Legos

Quick post to share this great article about...legos. I just think it is funny; mostly because it is true. And for the record, I usually played legos with my older brother Jason, and I have no idea what we called them...but I know we had names too.

Max was born to be a writer. Can you see why I say that?

In the Waves

I've had lots of ups and downs recently...this buying a home thing is intense. Don't get me wrong, nothing has gone wrong. Just intense.

In the meantime, I've been reading and watching...and dressing up. Yep, I actually participated in Halloween this year, and I have the partially used can of fake blood to prove it. For the record, when you tell someone, without context, that you are going to be a "dead grandma" for Halloween, they look at you kinda strangely and then brush past the subject.

So the story goes that a few friends from work and I have recently (for the last few months actually) been quite enrapt in the world of Sookie Stackhouse. I read all the books, including the short stories last week--that last one was a strange one!, and my friends all read the books and watch True Blood on HBO, which is based on the books. So, we had the brilliant idea to dress up as the characters for Halloween. I was Sookie's poor, murdered grandmother Adele (hence the fake blood), EJ was Sookie, CG was "Foiled Hair" Eric, JG was "Vampy" Pam, JH was "Flapper" Lorena, DH was "Crispy" Bill, AG was Andy Bellefleur, B was Jason Stackhouse, J&N were Sam and Mary Ann. Sorry, you're going to have to bribe me for a picture...

Watch and Read

Had the chance to watch a few movies in the last few weeks.
Two weekends ago I watched The Secret Life of Bees. Pretty good. I started reading the book shortly afterward and it seems the movie followed the book closely.

Then a group of us had a girls' night and watched My Life in Ruins. Nothing new here, but entertaining enough and chock full of beautiful scenery...I think I need to start planning a trip to Greece.

This past weekend I watched Away We Go. Definitely one of the best movies I've seen recently. It felt really fresh. It was a perspective you don't often see in movies--two people actually in love figuring out life together.

And since I mentioned what I'm reading, I will mention that I'm also reading unChristian, which has been illuminating in a way. I don't agree with everything the book puts forth, but the authors make some excellent points. Finding the actions to go along with the new ways my mind views things will be the challenge.

So Exciting!

Baseball. Twins. Win. Awesome.

Until about five years ago, I didn't really like baseball. I'm convinced it was the memories of very little me having to amuse myself at the baseball diamond while my older brother played little league--the game itself didn't interest me at the time, but the dirt under the bleachers might have...

Then a different brother started watching Twins games on TV, and since we both still lived at our parents' house I had no choice but to watch (if I wanted to watch anything, of course).

Then I moved close enough to go to games and started going to games.

And now I listen to games on the radio when I can't watch them cause they are too exciting to not pay attention to!

Which leads to tonight's entertainment: a 12-inning nail biter with the outcome of sending the Twins to the postseason in New York. Go Twins!

October 4, 2009

What I did today
sleep in
eat
bake muffins
paint
listen to the Twins win (while painting)
listen to Veronica Mars season 2 (while painting)
catch up with friends via email and social networking sites
watch The Secret Lives of Bees
put an offer on a condo
proofread

Great day.

It's Officially Fall

Both by the calendar and by the weather (in MN) it is officially fall now. The leaves are even changing. I like the change...opens up a whole new part of my wardrobe.

So, what's been entertaining me recently? Well, lots actually. First, a few links:
Because, yes, I'm a lover of punctuation. Aren't you?
Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? And yes, I kinda want to go.
This is just fascinating and slightly entrancing.

This next one has a story. I work for a publisher and occasionally have to find a photo for a book. We often use Getty. So I was looking for a photo of a gas station in the 1970s (specifically during the gas shortage) and I get about ten photos with this caption: Clapton in a Jumpsuit. Don't believe me? Try it. Refine by date (1970s) and make sure editorial is checked. Made me laugh, so I thought I would share.

I'm now on season 2 of Battlestar Galactica. But as I'm also watching a few new Fall shows (and a couple of old ones) I'm having trouble finding time. On the lineup: Castle, The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother (when I'm home in time), The Good Wife, Glee, The Vampire Diaries, N3mbers, and, well, you get the picture. Been painting too (one for my friend Megan and finishing Bec's) and while doing so rewatched Veronica Mars Season 1. Amazing TV. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Summer 09

(I'm going to start off pretending like I have been posting all along, cause catching up is mighty daunting seeing as the reason I haven't been posting is that I've been kinda busy...)

Watched 2 movies this last weekend that I had never seen before, but that I had either read the book or watched another version of the story five years ago or so. And with both, I found that my expectations didn't match what was there, but not in positive or negative way, just a different way...that ever happened to you? What I'm trying to say is The Tale of Despereaux and Gypsy were pretty good movies, but the book (by Kate DiCamillo) and the Bette Midler versions (from what I can remember) were way different.

I also did some painting this weekend. I finished a series that I started awhile ago--I finally got around to adding the black outlines to make them look like stained glass. Not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with the result. (Having low expectations of myself helps:)

I also started a set for former roommate Becky (who just moved into her first house; congrats!) I'm trying to put together, with my own unique twist, the art she picked out at a store, the colors she wants to use, and the style she likes. I find this always to be an enjoyable stretching exercise for me. They aren't done yet (just the first step) but I promise to show them once they are.

Update to my summer: I've taken trips to Indiana, Colorado, and Wisconsin already, and will soon be headed to Missouri and later in the summer South Dakota. All of these are planned activities: Indiana was to counsel at a youth conference (great kids, great staff, great program.) Colorado was for a mother/daughter weekend with my mom, aunts, cousin, and some mutual friends--it could also be referred to as Colorado arts weekend as we managed to fit in a play, an arts festival, and a Symphony at Red Rocks in the course of three days. Wisconsin was helping with a youth camp--always fun times. And lets just say "The Next Generation" rocked. Updates on the other trips as they come!

I'm also reading a few books: started the Sookie Stackhouse novels (seriously addictive, I had to make my friend hold onto the next two until I have time to read them), reading another Lauren Willig novel, which so far has been a great addition to the series, and am leisurely making my way through UnChristian. It is a little hard to get into because it brings up a lot of statistics and I'm not used to reading this type of nonfiction, but the information so far has been, let's say needed.

Oh, and I started Battlestar Gallactica a few weeks ago, then had to wait for another disc, and haven't had time to continue. So far, so good.

I've been filling in with Newsweek and Time articles as well as Facebook, Twitter, and the ever-expanding email. Lots of reading, lots of entertainment.

Oh, and when I mentioned trips, I forgot to mention my short travels for two weddings in June. Congratulations to Ross and Jacqueline and Tamar and Nathan. And now, I leave you with this cause I found it entertaining enough to clip out last week.