So we had visitors today.
This is what happens when I don't get the memo:
Oh well...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
You can't expect a Drama Major NOT to dress up on Halloween!
I'm working at a company that "Business Casual," especially when we have visitors. Most of the time, I'm in jeans, Scott is in shorts, and Melissa wears PJ's since she's working from home for now...
So we had visitors today.
This is what happens when I don't get the memo:
Oh well...
So we had visitors today.
This is what happens when I don't get the memo:
Oh well...
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Secure in the knowledge of my own geeky-ness, I walked to my car, head held high. Perched atop my head was a pointed black hat, which was threatening to fly off in the breeze.
My shoes were making a terrible racket on the concrete that forms the interior walkway of our apartments, and my husband was asking me questions in a vain attempt to cover the noise.
Two of our neighbors saw us in the parking lot, and we nodded as we walked past.
I could feel their smirks burning into the back of my head.
I reached the relative safety of the car, and hopped into the drivers seat.
Keeping busy is the key to avoiding embarrassment.
The looks followed us as we drove to the bookstore, although the closer we got, the looks became more appreciative.
My sister met us at the doors, and I handed her a plastic wand and her own hat.
She would be a third-year now. A Ravenclaw, most likely.
She took us to the food court and found the table that her friend’s mother was using as a home base. One of our group stayed at the table to watch the paraphernalia as it accumulated while the others were out accumulating.
My sister and I headed off to find the guy that was selling “Butterbeer.” It is something she always wanted to try, so we bought some. It turned out to be butterscotch syrup in Ginger Ale. It was so sweet, we could hardly finish it.
We found the area where a person that was trying to pass himself off as one of the Weasley’s was asking trivia questions. If you got the question right, you won a tiny bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. We quickly determined the flavors were limited to “Grass,” “Dirt,” and “Sardines” and decided to skip the prize.
We had three hours until the book was released, and we were trying to figure out what to do, when the costume contest started.
The girl dressed like Dobby won the kids contest, despite my sister’s costume: “Hogwarts Student of Undetermined Age and House.”
A woman dressed like Trelawney won the adults contest. I didn’t enter partly because I didn’t want to, but also because I didn’t see where the sign up was until it was already underway.
After the contest, a group from the Medeival Village outside of town came and re-enacted some kind of battle using swords and long metal finger extensions. Unfortunately, only the people in the front row could hear any of them, and the rest of us quickly lost interest. We explored other areas of the bookstore.
One of the private rooms near the food court was occupied by a palm reader. My sister and I were both told that we have very long heart and life lines. However, our head lines do not connect to our life lines. The palm reader said this means we are tempermental. Given that we had known the woman socially for ten or more years, I’m almost positive she made that up.
For the last hour, a magician took the stage. He had the good sense to use a microphone so we could all hear him, and he proceeded to dazzle the audience with several illusions. Toward the end, he held up a book - the very book we were waiting for! He cautioned not to skip to the end and demonstrated the dire consequences if his advice went unheeded – snakes on springs jumped out when he opened the back cover. He admonished not to think you got away clean if you survive the snakes. He re-opened the back of the book and a small fireball erupted!
He then led a countdown to the release, and as we stood in line, we all counted down to midnight. “3….2….1….” My husband and I shouted “Happy New Year” trying to be funny, while cheers and shouts erupted throughout the store.
Finally, the wait was over, and the line went very quickly. Soon, we were left with the dilemma of reading it as soon as we got home, or in the morning.
My sister stayed overnight with her friends, who attempted to read the book, but ended up falling asleep.
I decided the best course of action was to get some sleep and have fresh eyes for the book in the morning.
Saturday morning, I got my husband off to work, finished a few chores, and settled down to read. I cried several times, laughed several times. I took a short break to make dinner before my husband came home. Then I laughed and cried some more. When the book was done, I immediately wanted to start it again.
Instead I went to bed and had dreams strong-willed girls, half-giants, redeemed villains, and the boy who lived.
My shoes were making a terrible racket on the concrete that forms the interior walkway of our apartments, and my husband was asking me questions in a vain attempt to cover the noise.
Two of our neighbors saw us in the parking lot, and we nodded as we walked past.
I could feel their smirks burning into the back of my head.
I reached the relative safety of the car, and hopped into the drivers seat.
Keeping busy is the key to avoiding embarrassment.
The looks followed us as we drove to the bookstore, although the closer we got, the looks became more appreciative.
My sister met us at the doors, and I handed her a plastic wand and her own hat.
She would be a third-year now. A Ravenclaw, most likely.
She took us to the food court and found the table that her friend’s mother was using as a home base. One of our group stayed at the table to watch the paraphernalia as it accumulated while the others were out accumulating.
My sister and I headed off to find the guy that was selling “Butterbeer.” It is something she always wanted to try, so we bought some. It turned out to be butterscotch syrup in Ginger Ale. It was so sweet, we could hardly finish it.
We found the area where a person that was trying to pass himself off as one of the Weasley’s was asking trivia questions. If you got the question right, you won a tiny bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. We quickly determined the flavors were limited to “Grass,” “Dirt,” and “Sardines” and decided to skip the prize.
We had three hours until the book was released, and we were trying to figure out what to do, when the costume contest started.
The girl dressed like Dobby won the kids contest, despite my sister’s costume: “Hogwarts Student of Undetermined Age and House.”
A woman dressed like Trelawney won the adults contest. I didn’t enter partly because I didn’t want to, but also because I didn’t see where the sign up was until it was already underway.
After the contest, a group from the Medeival Village outside of town came and re-enacted some kind of battle using swords and long metal finger extensions. Unfortunately, only the people in the front row could hear any of them, and the rest of us quickly lost interest. We explored other areas of the bookstore.
One of the private rooms near the food court was occupied by a palm reader. My sister and I were both told that we have very long heart and life lines. However, our head lines do not connect to our life lines. The palm reader said this means we are tempermental. Given that we had known the woman socially for ten or more years, I’m almost positive she made that up.
For the last hour, a magician took the stage. He had the good sense to use a microphone so we could all hear him, and he proceeded to dazzle the audience with several illusions. Toward the end, he held up a book - the very book we were waiting for! He cautioned not to skip to the end and demonstrated the dire consequences if his advice went unheeded – snakes on springs jumped out when he opened the back cover. He admonished not to think you got away clean if you survive the snakes. He re-opened the back of the book and a small fireball erupted!
He then led a countdown to the release, and as we stood in line, we all counted down to midnight. “3….2….1….” My husband and I shouted “Happy New Year” trying to be funny, while cheers and shouts erupted throughout the store.
Finally, the wait was over, and the line went very quickly. Soon, we were left with the dilemma of reading it as soon as we got home, or in the morning.
My sister stayed overnight with her friends, who attempted to read the book, but ended up falling asleep.
I decided the best course of action was to get some sleep and have fresh eyes for the book in the morning.
Saturday morning, I got my husband off to work, finished a few chores, and settled down to read. I cried several times, laughed several times. I took a short break to make dinner before my husband came home. Then I laughed and cried some more. When the book was done, I immediately wanted to start it again.
Instead I went to bed and had dreams strong-willed girls, half-giants, redeemed villains, and the boy who lived.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Blackadder
I recently had dinner with a few friends, and we talked about the brilliance of Rowan Atkinson.
One of my favorite episodes of Blackadder, was the movie called Blackadder: Back and Forth, where he invents an time machine.
He makes fun of the French in this clip, and I laugh every time I see it.
More blogging to come, I promise. I've been doing some reading and writing. I'll start blogging again in a few days.
One of my favorite episodes of Blackadder, was the movie called Blackadder: Back and Forth, where he invents an time machine.
He makes fun of the French in this clip, and I laugh every time I see it.
More blogging to come, I promise. I've been doing some reading and writing. I'll start blogging again in a few days.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Harry Potter, Dave Barry and Teaching a 7th Grader about Kingdom Hearts
As many of you know (or have gathered from the short story below), I am a fan of Harry Potter. The cover art for the new book was revealed today.
I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it's kinda obvious...There was always going to be a showdown between Voldemort and Harry...
Two questions immediately came to mind, however; "What is he reaching for?" and "Where is his wand?"
In the meantime, I am waiting for Lady Lupin or Brandon Ford to comment on their editorials at Mugglenet. Lady Lupin writes the Spinner's End; and Brandon writes The Underground Lake.
I am also a huge Peter Pan fan, and have always wanted to do a Peter Pan themed baby's room. We plan to skew it to Tinkerbell if we have a girl, and Peter Pan if we have a boy. But it's impossible to find Disney baby stuff that's not Winnie the Pooh. (I love Tigger and Pooh as much as the next girl my age, but come on!) Well, with the release of the Peter Pan movie on DVD, Disney has started selling baby play yards with a map of Neverland painted on the bottom of it! Could a Neverland themed crib set be far behind? This blogger hopes not!
Anyway, I was roaming through the Children's Books section of Barnes and Noble and discovered that Dave Barry has co-authored two stories about how Peter met Captain Hook; Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Theives. I bought and finished both of them in short order, and tried to discover if there were more on the way. I found the Escape from the Carnivale, which was a fun little read.
In the meantime, I've given up Scott Adams blog for Dave Barry's (mostly due to the Peter Pan books) and have thoroughly enjoyed the posts in the blog, and the comments his other fans make keep me in stitches. His blog mostly consists of news articles of wierd news from around the world. (Is it wrong that this is my only source of news?)
I, only today, discovered that Dave's taking time away from his column to write the next in the Peter Pan series! I feel that Harry Potter-esqe obsession creeping up on me. It's giving me something to look forward to in the fall, besides the release of the next HP movie on DVD...
Speaking of Disney, my little sister is staying with me and my husband while she finishes her 7th grade year. (My parents moved to the other side of the state the week after we moved up from Cali. Thanks guys!) I logged 70 (yes you read it right) hours on Kingdom Hearts a few years ago (before I started dating my husband...or anyone else for that matter), and my little sister wanted to know what it was like. We started it two weeks ago, and are going through it together. We take turns fighting the bad guys, and we switch when we die, or when the dog jumps on the person holding the controller. We're stuck fighting Ursula at the moment, but a few more try's should do it. (She's harder to beat than the guy at the end of the game. Then again, I didn't fight him until I leveled up to 99 and had the Ultima Weapons for all of the characters...)
My husband shakes his head, but I told him that I only have a few more weeks with her, and the rest of my life with him! And it's not like we're going to rush right into KH2 when we're done. Or are we?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Update
Wow! I'm listening to U2's "In A Little While" and he's at that part where he repeats "It's Been Ahwhile" over and over, and I'm thinking, "Irony!"
It HAS been awhile!
Let's catch up!
The vacation was fantastic! We met some great people, and had a fantastic time. I'll have skin cancer for sure from the snorkeling and the resulting sunburn, but it was worth it!. The CrapCam broke on the first day of the vacation, but our friend offered to send some of his pictures.
I took the job I was flown out to Scottsdale to interview for. It's a great company, and I'm glad to be here.
The move went fairly smooth. We punched a hole in one of our IKEA bookcase ends, but it's barely noticeable...thanks to the potted topiary I have sitting in front of it!
Anyway, I've been reading Dave Barry's blog on my lunch breaks. It's an addiction...I find myself thinking about the "Wooden Dialogue Generator" during almost every TV Show I watch now. And WBAGNFARB has become a regular pastime now...I'll post my list sometime.
Now that I'm back in a regular "9-5" situation, I'll be updating my blog a little more regularly...
Glad to be back!
It HAS been awhile!
Let's catch up!
The vacation was fantastic! We met some great people, and had a fantastic time. I'll have skin cancer for sure from the snorkeling and the resulting sunburn, but it was worth it!. The CrapCam broke on the first day of the vacation, but our friend offered to send some of his pictures.
I took the job I was flown out to Scottsdale to interview for. It's a great company, and I'm glad to be here.
The move went fairly smooth. We punched a hole in one of our IKEA bookcase ends, but it's barely noticeable...thanks to the potted topiary I have sitting in front of it!
Anyway, I've been reading Dave Barry's blog on my lunch breaks. It's an addiction...I find myself thinking about the "Wooden Dialogue Generator" during almost every TV Show I watch now. And WBAGNFARB has become a regular pastime now...I'll post my list sometime.
Now that I'm back in a regular "9-5" situation, I'll be updating my blog a little more regularly...
Glad to be back!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
No More Quiet Weekends
The cry of a newborn baby boy filled the birthing room at Evergreen Medical Center at 4:30 pm. Doctor Arleta Lewis handed the baby to a nurse, who very quickly whisked him away to be cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket. Doug’s worried face watched her attend to his son, until I squeezed his hand as another contraction wracked my body. The other one was coming!
We sat in a hot tub, with the jets pointed firmly at my lower back, and waited. One more contraction, and I could feel the baby moving. Three contractions later, our daughter was born.
Dr Lewis pulled the baby from the tub, and the nurse handed our son to Doug. She took our daughter from Dr. Lewis. Arleta delivered the placenta, and declared that I was doing wonderfully. The nurse returned with the baby, and placed her in my arms. Doug and I cried and kissed and said hello to our new little ones.
Eventually, I had to get out of the tub, and it took two nurses to help me out of the tub and into my bed. When I was settled in, Doug handed me my son, grabbed his daughter and scooted next to me on the bed.
Molly Lynn was 5 lbs, 7 oz and 18 inches long. Ryan Douglas was 5 lbs, 9 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. Ten little fingers and toes on each child, and two perfect little noses and four rosy cheeks. Molly had my mouth, and Ryan had his daddy’s eyes.
Doug called everyone we knew and announced the babies weights and measurements like they were Easter hams to our family and friends.
Jack asked why they weren’t named “Arwen” and “Legolas.” Truth is, I suggested “Eowyn” as a middle name, but when Doug didn’t know who she was, I stopped suggesting names from the Lord of the Rings. Molly is a fairly common name, but also was my little homage to Harry Potter.
We spent the rest of the night learning to feed twins, sleeping, and talking to family and friends. Molly and Ryan ate and cried and we tried to figure out what was wrong. When they finally fell asleep, we stared in wonder at the new little miracles that had been bestowed upon us. I fell into an exhausted, but contented sleep that night.
The next day, after a thorough examination from the doctor, Doug and I were escorted to the parking lot with our babies, and we headed home. They were so tiny in their little car seats.
Chris met us at the door. She had been watching Pugsley and Wednesday. Pugsley was now full
grown, but not grown up…he bolted out the door and attempted to climb into the car as we detached the car seats from their frames. I blocked him from jumping up, and he hopped up and down and ran between the front steps and the car in smaller and smaller circles, until he had led us to the front door. We stepped inside, where Chris was barely managing to constrain a wiggling Wednesday. We put the babies on the dining room table, and Chris put the pug down.
I gave Chris a hug and introduced her to her neice and nephew. She said Jack was going to be so jealous that she got to see them first!
The dogs ran and yipped and chased each other through the entry and dining room, until Wednesday stopped short, sniffing. She barked, a short warning bark, to let us know something had changed. Chris jumped. Doug and I laughed. Molly cried. Wednesday and Pugsley tilted their heads.
I picked up Wednesday and scratched her ears. She sniffed the air over the babies. We had been introducing smells of baby lotion and shampoos for several months now, and making sure that Pugsley and Wednesday did not cross into the twin's room. She knew the scent and started backing up. Molly cried again, and Wednesday wiggled her way out of my arms and ran into the kitchen, peeking through the door and barking. Pugsley followed her into the kitchen before we could get our hands on him!
Chris stayed for a couple of days and helped out until we got a good routine going with the babies. Pugsley and Wednesday finally learned to sleep in their crates again. They would bark when the babies cried and more than one early morning was spent trying to calm the twin that had been sleeping until the dog barked at them.
Doug went back to work a few days after the twins were born. He worked half days for awhile, and I was really grateful when he walked in the door! We each were in charge of a kid, and handled the feeding, diapering and napping until bedtime.
The pugs were not so cooperative. Once, Wednesday jumped on the couch and tried to sit between me and the baby when I was changing diapers. The resulting mess was disgusting, and made me very glad that I had tile floors in the living room. We changed the babies in their room from then on.
We also made sure we spent time with the dogs without the babies around.
One night, Doug and I laid in bed with our babies sleeping between us, Wednesday and Pugsley snoring in their crates. He looked me deep in the eyes and said, "I guess this will have to pass for quiet weekends now!"
Ryan inhaled stiffly and we braced ourselves for a scream, but he only sighed and drifted back to sleep. I said, "We'll take as much quiet as we can get!"
We sat in a hot tub, with the jets pointed firmly at my lower back, and waited. One more contraction, and I could feel the baby moving. Three contractions later, our daughter was born.
Dr Lewis pulled the baby from the tub, and the nurse handed our son to Doug. She took our daughter from Dr. Lewis. Arleta delivered the placenta, and declared that I was doing wonderfully. The nurse returned with the baby, and placed her in my arms. Doug and I cried and kissed and said hello to our new little ones.
Eventually, I had to get out of the tub, and it took two nurses to help me out of the tub and into my bed. When I was settled in, Doug handed me my son, grabbed his daughter and scooted next to me on the bed.
Molly Lynn was 5 lbs, 7 oz and 18 inches long. Ryan Douglas was 5 lbs, 9 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. Ten little fingers and toes on each child, and two perfect little noses and four rosy cheeks. Molly had my mouth, and Ryan had his daddy’s eyes.
Doug called everyone we knew and announced the babies weights and measurements like they were Easter hams to our family and friends.
Jack asked why they weren’t named “Arwen” and “Legolas.” Truth is, I suggested “Eowyn” as a middle name, but when Doug didn’t know who she was, I stopped suggesting names from the Lord of the Rings. Molly is a fairly common name, but also was my little homage to Harry Potter.
We spent the rest of the night learning to feed twins, sleeping, and talking to family and friends. Molly and Ryan ate and cried and we tried to figure out what was wrong. When they finally fell asleep, we stared in wonder at the new little miracles that had been bestowed upon us. I fell into an exhausted, but contented sleep that night.
The next day, after a thorough examination from the doctor, Doug and I were escorted to the parking lot with our babies, and we headed home. They were so tiny in their little car seats.
Chris met us at the door. She had been watching Pugsley and Wednesday. Pugsley was now full
grown, but not grown up…he bolted out the door and attempted to climb into the car as we detached the car seats from their frames. I blocked him from jumping up, and he hopped up and down and ran between the front steps and the car in smaller and smaller circles, until he had led us to the front door. We stepped inside, where Chris was barely managing to constrain a wiggling Wednesday. We put the babies on the dining room table, and Chris put the pug down.
I gave Chris a hug and introduced her to her neice and nephew. She said Jack was going to be so jealous that she got to see them first!
The dogs ran and yipped and chased each other through the entry and dining room, until Wednesday stopped short, sniffing. She barked, a short warning bark, to let us know something had changed. Chris jumped. Doug and I laughed. Molly cried. Wednesday and Pugsley tilted their heads.
I picked up Wednesday and scratched her ears. She sniffed the air over the babies. We had been introducing smells of baby lotion and shampoos for several months now, and making sure that Pugsley and Wednesday did not cross into the twin's room. She knew the scent and started backing up. Molly cried again, and Wednesday wiggled her way out of my arms and ran into the kitchen, peeking through the door and barking. Pugsley followed her into the kitchen before we could get our hands on him!
Chris stayed for a couple of days and helped out until we got a good routine going with the babies. Pugsley and Wednesday finally learned to sleep in their crates again. They would bark when the babies cried and more than one early morning was spent trying to calm the twin that had been sleeping until the dog barked at them.
Doug went back to work a few days after the twins were born. He worked half days for awhile, and I was really grateful when he walked in the door! We each were in charge of a kid, and handled the feeding, diapering and napping until bedtime.
The pugs were not so cooperative. Once, Wednesday jumped on the couch and tried to sit between me and the baby when I was changing diapers. The resulting mess was disgusting, and made me very glad that I had tile floors in the living room. We changed the babies in their room from then on.
We also made sure we spent time with the dogs without the babies around.
One night, Doug and I laid in bed with our babies sleeping between us, Wednesday and Pugsley snoring in their crates. He looked me deep in the eyes and said, "I guess this will have to pass for quiet weekends now!"
Ryan inhaled stiffly and we braced ourselves for a scream, but he only sighed and drifted back to sleep. I said, "We'll take as much quiet as we can get!"
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