i was looking for.

"Well hi there miss! Can i help you find anything in particular?" he said with a politicians smile.
"Um sure. I need a mattress pad that's waterproof but doesn't crinkle or make noise when i move around on it." i said
"oh well those cheap ones won't do what you're looking for. You're going to want one of these 80 dollar pads!" he said directing me to a different section.My heart sank as he said this cause i was looking for the cheapest option that would do the job and i was already agonizing over the 50$ one i had been looking at. Then i noticed the yellow tag above the display: 50% off! I pointed it out and his politicians smile faltered for a second and then he recovered by saying "See, it was meant to be". He offered to get me a cart and then stayed by my elbow asking if there was anything else i needed today.

I made the mistake of mentioning that i was going to color match my comforter and he wanted to come along and show me where i could find the sheets...as if the section was invisible or guarded by an ogre or something. Now, I am not a passive person by nature, but before i had a chance to tell him i would be fine, he thrust a display pillow case into my hands and started telling me about what thread count really meant. The sheets were wonderful and i could feel the high quality smoothness of the fabric. I asked him how much, and he looked at the price tag. "59.99!" he said. Elation washed over me before the skeptic in me became curious. That's when i noticed that the package said Fitted Sheet. Next to it was the Flat Sheet package, and i quickly realized that it was 59.99 EACH.
I told the manager that it was way out of my price range as far as a set was concerned, and told him, that would be a reasonable price if it was a set already. He then scratched his head and looked around dubiously. So i walked away down the isle, looking at the options myself. Eventually I found a pale blueish green sheet set that worked with my comforter and was the same price. But my luck was running as high as could be. It was 20 % off already and i had an two additional 20% off coupons.

When i left the store, I had a total of 62$ in savings. I made out like a bandit.

Last night i finally put the first coat of varnish on my end tables and coffee table. It took me 3 hours. I went into my obsessive mode where i didn't even notice that i hadn't eaten yet, or that it was getting dark out. I just kept working, plugging away, making sure i did a good job for the first coat. Thankfully this will be the only coat for the interior where it only matters that it gets sealed, not necessarily looks pretty and shiny. Putting on the remaining coats for the outside will take a lot less time.

But i apparently haven't kicked my building bug. Cause as soon as i'm done with this, i have the bed frame to alter and refinish...and then i have another plan brewing in my head. Given that my bedroom is the only place i haven't built custom furniture and i'm still using bleh...particle board dresser....the carpentry wheels in my head are turning again.

Puppies, Logistics and Craigslist

2011-06-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

This being my first week back, I've been all but dragging myself to work, and trying my darnedest to stay focused and not grumbling about certain (numerous) reasons why i would rather be anywhere else than at work. I haven't gotten back into my usual routine, and the hours at work creep by like slugs.

That was until yesterday morning. I rounded the corner and saw one of my co-workers crouched on the floor playing with a black ball of fluff. Upon closer inspection it was a 14 week old shi tzu puppy named Max. Suddenly, all of my headaches, frustrations, and homicidal thoughts disappeared in the presence of puppy kisses.

It's not wise to upset a Wookie.
Now give me back my chew toy!

Things got even better when the owner needed a quick pet-sitter while she went to a meeting. I was only too happy to fulfill that temporary addition to my job description. Max got a blanket on the side of my desk where he could chew on me his toys and investigate the tapping of my keys while i still worked. Eventually, he ended up dozing off with a paw draped over my arm. Unintelligible noises of adoration escaped me despite my best efforts.

I'm not usually a fan of small dogs. They have to be unreasonably cute and amusing for me to fall in love with them. This excludes chihuahuas, pugs and miniature dobermins. Those just arent' cute to me with their bug eyes. Shi tzus look so much like Ewoks that i can't help myself. If i ever got a shi tzu (one of the few small dogs i would consider owning) it would totally be named Wicket. But for now i'm having fun with Max.

I want a puppy so badly now. Of course i don't live a lifestyle that could support owning a dog, but it doesn't dampen the desire in the least.
***
So last Saturday, i bought a mattress. A new, queen size, which i was able to lay upon first instead of dad just bringing it home and telling me this is my new mattress. It was all my choice, and i'm thrilled with it.

Except....

I still had my old full size mattress, old box spring, frame and headboard in the way. And in a 1 bedroom apartment, that doesn't leave much room for maneuverability. So since last Saturday, the new mattress has been up against a wall, while I've continued to sleep on the old mattress, which doesn't feel nearly as comfortable as i remember.

After contacting some of the "wanted" ads on craigslist, and getting tired of their flaking...i posted it and had immediate responses. One of them was even local, and several promised that they could pick up the next day. With any luck, that old mattress will be gone tonight and i can at least put my new mattress on the floor until i finish altering the new frame.

Ever since i worked for a personal organizer, I've always felt that box springs were a waste of space. I wondered why beds didn't just raise up higher and have built in support for the mattresses. At the time, however, i didn't have much of an option. But i do now.

Lindsey's old frame is an Ikea build, with slats. So no box spring needed! Happy day! Now i just have to get around to adding the wood stilts so that it's not sitting 9 inches off the ground....because it's Ikea. When i'm done, it should be sitting 18-22 inches off the ground. I'm so excited to have all that new storage space. I'll finally be able to get plastic bins for my winter clothes instead of massing them together in garbage bags stacked precariously in the back of my closet.

Meanwhile, i tiptoe carefully through my apartment which looks like i just moved in...again.

Post San Fran Adventures

2011-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

San Francisco was a whirlwind. It was going going gone. There was so much to see and so little time to see it. And yet i'm still not tired of the place. I would gladly go back again.

But nothing slowed down when i returned either. Friday was spent unpacking, cleaning and getting back to working on the end tables. They are so close! I began to iron on the edging for my tables so that you wouldn't be able to tell that i used plywood at first glance.

This took the remainder of Friday, and part of the day Saturday.

On Saturday, i also went and got my very first queen size mattress! Lindsey was getting a new frame anyway, so she gave it to me. But now i'm left with the problem of being in a 1 bedroom apartment with a double mattress and box spring AND a queen size mattress. I'm seriously lacking on extra room. With the bed bug scares, most mattress recycling places aren't taking them anymore without you having to pay them. So I'm turning to Craigslist to see if i can help someone out. I might have connected with someone, but given that it's craigslist...i wont' count my chickens before they hatch.

On Sunday, with all the glorious sunshine in the Pacific Northwest, i pulled out the wood stain and got to work.

With any luck, the tables and legs will be ready for the first finish coat tomorrow at the latest. Yay!

And the dogs missed me so much, they wouldn't leave my side all day: Yes the Wallet Thief fell asleep in that position and was snoring loudly. These dogs are soo good for entertainment value.

The return from San Francisco

2011-06-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Of all the places i've visited, San Francisco is one of the few places where i think i could stand to live for a long period of time. Of course, i know that i would pay through the nose for real-estate there, but when you're dreaming, such things don't matter. We did so much in such a short time, that i'll have to gloss over a lot of the interesting stuff just to give you a brief account. Yes, the following is brief.

We arrived and were bussed to the Argonaut hotel right off of the end of Hyde street and Jefferson Street which was beautiful and spacious. The first thing we did was walk to Pier 39, enjoying the sights along the way and purchasing some trinkets. We signed up for one of the two hour long bus tours which our guide, Igor, told us all about everything from the new capital buildings ability to withstand a major earthquake, to how there are so many large families living in chinatown that they have to hang their undergarments out the window for them to dry. We saw the Golden Gate gardens and the bridge, took a lot of pictures, and finally got back to our hotel in time to change for dinner at Scomas on the waterfront a couple piers away.

This place was fancy! We had no less than a 5 course meal (six if you count the sourdough bread) which included the best Crab cakes I've had in California, Popcorn Shrimp that was juicy and crunchy at the same time, a salad or soup, an entrée (i had Pasa Alla Scoma- clams and pasta in a white wine garlic sauce- which had no less than 30 clams IN the Shell mixed in with my pasta) and finally a chocolate torte for desert, followed by a round of B52 shots to celebrate the end of their busy season. I am so glad that i wasn't footing the bill for that meal. But it was delicious. After that, i was beat so i went back and gratefully fell into my own queen size bed (which was exciting because i just bought a new queen size to upgrade from my double, so i got a bit of a preview). Lindsey went out to a Blues bar, Lou's on Pier 47, with some of her co-workers had a wonderful time.

The next day, we made our way to Alcatraz. The walk over to Pier 33 was wet, especially as we were waiting for our tickets. Someone turned on a fire hose, so since i had not gotten an umbrella when there was an opportunity, i got soaked, and ended up with one of the very fashionable plastic ponchos. However, once we loaded into the ferry and landed at Alcatraz, it was bright and sunny for the rest of the day. San Francisco might be the only city I've ever gotten both drenched and a sunburn in the same day. I loved Alcatraz. Between the audio tour, and latching onto a ranger tour, i learned things i had no idea bout before and found the prisoner's ingenuity completely intriguing. If you get a chance...it's worth every penny.

When we got back to the mainland, we ate at Bubba Gump's and then toured the area some more before i needed a break and went back to the hotel for a quick nap. Afterwards, we walked around the area some more and enjoyed some of the bread. I don't like sourdough, but the sourdough in San Francisco is to die for! I even took a loaf home. We went to bed comparatively early that night.

I woke up to the sounds of fog horns, and went outside to watch some of the fog burn off. After i met back up with Lindsey, we made our way to Girhidelli Square, had brunch at Buena Visa Cafe and toured the USS Pampanito Submarine. Then it was time to leave San Francisco which was sad.

San Francisco left (we stayed in the light gray building on the left which is marked with Blue Mermaid)

San Fransisco right. Featuring Pier 39 and the Alcatraz landing

I wish i had more pictures to share with you, but they're on my camera which is still buried in the pile of put away/take care of that I've been ignoring for the weekend in favor of California weather which we seem to have brought home. Since so much else has happened since I returned, i'll save my post trip adventures for another post.

Friends with Style

2011-05-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not stylish. If i had to describe my style, i would say it's simple, classic and goes with everything. That translates to simple bootleg jeans, a colored tanktop and a black sweater. It's a combination that looks good on everyone, so that's what i wear every friday, sat and sun. At work i have slacks, two black one grey, that get paired up with solid colored knit shirts of varying arm legnths. Since Boyfriend Jon has known me...i can count the number of times i have left the house in a skirt or dress on one hand.

But i'm headed on a trip with one of my best Gal Pals who is the sharpest dresser i know. She has been dubbed my "Cute Expert" because she really has a knack for discovering cute things that i just kind of look at her and blink over. Lindsey is not super girly, but she has great style. And perhaps my next sentence won't show that she's not girly, but in the array of girly girl people in my life...she's at the bottom. She's already tanned, gotten a haircut and painted her nails for the trip. I'm sitting here with dirt under my nails from working in my mother's garden and i wouldn't be surprised if my hair smelled like sawdust from the shop.

TANGENT!
The end tables are BUILT! Done! I won't have to put in a single other screw anywhere, or use the nailgun or make any more cuts. All that's left now is to add the edging, fill the nail holes, sand, stain and put the finish on.
I estimate that if i took a solid week, i could have it done (except for the curing part).

OK, back to the regularly scheduled brain purge....

While i don't feel like it's a competition, I certainly don't want to look frumpy next to her. And because there is a dinner in which no jeans will be allowed....I had to ask her for help. Somehow this turned into a girls night in which not just Lindsey, but my other gal pal Naomi will be going through my clothing and putting together my outfits. All i have to do is make dinner and provide some wine. (which means i'm stealing it from my parents cupboard)

Part of me is just dreading this. To be dressed, analyzed, have my wardrobe scrutinized, and to wear clothes outside of my comfort zone. The other part of me is thinking "I don't have to choose outfits for the trip. They're doing 90% of the packing for me!" which i am so cool with!

Also, Lindsey alerted me to a free spray tan coupon. So i think i'll give that a shot so i don't look completely pasty white next to her. Never done a fake tan before, fingers crossed.

Either way, Lindsey is an awesome friend to hang out with. Everything is low key, no drama, and no stress. We work well together and don't get on each other's nerves very often. I'm looking forward to traveling with her. We'll see if we're still friends after.

In other news...i'm making more changes to the apartment. The dining room table is leaving. It's nice that it folds up to half its size, but i don't have a designated dining room space anymore and it's taking up part of my living room. Also, I've used it twice since i moved in. Once for a romantic dinner for Boyfriend Jon and I, and once to hold all 200 of the cursed cupcakes. The chairs for the table don't fold up and i really don't have room to store them. They alone take up half my storage closet.

Instead, i intend to get a 6 foot folding table and four folding chairs. The table will slide under my couch when not in use, and the chair will take up considerably less room in the storage closet. Also, having a six foot table will double for board games, dinner for more than just me and Jon, and even a craft table...which i really need. The DVD rack will be moved in it's place.

I'm excited for the change.

Good Planning, aka Luck

2011-05-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Its hard for me to believe it, but i started building my coffee table and end tables just after Valentines day (aka single awareness day)

This project has by no means been the most complicated of my projects, but yet it has taken the longest. My father is certainly feeling his age, and I've confronted my uncomfortable emotions and frustrating setbacks. He has readily admitted that he can't work like he used to and i've been too timid to work without his help.

Last night, dad agreed to get to work on my drawers, the final bit of building that needed to be accomplished. But when i showed up, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, he was helping one of his friends with something complicated and wouldn't be home for hours and he was very sorry but I would have to wait.

I was ticked. Nailing him down to a time and place has been difficult to say the least because he's been very busy helping my sister. I tried not to impose but, with her project also several months over-schedule....it made life harder on everyone. And now, with her project finally down to a few punch list items, i thought i finally would have time to whip through the remainder of the building steps which i need dad's extra set of hands for. Yet when it came down to it...i was alone...

In dad's shop...

With all the tools i could possibly need....

With the knowledge of how to do the drawers...

I was just ticked off enough to be in my "Well, i'll show him" mood. Defiance and rebellion as my ally, i seized a hold of the plank of maple which had been plained down to 1/2 inch and quickly measured the gap that the drawer would need to fit into. I cut boards an inch over the right measurement and then ran them through the jointer to make the edges smooth and even. Then i ripped them to the right width and cut them to the right size since i could now be sure of a good 90 degree cut.

In two hours, i had the frame of the drawer. So i started casting about for paneling for the bottom of the drawer. I didn't want to use the one dad had pointed out because it had a laminated side that i wouldn't be able to stain it. it would have to be painted or horribly mismatched. I went out into the wood shed and looked through would that had been put in there when i was still a teenager, Most of it was un-usable for my project.

It wasn't until i started looking through the scrap bin that i came across a piece of paneling that i instantly recognized. It was the exact same material i had used as the backing for the DVD stand and the TV stand. It looked rather small, but i pulled it out to see if i could get at least one bottom for the drawers.

As I set up the frame, i began to realize, hoping against hope, that i might have just enough for both drawers. When everything was set up, i had literally 2 inches to spare width wise without ever trimming the paneling.

I cut groves for the paneling to slide into and it's perfect. The groves were not as deep as i would have preferred, but with some wood glue, they'll hold up just fine. Besides, these are going to be holding relatively light things and serve as a general junk drawer for scissors, glue, stamps, ect.

When dad finally showed up, my mood had dissolved out of sheer disbelief at the perfection of the size of the LAST piece of the same paneling i had used for the other pieces in my living room. So i showed him what i had accomplished. We both had a good laugh as he analyzed my handiwork and gave me a stiff nod...adding that he hoped i didn't make any mistakes without him there. I confidently replied that i doubted i had, but if i did, it wouldn't be anything that couldn't be fixed.

Good Planning or Pure Luck? Who cares...the drawers just need to be glued and nailed and the end tables are ready to put the finish on.

Saving Money via Ingenuity

2011-05-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday when i dropped the wallet thief off at my sister's place (LOL stories below) my sister was watching a TV show called "Extreme Couponing" which i caught towards the end. The woman was checking out and had a $1200 bill which ended up being an extraordinary $103 after she went through a stack of coupons. Amazing right? and then i started looking at the amount of stuff she had. 4 shopping carts, one of them containing over 70 bottles of mustard. Who in this world can eat the contents of 70 bottles of mustard even if it takes their entire lifetime? It goes beyond absurd. I asked my sister what she does with the stuff, and she rewound to show me the part that showed exactly that. Showers stacked full of paper towels, pantries overflowing with cans, even the room for the water heater was filled to the brim. It was another form of hoarding and just as disturbing in my eyes.

I love saving money, and I've been doing a lot better with using coupons lately, but i would certainly balk at buying things i had no need of within the next three months. Even if they never spoil.

My most recent money saving technique had to do with the Kindle. I wanted to throw it in my purse without it getting scratched up by my keys. But i also didn't want it to weigh the kindle down and not be able to fit into my purse because the cover was so bulky. So i decided neoprene would be a good idea. But have you looked at the cost of those things???? Kindle covers themselves cost no less that $35 and Neoprene covers go up beyond $50. I tried to find a cheap one while i was walking around Staples for another purpose, but inevitably, it was more than i wanted to spend.

And then something interesting caught my eye.

It's was a leather notebook cover haphazardly placed on an endcap standee. It was red, which since its my favorite color, was probably the reason i stopped short. Upon further inspection, it was just barely too small for the kindle. I almost walked away from it not once, but twice. But something kept making me think about it. I analized the seams and looked at what was making it too small. I concluded if i cut out the flap where the notebook was supposed to slide in, and then trimmed off the business card flap (as seen in the left of the picture) to just a strip in the middle, it could work. I looked at the price. $12. Certainly worth a shot at that price.

So i took it with me to Boyfriend Jon's place and while he played Lego Indiana Jones, i got out a pair of scissors and my knife and got to work. I carefully trimmed out the flaps, which eventually will need some kind of edging. Boyfriend Jon then got out some strips of velcro that he had laying around and i cut them to size and placed them. One for the new closing strip. and two for the back of my kindle to keep it in place in the cover when i wanted to read. With the extra flaps out of the way, the Kindle fit like a glove.

Here's the results, of which i'm rather proud of. Still in the process of cleaning it up though.

As for LOL stories for Miss Molly, aka the Wallet Thief...She was pretty content to just lay in my lap while i read The Girl Who Played with Fire. But she did catch sight of a crow and just about plowed through my screen door trying to say hello.

Also, i may have accidentally have given her brain freeze, by giving her some ice cubes made out of tuna fish juice. She gobbled up three of them in the time it took Rusty to eat half of his. After that, she sat looking at me squinting her eyes as her lower lip quivered.

But as far as Molly stories go, it was pretty calm and quiet for life around her.

The return of the Wallet Thief

2011-05-20T08:54:00.001-07:00

Molly helping with construction

Molly the Wallet Thief will be staying with me today, and i'm sure i'll have more "adventure" stories tomorrow. We're still trying to get this silly dog acclimated to my place for when Noreen is out of town so that i can help take some of the load off my parents. She's pooped, she's peed, she's thrown up, she's tried to eat just about everything from a tea light to a roll of Tums. But this dog....i'm sure will figure out something new to drive me insane with.

For all that i gripe, Molly is a wonderful dog. It's hard not to laugh when she gets into some of her quirky moods. And then she has her Eeyore droop when she knows she's in trouble.

I'm starting The Girl that Played with Fire tonight while i'm watching Molly now that I've completely finished first book and movie in the series.

I really hate watching subtitles. But i hate dubbing even more. Especially bad dubbing. However, i don't think that American filmmakers have the monopoly on great movies. So subtitles are a necessary evil.

Comparing the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book with the movie, i stand by my old saying: Books are better than movies. There are a few rare occurrences where the filmmakers are able to capture details in ways that the author has to ramble on for several pages to accomplish. The only movies I've come across that were better than the books were the LOTR series. I just don't personally care for Tolkin's style of writing.

Warning: Minor Spoilers

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book was well thought out and had multiple characters weaving back and forth, in and out of each other's lives. The movie, immediately changed a key character by saying she was dead instead of abroad. This didn't change the complete outcome, but just how they arrive at the conclusion. And also, in the book, Mikael discovers Lisbeth after confronting the lawyer Frode. Not, Lisbeth helping Mikael out of the goodness of her heart. It seemed to break with her character for me. The other thing i liked in the book was the dynamics with her boss and her job which was alluded to, but not displayed in the movie. Her boss only showed up in the beginning and then you never saw him again. That was unfortunate, but again, it didn't really change the end game.

All in all, the film did a great job of following the story as written, but took minor liberties here and there. It was also 2hours and 20 minutes long. So for the sake of not making it a three hour movie, i can understand some of the omittance was necessary.

More furniture plans

2011-05-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't think i can help it. I see a piece of furniture and immediately start thinking about ways to customize it. Perhaps its because i'm a 20 something on a limited income and can't afford the furniture that makes my mind go blank in sheer admiration of the craftsmanship and functionality.

My friend Lindsey has recently taken the time and money to replace all of the crappy furniture in her bedroom with a nice matching set. With the exception of the headboard which wasn't available. So she has a cheap ikea frame for the moment which completely clashes with the rest of the furiture.

For starters she's going with what she has deemed "Country Bumpkin" kind of feel while her bed....looks like it has a simple oriental theme to me. Either way, she was going to get rid of it. Since i was looking for a queen bed frame anyway......i started analyzing it.

It was low to the ground, (Ikea mostly has beds that are about a foot off the ground) and she had it up on bed risers from bed bath and beyond so it would be a relatively normal height.

It worked just fine. But i don't trust plastic especially when it comes to strength and stability. So i started thinking about ways to make it stronger and more stable. I figured if i did a wrap around wood frame made up of long pieces with the sides cut at 45 degree angles...i could screw into the original legs and make them longer, but still strong.

For the non-craftsmen or people who can't read my mind:
If you were looking at it from either the top or bottom, it would look like this with the middle square being the original leg:

Also, i don't like the idea of my pillows falling through the back so i'll tack some simple paneling onto the back to fix that problem.

For probably a maximum of 20$, i'll have a great customized bed set to replace the bed I've had since i was 15.

I probably should finish the coffee and end tables before moving onto this project....but it's just sooo exciting!

Book Review- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011-05-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

The first book to be read on Kindle that I am temporarily calling mine....was the international best seller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (translated into English of course).

I read about half of it between adding wood to the campfire and snuggling into my sleeping bag so that all that could be seen of me was my forehead, eyes, and the tips of my fingers occasionally as i pushed the page turn button.

This book started off as a relative enigma to me. My friend Annie from Nano had read it and briefly sung praises about it. But it was in the middle of Nano when we're all actively concentrating on our own novels to be. So i didn't pay it much mind at the time. Not to mention...i'm not into paying $20 for a book. That's just not me. I have to have already read the book and be totally in love with it for me to want to spend that kind of money for my own copy.

The last book that was an international best seller that i caved to the hype on was the Harry Potter series. And i was very pleased with the results. So when going through the list of 55 books, i pause and thought to myself "what the hell?" and pressed the OK key. I only vaguely knew that it was a crime drama, but i had no idea as to the details of the crime.

Pacing wise, the story took a long time to gear up to give the reader an idea of what the story was going to be about. However, without much of that, you wouldn't understand the motives behind the characters later in the story. The main male character Mikael Blomkvist, seemed very human. No amazing talents of deductive reasoning, or x-ray vision. Just a normal every-man, caught up in something that's bigger than he realizes. The main female character, the one everyone thinks of, Lisbeth Salander, was complex and faceted, and at the same time, well...logically created...is the best way i can describe her. She is definitely NOT an every-woman. And the roles they play in the story help weave what could be a simple crime novel, into a intricate creation that i honestly couldn't predict. Short of halfway through the book though, i was riveted.

The voice used for writing was very matter of fact. It simple explained how things were and what was going on without adding additional drama to the thoughts of the characters. I was surprised that everyone was referred to by their last names by the writer, but not by each other in the dialogue.

A small point of warning: This story is not for the faint of heart. The translated title for part one is "Men who Hate Women" and it is very much fill with misogynistic themes. I don't know if the author feels that way personally, but many of his characters treat women with varying degrees of mistreatment, as i would define it. There are brutal descriptions of scenes that made me angry and horrified, and at one point, i had to stop and remind myself this is fiction.

I'm going to stop reviewing this book now because i don't want to inadvertently ruin it for anyone. All i have left to say is that this was an excellent find, and i can't wait to get my hands on the next books in the trilogy.

Meanwhile, i'm starting the Swedish movie with Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace on my Netflix to see how it compares to the book. I hope anyone who reads it finds it as interesting as i did.

Back from camping

2011-05-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to report that i survived camping in the pacific northwest this weekend. By that i mean...it started raining Saturday at about 5pm and didn't stop....ever.

Jon on Friday before we got the tarps up and
during one of the few brief moments of sunlight

Between the crows pillaging our campsite twice, the showers eating the tokens without giving hot water, the absurd prices of firewood (3 bundles for 17$), and the tarp AND TENT leaking.....we should have had a miserable time. Yet, i can't think of any single point that i was unhappy. Even picking up after the crows...wasn't a big deal. We learned a couple lessons but for the most part, our advance planning saved a lot of frustration. There's just a bit more planning needed. There was bound to be some trial and error period.

The first problem we noticed was the grill that i had brought was HORRIBLE for cooking on. The eggs we made took forever to cook, and water took at least a half hour to get to coffee temperature. It's a great grill, i'm sure, but it's a horrible camp stove. But it was free so i didn't worry too much. The Boyscout in Boyfriend Jon came out and he started talking about all the gear he wanted to buy for himself. Perhaps for this entry i should refer to him as Boyscout Jon. He decided that now was a good time to purchase a Coleman camp stove and we were saved. After that, we had no more meal related problems.

But the rain wasn't going to let us off the hook. We got our tarps up Saturday Morning after some creative roping and using a few of the telescoping poles i had borrowed from my dad. I even managed to remember a few of the knots i had learned several years ago, when i taught a knot tying class. But when it came to a spot were we had different sized ropes, my brain went blank. I could see the image in my head, but how to do it or what it was called was completely eluding me. Boyscout Jon came to the rescue with a sheet bend.

Sometimes it got a little too cold to sit next to the campfire with our e-readers. So we retreated into the tent. There, we quickly bundled up into our sleeping bags and kept reading with just our eyes and a couple fingers poking out of the bags. Every now and then we would look over at each other and start laughing over some line in the story we were reading or the fact that we were bundled up like Eskimos. But the important thing was that we were throughly enjoying ourselves. I'm sure our neighbors got a little tired of us starting to laugh hysterically for no apparent reason to anyone outside our little world.

We probably should have noticed the warning signs earlier...spots of water at the bottom of our sleeping bags, or the small puddle forming at the tent opening. But it wasn't until the middle of the night that we started realizing we were slowly being soaked. The pads we were sleeping on were foam and quickly absorbed the water and it started creeping toward us. Our clothes and gear in the tent, had to be moved to higher ground and we had to pull our pillows away from the walls.

My only real gripe was the mats we decided to try for sleeping on were very uncomfortable. I'm still an air mattress girl. But given that Jon had trouble waking me up one night, i still slept soundly. Oh yeah, and i managed to not be a controlling, freaked out, nut job. Go me!

Things we'll do differently:

waterproof the tent BEFORE leaving.
buy a new tarp and new ropes
buy camp cups...the one thing we both totally forgot.
figure out new sleeping pads/cots/air mattresses.

But in the end, every problem that arose we had a solution for. Every issue got dealt with. And we left the camp soaking wet, freezing cold, tired as hell, and holding hands.

Geeking out in time for camping

2011-05-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

I have an opportunity to play with a Kindle for a few months for free. I'm just as excited to be playing with a new piece of technology as i am to start a few new books. I think I've downloaded about 55 novels to it already. Mostly that i haven't read in years, Science Fiction, and Fantasy novels with a few oddballs thrown in for some flair. It will be a great addition to the camping trip.

As a teenager, with no bills, no work, no obligations...55 books would normally pose little challenge to me. That was a standard summer. Of course they were young adult novels like Anne McCaffrey, Tamora Pierce, Piers Anthony, and Mercedes Lackey. Not...Frankenstein or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read like my dad, who's been known to plow through a Tom Clancy novel or Clive Cussler thriller in less than a weekend. My mom on the other hand takes somewhere near a month to read a 300 page novel.

The geek in me is also really excited because it looks like a PADD from Star Trek!!!! I will admit I've daydrempt a little that i was wandering the corridors of the enterprise and might run into Captain Picard. (I'm a geek! Daydreams like this really do come to mind and make me smile).

The same time i got a hold of the Kindle, Boyfriend Jon got a Nook-Color. Which, in comparison...is SOOOO PRETTY! Given the choice between the two, i'm much more interested in the Nook. But the Kindle is free for now. Not to mention i have much better battery life and it's lighter. Now if only i could stop accidentally hitting the keyboard at the bottom.

My future e-reader will probably be color, small, light, with wifi and a minimal amount of buttons. And while i'm busy day dreaming, it will connect with the enterprise main computer and respond to voice commands too. Just kidding.

Our camping plans are moving along a lot faster now that Boyfriend Jon and I are taking the time to sit down and collaborate on meals, equipment and how to pack everything into my tiny economy car. I feel a lot more confident knowing that we're already on the same page. On the menu is egg, sausage and potatoe hash combinations for breakfast, grilled cheese and soup for lunches, and Mac&Cheese plus hotdogs and Hobo style for dinners. Also going to try my hand at making popcorn in an pot (not my dad's super cool old fashioned popcorn maker with turn wheel and not an air popper). Oh yeah, and the making for smores are a must. Right now, i feel like this weekend can't come fast enough.

I'm so thankful this week is moving along quickly. It's been two and a half weeks since my counterpart left for a trip to Hawaii. And two and a half weeks since I've had a day of work not accompanied by a migraine as everyone tries to convince me that their work has highest priority even though it's not due for a week. The two of us, normally cover an array of jobs that used to be covered by five people. It's just not feasible to expect one person to do the job of 5!

So, i look forward to her return later this week. Mostly so that i can dump HER work back on HER desk and then escape to a world that has neither work nor desks for a long weekend with Boyfriend Jon to celebrate a year and a half long relationship that is composed of frequent Geekery.

The Mario Box

2011-05-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely a crafty person. By that i mean i like working with my hands..in case you couldn't already tell that from the carpentry I've been posting lately.When i'm feeling stressed out and need to collect myself, I do origami. I've done sketches for tattoos for friends and co-workers. But pretty much anything crafty...i'm a useful person to know.

This is probably why my friend Kenny came to me with a project. He does some minor cosplay and wanted to go as Mario this year. He got the costume together and looked like a great ...blonde... Mario. But he wanted a Mario brick to go with his costume. "Easy" I told him....and began making plans. I'm not sure who came up with the idea, but eventually it got revised into a portable carry-all for the cons. It even got touched by FELICIA DAY and AMY OKUDA of The Guild!

Awesome except for the glare from the flash. This picture makes me SO HAPPY!

I recycled the interior of old broken binders for their cardboard, and made a cube. I then attached hinges so that the top would open and close. Then i made it so the lid was magnetized closed. With some free foam on the inside, the cube took life. Three sides became Question Mark sides, complete with gold glitter borders, and three sides got Brick. The effect was that when taken with a picture...you wouldn't be able to see the other sides. But the best part, according to Mario/Kenny is that he can stash his camera, glasses and any other loot from the con...inside and walk around with just the box.

He says the box gets a lot of attention at Cons. He has been pulled out of hallways to go participate in photo shoots, and many many people want pictures with the box. It is a One of a kind for sure. No other Mario's have ever been seen with a box like mine. :D

Never mind the scantily clad Yoshi...look at the pretty box! (that's Mario/Kenny btw)

Anyway, the year of Con's is over for Mario/Kenny, and he brought me the Mario Box in need of some minor repair. We started discussing some of the differences he would rather have, and features that would be really cool if we could pull off.

Next thing i know..i'm designing a new pair of boxes. One to fit inside of the other. The outer box will be the Question Box. It will feature fishing lines that are able to be pulled out to suspend the box. Stored in the bottom of this box will be tent poles that unfold and form a rod which the box can be suspended from for photos. The other box will be a duplicate of the original box (in the pictures above) but covered only in brick. Or if i can talk him into it, the rainbow colored question mark from Mario Kart. This will also have a lid, and foam padding for storage of Con Loot.

It's another of the projects to add to my ever growing and rarely shrinking list.

May the 4th be with you!

2011-05-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

To all my fellow geeks, nerds, brown coats, wanna-be Jedi's, and people who would be first in line if there ever is a Starfleet Academy.....

May the Force be with you.

ANNNNNDDDD

Shiny :)

Camping plans

2011-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Perhaps Boyfriend Jon and I have an odd relationship. By that i mean instead of going the traditional route for our year and a half....doing things like dinner at a fancy restaurant, dancing, wine on a bear skin rug kind of thing....Nope, our idea of fun and romantic is going camping.

I started camping when I was seven years old. My uncle invited my father to join him at this thing he called a Rhondevous (Ron-day-voo). It was a pioneer day re-enactment. Similar to a Ren-Fair, but in the days of Mountain Men and Indians. We started out with hardly any proper camping gear, and i remember that we had a lightning storm the first night. My mother made us get off of our aluminum cots and sleep on the ground because she was concerned about us getting electrocuted. I still don't understand why she did that. We were in the middle of a forest after all. The tent leaked, our feet turned to prunes, and we spent the second night in my uncle's tent, crammed in with all five of them, plus four of us, and their smelly dog. Since then, I think i can count the number of times my mother has joined us on one hand.

I'm not sure how, but my father got hooked and so did my brother and I. The group of people that went to these Pioneer days were just plain cool. They told incredulous stories, taught me everything from beading to how to start a fire with flint and steel, and dad let us run basically wild. We caught newts, wandered through the woods, bought things in 'Traders Row". He never had to worry about us. Everyone kept an eye on us. I remember smashing my finger and a random woman that i didn't know at the time, bandaged me up. I even acquired a nickname: Skirts Afire. I'll let you guess how i got that one. It became a second community in my life as i grew up.

Me at the 2003 Women's Rhondy
(skill training weekend)

And quickly, dad purchased proper camping equipment. In later years, when my brother no longer joined us, my dad and I got to the point where we could set up and tear down the camp in a matter of a half hour. Granted, by then, we had a pop up camper.

But eventually i had to grow up. My father would get testy whenever i mentioned wanting to camp on my own, not with him. Especially if I had a boyfriend at the time. After one particular blow up when i was 20, i quit and for five years since, i hadn't gone camping. Our relationship mended and life otherwise went back to normal.

The last attempt Boyfriend Jon and I made at going camping was not well planned out. It was overnight, we were cold, and we ended up eating out instead of making up the food we bought. I kept trying to get into my normal groove and got frustrated by Boyfriend Jon not instinctively know what i needed him to do...the way my father did. I'm very accustomed to doing things a certain way, to always having the proper tools available to me. But living in an apartment doesn't leave much room to store a plethora of camping supplies.

So we borrowed my father's camping gear and additionally i was freaked out about the extremely remote possibility of things getting stolen. We weren't surrounded by the community of Rhondevous people...who have been known to return dropped wallets without a single penny missing. These were strangers! Yes it seems very silly now, but this is how i reacted. And single handedly, I made the trip be rather miserable.

It took me quite a while to realize why i was acting so controlling, but eventually i managed to explain to Boyfriend Jon. We agreed that we would try again, and we would do things very differently, next time.

So the changes changes we're making this time:

We're staying two nights, not one.
We're not going in October (another big mistake)
We're purchasing our own camp gear. Chairs, possibly our own tent, and we bought foutons, not an air mattress.
My dad gave me a coleman grill. Not that i can't cook over an open fire, but just that it's easier to do so over a stove.
We're making a menu and sticking to it.
Oh yeah, and I will NOT go freakishly controlling again.

Here's to hoping for a smoother trip this time.

Quite frankly, I consider where we're going to be a luxury anyway. Its a state run campground. They have hot showers! Now that's just plain ole FANCY!

Sunshine at long last!

2011-05-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

We had an absolutely gorgeous sunny day yesterday. Spring finally came to the Pacific Northwest.

We never made the bike ride. It turns out that our bikes were in sore need of repair, but we had no way of transporting them to my parents house where there were tools like an air compressor.

Early in the day, Boyfriend Jon proved (again) how sweet he is, and helped me wash my car, clean out the trunk and vacuum the whole thing. It was so nice to get that done, and I instantly felt better. We then went for a picnic to the nearby Kirkland waterfront....which was jam packed with families, couples, dogs, ducks and seagulls. We turned our be-sunglass-ed faces up to the welcome warm rays, and shivered at the breeze coming off the water. Just a few more degrees, and everything would have been perfect.

We threw Ritz crackers to duck pairs, who got a little amorous nearby. They weren't shy of us at all, even waddled right under the nose of a spaniel who was sitting up on the bench with his owners as they tried to keep the squirming and woofing dog from pouncing.

Eventually, Jon and I had separate tasks to do so we each went home. But the sunshine still called to me. Even when i should have been folding laundry, or cleaning my kitchen, i found every excuse possible to walk outside. I even made three trips to the mailboxes and back...on a Sunday.

I hemmed the translucent curtains i put up and finally got around to cutting the board to stop my sliding glass door from opening. I refilled my bird feeder even though i know the chickadees and juncos will make a mess all over my patio again. I was able to sit there still enough while i was sewing the curtains with just the screen between me and the birds. They were so close i could have reached out and pet them. And they sang for all they were worth as happy as i was with the sunshine.

A pair of brown wild rabbits jumped and hopped all through the swamp, back and forth as i watched them...a foolish grin on my face.

Saturday, I spent with my dad, finally overcoming the problem that had been plaguing us for days. The drawers. I hadn't counted on the fact that the shortest full extension sliders that were available were 14 inches. I thought i might have been able to get away with a 12 inch set. This didn't work because the drawer was meant to be 13.5 inches deep.
After trying to figure out a way to make it work with the existing side pieces for two hours, I finally resigned and cut new ones with the additional half inch. In the end i'll loose a half inch on the front and back of the lip...but that's hardly noticeable.

The full set so far. Not finished yet.

Crazy Week

2011-04-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

So just this week, I've already had my sister's birthday, and today is my father's birthday. On top of that, my counterpart at work, Diana, is out of the office for two and a half weeks while she goes to Hawaii on vacation. So this week has been beyond crazy. Boyfriend Jon was a sweetheart and mercifully rubbed my feet since i had hardly sat down all day.

I made my sister a cake, which was decorated in less than an hour and a half with icing that was too thin, because i couldn't cool it properly before i started working with it. So rather than covering her cake in icing roses (which decided to flop off the rose nail), i settled for leaves trailing down the sides, and hot pink rosebuds around the top perimeter. I ran out the door and was a few minutes late to dinner. And i was SO rushed out the door, i forgot my camera and cell phone....which could have been used to take a picture. I'm sorry.

My dad, the baker in the family, was very impressed at what i had managed to throw together, and he says he has passed the torch onto me. But for his birthday, he has requested cupcakes. If you read back to my friend's wedding last summer you'll know that i swore i would never do cupcakes again. After two hundred and having to borrow cupcake pans.....yeah, never again. And i'm not breaking that stride yet. Dad doesn't know this, but i'm purchasing cupcakes from a local store instead. We only need three. The thought of having to clean my kitchen, make two dozen cupcakes, make icing, decorate and clean again....i don't have the energy.

This week at work i've been doing the work of two people who are already overloaded. Not to mention i'm helping people who seem to leave their brains at their desk when they come to see me. There is a bright florescent orange arrow on my desk at the entrance that is labeled and points to my inbox. They are still putting things on my chair or on my keyboard...and it's stuff that can wait. When i asked them if they saw the arrow, more than one said "Yes, i saw it, but i didn't understand what it meant". Tell me...does this look like they need the Rosetta Stone?

Yes, this is true. And no, i don't understand it either. Someone reminded me..."no matter how idiot proof you make it, somewhere there's always a better idiot."

The plans for the weekend involve being out in the sun at all times. FINALLY, we're getting a sunny weekend in the Pacific Northwest! Hallelujah! I'm going biking with or without Boyfriend Jon. If there's sun i intend to be out in it.

When Facebook was for college students

2011-04-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

When Facebook was for college students:

Friending wasn't a guilt trip.

Yes, obscure relative, we are related by blood, but that doesn't mean i want to know what you did in FARM-VILLE every day (even if it's not the AP that's loading the status). Nor do i want you to hear about the dirty joke that was between my friends that you're going to write me an email about how crude you find it.
Your parent's had no idea what it was and were content to leave you alone about it. Now they want to be your friend and if you don't accept, it's grounds for them being mad at you. No mom, just because i write that i'm out with friends doesn't mean i'm an alcoholic.

No friend requests from 10 year olds

You are not 19. No way no how. I went to your birthday party and it was a Zero, not a Nine next to that one. Also, you're in elementary school. I don't care when the next Justin Beiber concert is. STOP POKING ME! No, i will NOT friend you. Because i don't want you subjected to the topics you're too young for, and i don't want to have to censor myself on the off chance that you might see it.

Lots of games that were visible, distracting, and fun for hours on end.

Now they're hard to navigate to so it's not as enticing to play.

It wasn't blocked by company filters

Facebook whenever you want!

People you want to talk with.

The only people on there were other college students. Talking about things college students find interesting or humorous. People who respond to a political joke with an appropriate Lol, instead of taking it personally and then berating you about your all of your political views are wrong. Yes, i'm thinking of you Uncle R!

You are not reported by your friends to your parents for using the F word.

Yes, this happened to me. And led to a several month long grudge from my parents because I embarrassed them.

I know it won't happen, but i wish Facebook would go back to the way it was(especially because i already graduated). I guess it's time to beef up my privacy settings again.

Resurrected from Geek Heaven

2011-04-22T09:12:00.001-07:00

I stopped by my parents place yesterday because dad had told me to come by so we could finish up my coffee table which is in the home stretch, building it wise. What i didn't know when i arrived was that he had wrenched his back not an hour before and he was not inclined to be on his feet anymore down in the cold shop.

My mother was busy fussing about him and trying to put away the remaining Christmas decorations (yes, they were still out a few days before easter). I told dad to take a load off, and then opened up the access to the attic where the Christmas stuff goes. Dad, incorrigible as ever, refused to let us women get the boxes upstairs by ourselves so he started handing things up to me as i was hunched over in the short attic.

Mom however, suddenly remembered that she had forgotten something and took several minutes to pack it away. Dad left the bottom of the ladder to help her and told me to stay up there for when they were ready. So i sat down and started looking around. There were a few boxes that were open up in the attic, so i got nosy.

I found the silver dishes my grandmother gave me, and a stack of piano music that must have been over a foot high. I also found Grandma Anne's cane and the electric race car tracks. My two brothers didn't really seal up the boxes that contains their treasures, so those were among the boxes i looked in. I let out a gasp when i saw this tangled up with Nerf guns and GI Joe's:

Enterprise D from TNG

In case you missed the signs before: I AM A TOTAL GEEK!!!! I got nuts for Star Wars and Star Trek things and i was always more obsessed with Star Trek than any of my siblings.

I couldn't let this sit up in the attic! I just couldn't! I didn't care if it was my brother's or not. I carefully detangled it and set it aside. In another box: I found this and was so relieved because mom said she had gotten rid of it:

SOOOOOOO Not for sale.

From the original 1970's era Millennium Falcon cutaway model. I don't have exact dates, but i wouldn't even consider selling either. My oldest brother put this together and had it sitting in his closet for years before mom finally cleaned out his room after he left the nest. And it's just been sitting in the attic ever since.

No one was around but when i got a glimpse of the cockpit and the recognition finally hit my brain, i'm certain that i made some kind of bug-eyed, unintelligible noise of OMG!!!!!

So far, i have not been able to locate all of the pieces, but dad assures me that he has seen the cut-away cover, and the figurines recently, and that he would never let mom throw them out. After Easter, I'll be going back up into the attic with a better light to locate as many of the remaining pieces that i can find.

I took what i had home and gently cleaned them up with some warm water, and now they're back to a more appropriate luster. The plastic has tinged yellow with age, but I'm still so excited to have it. If you ask me, it looks even more authentic since the Falcon was "a hunka junk!" according to Luke.

Bonus: 1970's Storm Trooper PEZ dispenser...which you can kinda see in the smuggler's hold.

At least the dryer isn't eating socks anymore

2011-04-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

It's this one but in silver

I'm going to gush a little bit:

For our one year anniversary Boyfriend Jon did GOOD. Aside from being perfectly charming, romantic, and sweet, he bought me the most beautiful necklace I've ever owned. It is only rivaled by the black hills gold my father got me when i was ten.

This necklace is beautiful and just my taste. I love wearing it, and only rarely take it off. We even got a special chain for it so it would hang in the perfect spot on my chest.

I can't say it enough...I LOVE THIS NECKLACE! So when it went missing a couple days ago, i was really upset! I though i searched everywhere at my apartment thinking it was the last place i had seen it. I had just about convinced myself that i had left it at Boyfriend Jon's place (which has happened in the past) when i heard a soft clunk as i was pulling laundry out of the washer.

It was one of the pair or earrings i had been wearing when i had lost the necklace. With dread slowly rising in my stomach, i pulled out every single piece and shook it vigorously. I found the matching earring...and two dollar bills (honestly, i thought i checked all the pockets!)...but there was no sign of the necklace. As i scooped out the last of the socks on the bottom...i heard the sound of metal on metal. I dove into the half size washer, somehow cramming myself in until i could reach the bottom in the back and felt around.

There was something small there, and after several minutes of trying to get the tips of my fingers on it, i pulled the pendant back out. But there was no chain. I set the pendant aside after kissing it for happiness, and felt around again. I quickly fond something that felt like a chain, but when i pulled it up, the chain was only two inches long anymore. Feeling around some more only yielded a few more chain links. I'm not too upset: I have the pendant, and chains are cheap.

I guess my washer has developed more expensive tastes than socks. I'll have to be more thorough in my pocket searches.

Frolicking and Fake Flowers

2011-04-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

I know that if i really wanted sunshine, i could move a few states south. But i'm a Pacific Northwest girl through and through. Right now, however, i miss sunshine more than ever. My brain tells me "It's spring! Go out frolic in the sunshine!" Except this is a record sunshine-less year. As of today, we tie the latest day of the year that we haven't reached 60 by. And the forecast is projecting more 40's and 50's degree weather for the next week at least. There's even snow again today...in April.

I'm should be watching crocuses pop up and opening up my apartment for some serious sunshine therapy and a stiff breeze to carry out the dank of winter. There is so little light that enters my apartment. I barely managed to salvage some of the Wandering Jew plant. It was so desperate for light that I ended up putting it between the vertical blinds for my sliding glass door...and the door itself. This way, it can glean what sunlight is available throughout the day without jeopardizing my security.

I've never lived without plants before. I stole a section of our back yard as a kid to build my own garden. My first roommate Katherine had COVERED the entire deck with pots, most of which had dead plants in them (to the point of not being able to walk anywhere on the deck without moving pots). I took the time she wouldn't and cleaned away the dead sections, and even planted a few bulbs with her permission. With roommate Kelsie, we had a few plants also; leafy green ferns. I never realized how cold a room looks without some plants about. It's not a feng shui thing...just missing some signs of spring i guess.

Never the less, i resorted to fake flowers. With a pair of wire snippers in hand, i corralled some fake dogwood some kind of long green branch and apple blossoms paired up with fake potted grass-like plants. I've begun strewing them around my apartment and so far, the effect on my mood is noticeable.

w00t! Friday

2011-04-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the beginning of a jam packed weekend. Thank god my work schedule lets me off at noon today. I don't think i could get it all done in just two days. I need that extra half day.

First plan of order is to get a handle on my extremely cluttered apartment. It's gone to seed for about a month. So, the minute i get home, i'm going to attack. probably starting in the bathroom cause it's been left the longest.

After that, i'll move onto the living room and clean up the Ukrainian easter egg supplies. Two years ago, I apparently decided it would be fun to slice into my hand with a serrated bread knife. Turns out, that was not very fun, and it has lasting effects. Half of my thumb is still numb and it starts to hurt when gripping things like a stylus even after just a few seconds. So trying to do Ukrainian easter eggs has been harder this year than i ever remember. Where i usually whip out 20, I've only completed one. So i think it will be a good idea to at least clean up the supplies even if I don't put them into storage. It would be nice to have my coffee table back.

The other plan for today is to switch out summer and winter clothes. I have two of those big blue rubber maid bins that are sitting mostly empty taking up space in my storage locker. If i stuff the clothes in big plastic garbage bags first, that ought to protect them from the environment over the summer.

Beyond that, it will be whatever i can get done before meeting up with Lindsey. She has need of some of my tools and assistance using them. Her cat Ray is getting a cat tree....that's 9 feet tall. And her ceilings are only 8 feet. So we're going to cut it down with my hack saw.

When i was helping Lindsey paint her apartment two weeks ago...i went to refill the tray from the 5 gallon tub she decided to buy even though she had trouble lifting it. I had just gotten the lid off when all of a sudden, something brushed up against my leg. I let out a yelp and spun to see this pretty orange cat looking as surprised as i was. The cat had no collar and had several mats in its fur before Lindsey went all Sweeney Todd on the poor cat. But it didn't look like it's a stray. Given it's sweet demeanor and orange color, I named it Pumpkin. Lindsey lets Pumpkin into her apartment occasionally, and so far poor Ray is so confused but at least they're not aggressive with each other. Pumpkin goes crazy on Ray's catnip scratcher as Ray looks on woefully as if saying "But but but....that's mine!"

Also on the docket for this weekend is a Filk concert. Filk is a combination of Folkmusic, Fantasy themes, and Celtic style music. The group we're going to see is Vixy and Tony and they've got some amazing songs including....the theme song from Firefly! So excited!

Oh yeah, and at some point i'll get more work done on my tables.

Damn you Fox!

2011-04-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

When i start watching a show on Netflix instant, the only thing i really look at is the rating and the description. I don't look to see how long it runs or how many episodes it has...i just watch it.

I was extremely frustrated when Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ended on a cliff hanger. Eager for more, I went and looked up when the next season would be out. Except i couldn't find it anywhere. I started Google-ing and lo and behold FOX has struck down yet another awesome sci-fi series.

Between Firefly, Dark Angel and now T:SCC......I have solidified an extreme hatred of FOX.

That and at this point, i think that any sci-fi writer or producer should avoid FOX like the fricken plague.

It's too bad; i was really enjoying the show. Once i got over the "Summer Glau, while an awesome actress, can't weigh more than 100 pounds!" and there she was, taking on guys that were three times her size and kicking ass. I forced myself to just go with it and began to get into the story arcs. I wondered what her place was in the future with John Connor, if Sarah would survive, if they could stop Judgement day or if it was inevitable...and they could only delay it. It was an intriguing plot.

But there's no more of it. Damn.

I did like the made up story ending that one of the threads featured and i'll just make do with this so i can have some closure:

John connects with Alison and his Uncle BAG in the future. They find Danny Dyson, being held captive by Skynet to help Skynet build and maintain their computers and equipment. Dyson gives our team the answers they need to destroy Skynet in the past.

With the help of Dyson, John, Alison, BAG and Cameron/John Henry access the Skynet time machine, but at the cost of Dyson's life (mirrors his dad's demise).
Once back in 2007, they reconnect with Sarah, 'Catherine Weaver', and Agent Ellis. Together, they destroy whatever the McGuffin that is Skynet is, but both BAG and Cameron/John Henry die in the process.
John has a touching moment with Cameron/John Henry before it's destroyed. Judgment Day (and the god-awful Terminator 4 movie) are averted. 'Catherine Weaver' turns to liquid metal, and slinks away to the bottom of the ocean, to await a time in the future when humans are ready to use technology like her without destrying ourselves.
Ellis provides new identities for John, Alison and Sarah to live out peaceful lives.
In a voice over epilogue, John remarks about how he and Allison are married with a son, and how his mother died of cancer several years after 2007, but that she lived long enough to see a future without Judgment Day come to pass.

Anyway, i couldn't fall asleep last night and the subject of time travel began to bother me. I began to wonder which direction i would choose to go; forward or backward.

If you had a time machine, would you first jump forward or backward?

Personally, I think i would rather go forward. Mostly so that i didn't inadvertently cut myself out of existence. And naturally that brought on the theories about alternate realities, and if i wrote myself out of existence, would i be there in the first place to go back.....

Perhaps you can see why i only got about three hours of sleep last night and eventually did dream about Doc from Back to the Future....cause if he says it, it must be real, right?!

Now i'm running solely on coffee.

Warm season hair removal - Results Take 2

2011-04-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

There were enough results last time I tried Sugar Waxing for me to decide to try again. I was certain that the problems i ran into were due to the mixture not being reduced enough. Here are my second set of results.

This time, i cooked the mixture until it was the color of molasses and let it cool in wide shallow bowls. Even at room temperature, i had difficulty separating a gumball size amount. But warming it in the microwave for 10 seconds helped. I tried using gloves but they just got torn up so i wouldn't bother with those again.

But the Sugaring Paste....WORKED! i was so surprised. The only way this could be better would be if i could bend like a cat or if it didn't hurt. The most painful area ended up being my ankles and i had difficulty doing the back of my legs, but it was still about 90% effective. The pain was very bearable. Less painful than snapping yourself with a rubber band (average strength). I personally feel the pain level was worth the results.

I used about 1/3rd of the mixture, and took off the hair from the tops of my knees to my ankles. I can tell there are some areas where the hair seems to have broken off and not pulled out but those are relatively minimal and it's probably areas where i had trouble getting a good flick angle.

The biggest difference between this and shaving is that it took me almost two hours to do my lower legs. I imagine that this will get easier and faster over time, but still, it was time consuming. However, five days later, when i would normally have to shave again, i'm still shorts or skirt ready.

I was so thrilled with the results, that i decided i would give my armpits a go also. For any guys reading this: I know it's not sexy to admit that women have armpit hair, but we do and I hate it! If it were cheap to get the hair follicles zapped to never grow back, it'd probably be the first patch of hair to go.

I originally thought the ankles were the worst. Nope, the pits are. This is an area where i doubted if the pain would be worth the results. Yes, there is a past tense on that doubt. In all the years I've been shaving...i have never had pits this smooth. You know those commercials where they say "Raise your hand if you're Sure" I'm that confident. Even five days later...i still have perfect armpits.

Overall, it's a viable means of being summer wear ready. I haven't decided if i'm going to give up my razor for good, but i will be doing so for summer at least.

I also think this is more of a two person operation because pulling it off yourself is tricky and takes some nerve. Also, some areas....well, most ladies haven't mastered contortionist moves. Having a friend to help would have been nice.

Moving Karma

2011-04-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

It is the plight of most 20 somethings to be moving around a lot. Through dorms to crummy, falling apart apartments, to slightly up the scale only to fall back when prices rise again. The only thing to do is call in the calvary, also known as friends and family and anyone else you can somehow rope in.

The last time i moved, i even ended up bribing my friend's younger brother to help since several of my friends were unavailable (two of them, i think, were out of town on business). Granted, i was moving from one room (plus a dining room table and a couch) to my own apartment. So i really, didn't have a lot of large stuff. Since then, I've been building furniture, and filling up my apartment with stuff that makes me feel at home. I'm glad I started building up my moving karma.

It wasn't until i helped my friend Lindsey move this weekend that i realized how much more difficult it will be when i decide to move again. She's incredibly frugal but she still had three truck loads to go...and that was AFTER she had been taking boxes over in her little economy car for over a week! Most of my Saturday was spent going up and down stairs lifting boxes, hauling mattresses, and playing the puzzle game of how to get the most stuff in the van when nothing nested together.

Lindsey is a great friend, probably my best gal pal. Drama slides off of her like water on a duck's back and i love that about her. That and for a change, she has her own money and need me to spot her on...well, just about everything. If she says she'll pay me back, she does. She's also smart, hard working, reliable, and matter of fact. I can always rely on her for anything from second opinions on outfits and decor to needing someone to just hang with.

However, laughter is never in short supply when she gets around tools. It took me a while to get used to her lack of training even in things that i consider basic. But she's willing to learn and try things for herself which puts her leaps ahead of the masses. Every now and then, i get a call: "If you come over, i'll make dinner" which is Lindsey-speak for "I broke/need to fix something and my dad's not available". Together, we've put together furniture, installed mirrors, hung pictures, and even made lollipops.

In the process of tearing down her bed, she started talking about wanting a new one, that her current one didn't go with any of the new furniture i helped her put together. Since I've been thinking about upgrading to a queen size bed since December, I started talking turkey. It's an Ikea bed so it's short, but it's made from solid wood which means it's customizable. With a few modifications, it could be perfect for my needs. Raise the legs up with wood, not plastic bed risers, and add a pannel to the back of the headboard so pillows don't fall through...and it's perfect! She was happy to have me take it off her hands when she gets her new one in. All i have to do is help her find a cheap or free box spring and everyone will be happy.

Also, i finally managed to catch my dad at a moment when he was clear, energized and most importantly.... available. Together, armed with the right tools, we whipped out the remaining table legs in about an hour and a half. Perhaps i forgot to mention the best part about the table design: The legs are all removable. They will be able to break down into smaller pieces to make more room if I need it in my tiny apartment.
Onto building the table.

A year without Cable

2011-04-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

A year ago today, I walked into the local Comcast store to set up my account for my new apartment. After living with roommates for two years, i was going to be paying for all the utility bills by myself for a change. I was doing some math trying to figure out how on earth i could afford to keep paying over $100 for internet, cable and a phone i never used. Since both of my roommates were TV hogs, i never spent much time watching TV anyway. There were only a couple shows that i enjoyed watching and everything else was put on for background noise.

So, when i got to the front counter, i made what seemed like a really bold decision at the time. "Just Internet please. Your most basic package. No, i don't want to spend more to save money by coupling phone and cable. yes i understand that means i won't even be able to get 1-13 anymore." I had signed up for Netflix a few months before and Boyfriend Jon showed me how i could view the streaming through my Xbox.

Here's the math a year later.

Old Comcast bill: $120 Over the course of a year: $1,440
Current Comcast bill: $ 35    Over the course of a year: $ 420
Plus Netflix: $ 10    Over the course of a year: $ 120
   Difference: $ 900

NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS! I couldn't believe it when i looked over my finances last night. I knew i was saving money, but it's a different matter when you actually see that large of a number. I couldn't believe what i was paying to keep my roommates happy. And to pay for a phone that was LITERALLY never used.

As for missing prime time television...most days i honestly don't even notice it's gone. Occasionally someone will ask me "Did you see what happened on American Idol last night??" When i tell them i don't have cable, most people are amazed that I'd done away. To put this in a weird perspective: One of the group that gossips non stop about American Idol went Vegan around the same time. No animal products at all. The group was more amazed that i was without cable than they were about her going without meat. I've even been called "Brave" more than once. But i honestly don't feel like i'm missing anything.

Netflix has plenty of streaming TV shows without commercials to keep me busy. I've already gotten through all seasons of Star Trek Voyager, That 70's show, Xena, Firefly, Cake Boss, Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, and now i'm starting in on the Sarah Connor Chronicles and America's Funniest Animals. They run in the background while I work on projects, or avoid folding clothes.

As for the shows i'm missing out on: I already own the three seasons of Big Bang Theory and they didn't dissapoint. I eagerly await season four. Two and a half men has lost it's appeal thanks to Sheen's arrogance, not to mention I preferred Jon Cryer anyway. And everything else...eh. I really haven't missed anything else, except maybe a couple of cooking shows for some inspiration. Oh, and COPS so that i can give out my own set of Darwin awards for idiocy.

It's amazing what we think we need, but can live without quite comfortably.

Other news from today

2011-04-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is definitely one of the worse Mondays in a while.

I woke up this morning after slapping my alarm more than usual. I immediately noticed a "roaring" in my ears as i rose from bed and lack of noise on my right side. When yawned, i was greeted with a sharp stab of pain through both ears. I tried taking a hot shower and putting some hydrogen peroxide in my ear but nothing seems to be working. I made it into work but i'm quickly fading. And i bet my co-workers are getting tired of me asking them to speak up.

I really hope i don't have an ear infection coming on. No fever yet at least.

Catching up with a memory

2011-04-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

I remember my grandmother's summer visits vividly. She and my great aunt would travel from hot and humid New York to warm yet mild in comparison Pacific Northwest. They lived with us, babysat us, and played with us all summer long. There were card and board games, crossword puzzles in the sun, making cookies, walks in the park, and they would sit on lawn chairs and watch us ride our bikes up and down the street cheering us as we went by.

As time went on, my brother and I became the caretakers. Slowly, dementia took hold of the once vibrant and sharp as a tack Grandma Anne (for whom i am named) and she became easily confused. At times her inability to recall things that should be simple, infuriated her so much that she would lash out at us. Thankfully we were young and quick to dodge the cane and forgive the outbursts. She never stopped loving us, of that we were sure. But every subsequent year, she would arrive....diminished in some way.

After she passed away, my Great Aunt Clair (with whom i share many characteristics) continued her visits for several years until we began to see the glimmers of dementia again. Soon after, it took a strong hold and she stopped visiting in summer. There were no more marathons of Uno games (where she would cheat, even against us kids) or sitting on the piano playing one hand correctly and flapping the other against the keys just make noise while she and i sang at the top of our lungs in sheer glee. No more phrases in other languages that were dubious in origin, no more random jigs of happiness, and no more tea and cookies while we watched Perry Mason. She also died about seven years ago.

Since then I've tried to shove the trepidation to the back of my mind as my father has gotten older. I've always worried that he might follow in their footsteps. But if i didn't think about it, it wouldn't happen right?

Rationally, I know my parents aren't immortal. But to the eyes of Daddy's Little Helper, Dad is mightier than any superhero, impervious to any ailment and stronger than any machine.

So when it takes him twenty minutes to solve a problem even I can do in mere seconds thanks to what he, himself, taught me....that trepidation creeps back to the forefront of my mind. Will he diminish the way the Grandma and Aunt Claire did? Will i have to face that again? Am I ready to do things without his wisdom and insight.

The answer to the last question was a painful "Yes". My father was becoming frustrated by a problem with my end tables. It vexed him so much that he told me he needed a break and went upstairs. I had already been on hold with the tables for a month and was far from tired with the project for that day. I already knew the answer, almost instinctively. The years of working by his side on various projects made the solution light up in my mind light a spotlight. I knew what to do and how to do it. But I was scared to do it without him.

I left and proceeded to wrestle with myself for a couple days. The rational side of me demanded that i not delay on the end tables any more. The emotional side of me felt like just sitting down for a good cry. Finally, i mentally gave myself a good shake and went back when dad wasn't there. My mom offered to help if i needed it but i was determined to stand on my own two feet.

In the next hour, i churned out the remaining cuts needed to complete the legs of the tables. This included complicated angles, setting up angle jigs, and drilling holes. This was the part that i had convinced myself that i would need my father's help for. I thought maybe, if i did it alone, i could banish this feeling of inadequacy at filling his role. When it was done, i had hoped i would feel better, but i didn't. I missed having him there to make doubly sure i didn't make a mistake. In the end, i didn't but i kept thinking i had done something wrong. I didn't feel the "right-ness" that usually accompanied my furniture building. When I told dad the next day where the tables were at now...he was genuinely surprised. He kept saying "That's great!" but it still didn't make me feel better.

Even after the weekend, I'm not sure how i feel.

A square table has 4 legs

2011-03-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love the smell of sawdust. I can smell it from far away and am drawn to it. I feel a sense of wonder and excitement when it hits me. I'm magically transported back to standing on the other side of the table saw ready to grab the ends as my dad pushed them through while sawdust fills my nose.

Woodworking is a skill all of my siblings and myself have. My sister has the patience to carefully remove and sand every inch of a piece to refinish it. My oldest brother has the perfectionist who will make sure everything is square and fits perfectly before saying it's done. My other brother knows how to make the sturdy structures. And I am the designer. I see a problem and figure out what would be perfect to fix or help it. That and my pieces look delicate and beautiful.

My end tables are no exception. They will fit custom measurements, the drawers already have a purpose, and the legs will detach so that when i move in the future, it will make life easier.

Except for the fact that i can't seem to get my hands on the brackets for detachable legs! I found them. In two local stores none the less. However, both stores have quantities that don't work for me.

Store #1 has them sold individually. They have a total of three brackets. And since these brackets are designed for 90 degree corners.....what would be the point of having three brackets when square/rectangular tables have four legs!?

Store # 2 thankfully made a bit more sense. They had them packaged in groups of four. But they only had one in stock and no plans to order more in the near future. Is it a sin to build matching tables?

Finally I've located them, they have the right quantity and they'll hold them until i get there.

45 minutes away....and it's rush hour. And they close at 6........crud.

Warm season hair removal - Results Take 1

2011-03-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I promised that i would try out a form of hair removal called Body Sugaring and test it out then report the results back for you. I did this test on my leg only. I have no data for underarm, lip, chin, arm or bikini areas.

Here's my results:

Not impressed

Ease of making at home batch:

Recipe said about a half hour, It took me over 45 mins.
Mixture became the consistency of thick honey when cooled to room temperature (this, i found out later was not thick enough)
It became the "right" consistency when put in the fridge for an hour.
Most likely, the problems with this area were due to errors in the cooking time because of ME, not because this technique is flawed.

Ease of application/removal technique:

Mixed feelings

Corn starch was helpful
Initially, it just smeared and didn't remove anything
After cooled, it did apply properly but warmed up in my hand absurdly quickly. I got a couple "good" flicks before it was useless

Running my leg under cold water and using gloves did not increase pliability time and it became a sticky gooey mess after just a couple minutes
Trim nails down before, I bent a couple backwards trying to get the stuff out of the bowl. Ow!

Flicking worked, sort of. It's a technique that definitely needs practice.
I was only able to do a part of my right leg, not the whole leg before I gave up. This became horribly time consuming.

Pain level equivalence:

It's Pretty Good

Inner and outer calf - like pulling off a strong band-aid
Shin and ankle area - like pulling off duct tape (i know cause i tried it to get a pain control point)
I said "Ahhh!" and "Ooooh!" rather than "OMG OW OW OW"s
It's not unbearable, but i'm not sure i would want to do this as a regular thing.

It's Pretty Good

Percentage of hair removed in area where applied:

First time:

Approximatively 85%

Second time

Approximatively 95%

"Wrap Around" method for (single or stubborn hairs):

Verdict: Effective 95% of time

Awesome!

Residual Cleanup/ After Care:

I loved that it was able to be cleaned up with a shower
I put Aloe Vera on my leg afterward as recommended.
The rest of the afternoon, my leg felt warm like i had a mild sunburn on it. The next day, i didn't feel any discomfort.
No irritated hair follicles, no bloody follicles, no scabs on the skin, no tenderness, no red bumps.
One amusing effect: my leg became SHINY. I was able to see the light from the TV reflecting off my shin and i could tell where i had sugared and where i hadn't.

OVERALL:

Would I recommend Body Sugaring?

Yes, I would. However:

Probably not as an at home method initially. I am planning on visiting a salon that specializes in this technique in May to see how they do it, and how they cope with some of the problems i ran into.
I will also re-try to make a DIY batch and cook it more and see if that makes a difference. But that's gonna have to wait for a couple weeks, cause i couldn't stand my legs being that hairy anymore and shaved the un-sugared areas.

Will I be giving up my razor?

Unless i can get the DIY method to work as it shows in the videos, i will NOT be giving up my razor for general maintenance.
But i'm not giving up on this technique. I was impressed at the amount of hairs that disappeared (when the mixture was working as it should have) and i liked the after results. Also, the pain was not unbearable.
I'll keep you informed of how well it grows back in and how soon.
This is a very viable option for short term upkeep.

like just for summer when leg showing off is at its peak
or vacations to warm places so i don't have to carry a razor or other maintenance items.

All in all, this was an interesting experiment. The ladies at work are all abuzz about this new method and several of them are going to try it in a spa and see if that works better. Also, i'd like to see if underarms works well too.

Honorable mention goes to Boyfriend Jon for his willingness to hold my hand for the first rip, withhold his laughter to a reasonable level, and run back and forth between me and the kitchen to get me things because my hands were sticky.

He also approves the results, but he thinks this is just a little too crazy for him to use personally.

Warm season hair removal - Preview

2011-03-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here's another once upon a time story. But it's not for the faint of heart.

Once upon a time, when i was somewhere near sixteen years old, i got the idea in my head to try waxing my legs.

Most likely this idea came from some of the more girly-girls in my choir class claiming it didn't really hurt. I figured that i had a pretty high pain threshold and could tolerate it. I was totally taken in by the fact that it lasted for at least a month since i was shaving my legs twice a week. It seemed like a perfect solution to me.

I knew my dad would be very unsympathetic to my desire to show my legs off, since he was completely entrenched in the "lock her in a tower and cut off her hair" stage of fatherhood. So, i went to my mother and begged her to let me try it. I detailed out how some of the girls i knew said it didn't really hurt and they'd been doing it for years! When she stopped laughing and realized i was completely serious she said "Ok, i'll do it with you, I've never tried it before."

So for a while, we didn't shave our legs to get the hairs long enough. We then purchased an at home hair removal kit and went downstairs into the big guest bathroom. Bravely, I opted to go first and my mother carefully smeared on the green wax. She firmly pressed the sheet on and then looked me square in the eye. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yup." I replied nonchalantly.

I was utterly unprepared for the searing pain that shot through my leg, up my hip, through my stomach, and straight to my head. I'm still surprised that i didn't pass out, but i did fall off the counter and proceeded to dance around the bathroom going "OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL, OW OW OW, HOLLY COW, WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS UP, THEY NEED TO DIE!"

I wouldn't look at my leg, convinced that i would see muscle and blood, not skin when i looked down. This went on for a few minutes while my mother was caught halfway between laughing hysterically and reprimanding me for cussing.

Finally, my brain decided blocking the pain would be a good solution and was able to check the results. About 90% of the hairs were indeed gone and several of the hair folicles were bleeding mildly. I'm not sure exactly what prompted me to do this, but i allowed my mother to do another strip. Perhaps for some bizarre reason, i thought the first one would be the worst. And as she ripped the sheet off on 2 instead of on 3, i began to dance and jump around again.

After that, i was D.O.N.E. My mother laughed at me and then told me something to the effect of: "I gave birth to four babies. This can't be that bad. I'll do it!" I knew before this that everyone in my family was a little bit crazy, but this solidified my mother at the top. So i returned the favor.

She didn't cuss nearly as much, but she did do the dancing "Owwowowowow!" routine. And she lasted through about four strips before she said "You were right, the person who invented this is nuts. I'm done."

That was the end of the attempts to find a better solution to shaving our legs for spring and summer.

UNTIL NOW!

Perhaps i didn't fully learn my lesson, or i'm just a sucker for punishment, or perhaps like millions of other women, i absolutely HATE shaving my legs. Whatever the reason, i'm going to try something new. This one at least, i have very little to loose.

In the process of planning a trip with Lindsey, somehow we got on the topic of spas. This led to the conversation about bikini waxes and the "I'll do it if you do it" routine. Somewhere in my research, i came across another form of hair removal called "Body Sugaring".

Here's the schpeel: It's an 'ancient' form of hair removal originating in Egypt. It's made from plain sugar, lemon juice, and water boiled down into a thick taffy like substance. It's then smeared on and jerked off your skin to remove hair.

Pros:

More like ripping off a bandage than a chunk of your skin
Can be made at home for pennies
hypoallergenic because it's all natural ingredients

it also is edible and reusable for multiple areas

lasts as long as a wax job - 4-6 weeks
I have a couple testimonials from REAL people that i know saying that it's wonderful.

Cons:

it still hurts
i question it's effectiveness at removing all the hair
can be a difficult technique to master
sticky residue

So today after work, this will be my project. I will blog as to it's effectiveness soon.

Renewal

2011-03-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

I got a callback from a different leasing manager on Monday and they confirmed $75 raise was the lowest they could go. Sigh.

Kind of handy i found out what my annual raise will be, isn't it?

I CAN STAY! I CAN STAY! I CAN STAY!

I'm not moving! For absolutely sure! For the first time since I moved out, this is 100% my choice. I don't have to pack everything up and move it because my roommate made other plans. I don't have to tiptoe around a snarky person who is fed up with me for reasons i can't understand. I don't have to keep an eye on my stuff and i don't have to patch up holes or paint over scrapes in the wall that were not of my making.

This will also be the first time I've stayed in one place for more than a year since moving out of my parent's house. I can already feel the tension that has been building in my shoulders starting to drain. I didn't end up getting a better rate, but i feel better for trying since i didn't have anything to lose. And, with my renewal, i get a free accent wall painted by the company as way of thanking me for staying on. Which now that i think about it, kind of sucks for the maintenance crew.

Now it is definitely a good time to start doing some easter eggs.....and bothering my dad to bring back the nail guns so i can get back to work on my end tables which have been sitting for almost a month. Gotta add that to my to-do list.

I stole some mason jars from my parent's place and made up the dyes for the eggs.

This is the last step i needed to get started, everything else, is just letting the Kistka decide what my pattern will be. I always start out with these designs, and then something will happen: A drop of wax will fall on the wrong place on the egg. Or the Kistka will build up too much beeswax on the outside and it will smear when i touch it to the egg. All sorts of things have gone wrong in the past. Secretly, its one of my favorite things when something goes wrong with the design, and i have to go with it and come out with something entirely different. This is ideal when it happens near the beginning. However a few eggs have been trashed by such an accident near the end.

I have a design in my head that has been bouncing around and changing as i try to find better ways to do it and new methods that might work.

If Boyfriend Jon works late tonight, I might just get started with a couple eggs.

It's Ukrainian Easter Egg Time!

2011-03-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

I may have forgotten to mention that I'm at least 1/4 Ukrainian. And one of the ways we've been keeping some traditions alive is by making Ukrainian Easter Eggs or "Pysanky" (PUH san keh).

These beautiful, detailed, and vibrant eggs are one of the few traditions that i look forward to every single year. Not because i believe that they have one lick to do with Easter, but because they are a very fun tedious craft project and have been a bonding time for me and my mother.

Click here for some fun history about Pysanky.

As with many non-Christian cultures, the eggs were originally a part of a spring festival and meant to symbolize new life (much more appropriate than the Easter bunny IMO). They are packed full with symbolism, meanings, and patterns and typically given as gifts. Later, it joined with the Christian holiday of Easter and thus became more commonly known as the Ukrainian Easter Egg. That's the short version.

In my family, this skill was ironically passed down to me from my mother (who is not the source of my Ukrainian heritage). But she is the artsy one in my family besides me and she loves cultural history. It became a week long ordeal with me sitting there obsessing over a design for hours, as she worked on her own.

These eggs cannot be re-created with those egg dying kits you get at the grocery store. In those, you draw on them with the wax crayon in order to prevent the dye from sticking to certain parts. Also the dye tablets are by FAR too weak for these designs.

Pysanky is similar in this concept but much more complicated.
With a Kistka (stylis) you melt beeswax and then draw part of your design on the egg. Anywhere that the wax covers will be white when you're done. You then dip the egg in the first dye, which is usually yellow. Once the dye is set, you take it out and draw in other areas with the Kistka. When done, these parts will be yellow. You continue this process, gradually filling in the egg with beeswax and using darker and darker dyes until the final color: Black.

At this point, you use a strong pin to break in a small hole at the top and the bottom of the egg and blow the yoke out of the egg so it becomes hollow. This is somewhat gross, but the results are worth the effort and tired cheeks.

It's also interesting to see how the design turns out since you're working your color scheme backwards. Because the beeswax comes out of the Kistka black it takes a little adjusting in your brain to remember that that part will be white (or another color) in the end. It's also very difficult drawing on a non flat surface.

I gotta go through the dye packets we have and then make a trip to the store to buy whatever we don't have, but probably starting this weekend, i'll begin the process for this year.

Weekend Rewind

2011-03-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend was jam packed with all sorts of fun activities. And it doesn't look like i'm going to be slowing down any time soon.

The weekend chaos started on Friday when i finally managed to get my mother to teach me her meatballs recipe. If you thought i was kidding about the "only cooking for a lot of people" in my previous post, here's a prime example. The meatball recipe called for over 6 pounds of meat. i made at least five dozen meatballs out of that. Thankfully they freeze really well, and my sister who's kitchen is still being remodeled, is very thankful for the re-heatable meatballs to have on hand.

STILL! I turned, and cooked meatballs from just before 7pm till practically midnight. That was way way way too much. I will be actively working on cutting down the recipe to a much more manageable portion.

Next time i make them though, I'm going to tweak some of the ingredients and how they're prepared. For instance, i don't like getting a huge chunk of onion when biting into the meatballs. So i'm going to mince them up instead of just dicing. Celery will all be food processed. My sister suggested i mix in sausage meat with the ground meat. And the meat definitely needs more garlic and more spices. They're good, but they're more bland than i would prefer.

This also reminded me that i really need a better way to store my spices. The few that i have are currently sitting on a turn table that they fall off of every time i turn it. So, in other words not ideal.

I'm already short on counter space, so a while ago, i put my microwave up on a riser so when i opened the door to the microwave, it wouldn't knock over any food i had waiting to go in. This worked great except it became a catch all for random things like my bike water bottle and my cake icing technique book.

But, armed with a 20% off coupon i snagged from my parent's place, i went and purchased a spice rack from Bed Bath and Beyond. I then placed new spice rack underneath the my microwave and it FIT....just barely. Check out how awesomely close this fit is!!!

How's that for eyeballing? Note: This rack is designed to stand upright but the hook on the top just looked like a drawer pull to me which gave me the idea. It's also pulled forward to show how small of a gap there is so i'm not loosing any of my food prep area. It pushes back about six inches.

     I'll just be replacing some of the more off-beat ones like Curry and Cumin, and Celery seed (not getting rid of them, just replacing the contents of the jars) for things like Lemon Pepper, Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, and Hungarian Paprika which i use on a much more regular basis.

   Also this weekend was a slew of video game playing, cleaning, helping Lindsey move and playing cat and mouse with the property manager at my complex.

One thing: Am i crazy for expecting a manager to reply to an email within a day or two? Not a WEEK without a word in response to three emails and then i get a call saying "we haven't heard from you...are you staying or moving out?". I wonder if the girl in the office wrote his email down wrong, cause i checked it several times. And then, once i talk to him, and he says "I'll call you back within a couple hours" and not hear from him until I CALL HIM five hours later.

This company's office staff is painfully bad at keeping their promises. After a year, i'm not surprised. But it still grates on my nerves to no end.

Right now, I've turned in my notice to vacate with his promise that he'll see if he can do better than raising my rent 75$. Theoretically, i should be hearing from him before the end of today. *eye roll*

We'll see what happens.