Wednesday, May 25

I'm now it!

Anne slapped me on the arm and yelled "You're IT" before running the other direction toward the house.


Total number of films I own on DVD/Video:
Uh, I own about 9. I'm at the Madre's right now (and I live/sleep elsewhere) so I'm guessing, but I think I own 9. However...142 between my brother, Little Shoe Girl, Ghetto Phone Boy, my parents and the DVDs that I keep here. I don't know if this is sick or normal. (And no, I didn't spend time counting each one- we've all got this sick accounting thing goin' on in our family, so we have a list of them, which made it fairly easy to count.)

The last film I bought:
ugh. I think it was Princess Diaries 2, I'm sorry to say. I thought it would be as cute as the first. I was wrong. The last movie the family bought was Phantom of the Opera.

The last film I watched:
I just caught the last 20 minutes of Seabiscuit. Before that it was Open Range. The last movie I REALLY enjoyed was National Treasure.

Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
About a Boy, Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, A Christmas Story, 13 going on 30 (I LOVE the dance scene).

All of them don't mean anything in particular to me. Movies that mean a lot to me are those in the vein of "Luther."

Ok, I tag the ladies at Kindred spirits! That takes care of all 5! (Amanda's exempt, cause she's a tiny bit busy right now.)

Stealing a page from PalmTree Pundit

Since I haven't been blogging much, most of my regular viewers have become a hitting the site a bit more infrequently (sorry guys!). This being the case, almost every time I check my stats, someone has been led to my site by google or yahoo - and some of their search terms are pretty interesting!

Search terms leading people to my site:

  • britney spears and esfj
  • what is your first expression to your husband when you are pregnant
  • good nicknames for tall people
  • ghetto phone (I think this is funny - why does this person want to see a ghetto phone?? Moreover, did they find what they were looking for?)
  • find the origin for the phrase "the face that launched a thousand ships"
  • and 7 people trying to find lyrics to "We've got more bounce in California"

and the longest one? that would be:

guard your heart friendship relationships christian test and build the relationship in real-life settings.

To you, my friend, I say - please, read my blog, but I'm obviously not the best at building relationships in real life settings!

{And also? This is not being formatted the way I want, when it's published. I hope that list bullets aren't a necessity for reading this blog, because I'm TRYING. I really am. Blogger's just being stubborn!}

Tuesday, May 24

$33 and an urge to drive to Wausau.

It’s day three of Life Without the Artist. Saturday night we broke up. I’ve been doing the normal things I do after the relationship goes south – digging out all past Break Up CDs I make for catharsis, looking for new breakup songs, slowly telling people, responding with a nod to their “Boy you look like you’re doing ok,” noticing how much more cuddle time I give to the Min Pin (dogs are invaluable at times like these). Mostly missing him and hearing how everyone thought that there was something generally wrong with the relationship, but they’re still really sorry.

But most of all, I have an urge to drive 3 hours to Wausau. (Where?) Yeah, that’d be Wausau, WI, where my friend Trae lives. The thing is, Wausau isn’t 3 hours away anymore. It used to be, before I moved back to my hometown. Before, I could always depend on a three hour drive to clear myself of all the confusing feelings you feel after a break up – missing someone, not liking them all that much, REALLY liking them, fear, sadness, despondency, all those nice things. And then, just about the time my head would clear and that ache in my heart would leave, I’d be at the place where I knew I was truly loved and we’d get beer and really-bad-for-you-but-it-tastes-oh-so-good food and laugh about all the college times we had. Generally revel in the friendship that only “going home” (for both of us) could separate, but not break.

So, I’ve got $33 in my pocketbook. It occurred to me now that I’m practically rich this weekend (I get paid next week) and that whatever I would have done with the Artist now won’t drain my cash flow. (I really have an urge to go on a shopping spree, but $33 wouldn’t satisfy my kind of spree-ing.)

And I’ve got an urge to drive to Wausau. But I can’t, because driving 15 hours is too much. So you know what it meant to me to find an email from Hotwire.com the day after we broke up, before anyone knew we had, with this message:

Hi,

Trae has booked the following flight through Hotwire and asked us to forward the itinerary to you. Please note that flight times reflect the airports' local time zones.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trae has included this message: I'm on my way

Now I just need to wait 6 weeks.

Thursday, May 19

She takes a vacation...but only in her head.

Man, I can’t believe that it’s been a whole week since I blogged! Unfortunately, there’s no good reason for me to have not posted SOMETHING. So here I post.

Within the last week I:

· Went to dinner with the Artist and his Mom
· Played tennis (got a tennis lesson from, rather!) with Little Shoe Girl
· Watched Little Shoe Girl and Ghetto Phone Boy whale on the ball, showing the Madre and I what tennis really is
· Listened to a Pastor from Bangladesh give one of the best presentations I’ve heard
· Participated as a Wedding Assistant for a wedding and the rehearsal the night before
· CLEANED OUT MY CAR! YEA! (Also went to Wally world and grabbed an Apple-Cinnamon air freshener. Bad Part? Makes me hungry when I get in the car.)
· Considered starting a reading “club” for my Sunday school kids during the summer (I’m thinking of reading aloud to them a book heavy in allegory, and we talk about it) I’m not sure, though. I don’t want to start something I can’t finish.
· Went to Lunch with Mother Hen and Little Chick. Taught Little Chick “Tasty Soup!” as in, “Mama, can I have some Tasty Soup please? Mmmm!”
· Watched “Open Range” with The Artist
· Watched part of “The Village” with The Artist (It’s been rainy lately, otherwise we tend toward walks)
· Watched the story about Aron Ralston with Little Shoe Girl and The Madre. Devoid of any biblical lessons, they talk a lot about “spiritual” things. Mom thinks he’s crazy because he’s still going out and climbing/doing outdoorsy things – with a prosthetic. I told her that it’s not so crazy – Every guy I work [at my part time job at the Outdoors store] with would likely do the same.)

I guess the thing I’d talk about most would be filed under “Bridget Jonsing” if I had little categories to file these under, like dooce or the rooster.

Anyway, remember this? Well, I’m not the most consistent “exerciser.” Since that post, I have had off and on weeks. Right after I met the Artist? Doin’ pretty good in the exercising department! Since then? eh…not so much. Part of the problem is every time I start on myself {i.e. “uh, little too flabby. Better make working out a priority again”} I go hang out with him, and he’s just so Big and Tall! So then I feel little, and neglect to work out. Which is a VERY BAD HABIT of thought to get into! Can you imagine the day when I'll say “Oh, well, I’m 190 (5’4”) but he’s still 230, so I’m not THAT big!"

So, I bought a subscription to Shape Magazine a while back and have read every one of them, but wasn’t sure what to do with some of the fitness schedules they offer. So, on Sunday (a Very Big Exciting Day) I ripped out all of the fitness plans from all of the magazines I’ve gotten so far, went through them, found the ones that work best for me (I don’t have a lot of access to weight machines) and wrote myself up a schedule for this week. I need to enter next week’s into my little Yahoo Calendar and print it off, but so far (two WHOLE days! [editor's note: It's now THREE!]) it’s worked really well. I don’t have to think up something to do each day, and it’s not just running for 45 minutes.

The hardest part is getting up at 5:30, but thankfully the Artist has put us on a self-imposed curfew of 9:00 pm, so I tend to return home then either way (whether I’m with him or my family) because I’ve gotten used to it. So, I already have a built in schedule to help me go to bed early.

I just keep thinking, “I wonder how long this will last!”

Oh, the long absence? Yeah, really there's no legitimate reason.

Ok, I have this long post "all ready to go" except for formatting. It shall be coming very soon.
You are Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are impulsive, romantic, impatient, and perhaps a little too vocal in your honesty. You enjoy romantic poetry and novels, and play the pianoforte beautifully. To boot, your singing voice is captivating. You feel deeply, and love passionately.

I love the end of Sense and Sensibility when Colonal Brandon is reading to her and tells her he's leaving for a few days. The look of concern and sadness on her face is perfect.
The rest of the movie isn't compelling for me, and especially not the scene where Emma Thompson loses it because of Hugh Grant. Posted by Hello

Wednesday, May 11

Yes, that's right. I beat Divine Miss M

This site is certified 74% GOOD by the Gematriculator


It's likely only because she's pouring her holy thoughts into her papers.

Ok, edited to add: I just checked "dooce.com". Here's part of Heather's "who I am" page:

This website chronicles my life from a time when I was single and making a lot of money as a web designer in Los Angeles, to when I was dating my husband, to when I lost my job and lived life as an unemployed drunk, to when I married my husband and moved to Utah, to when I became pregnant, to when I threw up during the pregnancy, to when I became unbearably swollen during the pregnancy, to the birth, to the aftermath, to the postpartum depression I currently suffer. I talk a lot about poop, boobs, my dog, and my daughter. I love pop tarts, nacho cheese doritos, Britney Spears’ chest, and Britpop. I am always constipated.

Dooce.com's Gematriculator rating?

75%! 75% Good!

This thing's broken.

Tuesday, May 10

Your turn

And I think you ought to take the test and post your results. Just for fun.

BUT most importantly, post the fictional characters that you're like!

My Patron Saint, if I were catholic and neurotic

Ok, First the disclaimer:

I realize that any person ought to not put a lot of stock in these personality tests. As my Mom, Pastor, M.Div friend, or Mentor would tell me – and you – Sin has a lot more to do with problems of life, the Bible with the remedy, etc.

Anyway, all that said, a good friend wanted me to take this test. I’m an ESFJ, an Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judge. Which all that put together, “tells” me that I’m a Guardian, with the subcategory of Provider.

Here’s a quick description:

Provider Guardians take it upon themselves to arrange for the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of established institutions such as schools, businesses, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Wherever they go, Providers take up the role of social contributor, happily giving their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, that traditions are supported and developed, and that social functions are a success.

Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of social events. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to approach others with ease and confidence, and seemingly aware of what everyone’s been doing.

Ok, so that all sounds good, but besides being somewhat interesting, why would I post it?

Well, a few months ago, The Bro and Ghetto Phone Boy asked me what celeb would I have play me. I said, “oh, Natalie Portman, or Mandy Moore,” because I look somewhat like them.

The Madre Piped in: “Tell them who you thought.”
The Bro: “Courtney Cox.”
“I don’t look like Courtney Cox.”
“No, but you’re JUST like Monica!”
“I’m not THAT anal!” (The Madre “loves” that word)
{The Bro and GPB look at each other.}
Me: “Shut up.”

So, at the end of that test? They have examples of real-life and fictional ESFJs.

And there she was, under the fictional list: Monica! The patron saint of Ainsley.

(Except for the living with her boyfriend part, and all the other stuff that I don’t do that she and Chandler did. And I’m not even nearly as big of a clean freak. That would be the Artist.)

But the “I know!” part? Yeah. That’s me.

Friday, May 6

This is impressive to me, since I can't make it up the smaller Mountains of Montana!

MSN Travel First & Best:

"But these seminal achievements pale next to the objective that we are reporting, exclusively for MSN, over the next weeks: the attempt by Ed Viesturs to be the first American to complete the quest to summit all 14 peaks in the world over 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), into what climbers call 'the death zone'—all of them without bottled oxygen, the ultimate in physical and mental challenges. The final summit in Viesturs' odyssey is the 8,091-meter (26,545-foot) Annapurna, perhaps the second-most famous Himalayan mountain after Everest, and notably more difficult and dangerous to climb. Statistically it is the world's most hazardous mountain: roughly one climber dies for every two who reach the summit.

The club of 8,000-meter conquerors is tiny. Only a handful of people have ever attained this utmost coronet (Austrian Reinhold Messner blazed this conceit in 1986), and no other American has come close. Ed, who is known for his judicious approach to mountain safety, has twice turned around on the 5-vertical-mile-high frozen monolith of ice and stone that is Annapurna, citing suboptimal conditions. But the stakes are higher now than ever before in this 18-year pursuit. Ed is on the far side of his middle 40s and has a wife, Paula, and three young children—Gil, 7; Ella, 4; and now Anabel, born just last October, awaiting his return. He now climbs to come home."

Friday Morning

This morning – what a perfect morning! I walked out in my Friday-oh-how-I-thank-God-for-Casual-Fridays clothes. I’m doing a serious sporting of casual today. I mean, I’m wearing things that are nice, but they’re definitely casual. Basically a black tee-shirt and a black Patagonia hoodie. Now, Pata being expensive, I figure I can get away with it. Also, everyone knows that I work on Fridays at the place that gives me a discount on their merchandise, therefore allowing me to own ANY Patagonia at all. (I don’t like to pay a lot of money for clothes.)

Anyway, this morning is 50 degrees and perfect out. Not too cold, not too warm. The kind of morning that you want to say, “Ya know what, screw work. I’m going to go grab that book that just needs to be finished, a cup of coffee that tastes like straight French Vanilla creamer, and sit on the deck, watching the sun move across the great Big Sky.”

But I was responsible and didn’t.

Wednesday, May 4

Georgia, always on his mind

Hello to the one-formerly-known-as-Ghetto-phone-boy, who is now enjoying 70 degree weather in GEOR-gia (yeah, it's going to be in the 70's here, too), but likely is enjoying the company of one (1) Little Shoe Girl more than that weather!

Have a great time packing, guys. Mweh heh heh. And lugging it home!

And GPB, how about THAT STINKING DRIVE UP THE HILL?! Just wait until LSG makes you do it TWICE A DAY. You'll be happy that Zimmerman Trail is only a few hundred feet. It's just enought to make one from the Western states admit it's a mountain just because they're sick of the drive! (It's not, by the way, you Georgians. It's a hill).

I asked the head of the P House (at the at the bottom of the mtn) if he noticed a tangible increase in excitment in the air. He laughed and said no. I told him I didn't believe him.

(Shall we take bets to see if they check this before heading home on Friday? I'll put a buck up that they don't!)

May Flowers


Divine Miss M, Your tulips are up! They put a smile on my face when I come to work! Posted by Hello

Monday, May 2

The Manolo says

Little Shoe Girl, I've added Manolo's Shoe Blog to the sidebar. You shall forever be changed.

For everyone else, if you haven't found this blog yet, it's both informational and ...undeniably hysterical. I love funny blogs. And as Little Shoe Girl (obviously) has a thing or two on me when it comes to fashion and shoes, I need this website. ;)

Here is the example of the wit and wisdom of the Manolo.

Here also is the good advice from the Manolo to the brides.

I'm back!

A Random Mind/Divine Miss M (they're the same person, if you didn't know) tagged me. Here we go:

If I Were. . .
Here's the scoop on how to play:

I pick 5 occupations out of the list below and post my answers. Then I tag 3 other people to post their answers on their blog. If I tag you, and you don't want to be a part of this, then that is okay. Just let me know and I'll tag someone else. Make sure you note who tagged you!

The "questions": If I could be a scientist...If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician...If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter...If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary...If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect...If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist...If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete...If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an inn-keeper...If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer...If I could be a llama-rider...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be an astronaut...If I could be a world famous blogger...If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

If I could be a musician: I would be a backup singer to someone famous. You get to sing harmony (which I tend to do anyway, after 6 years of choir) and you don't have the freaky fans and stalkers. Also, travel! And hopefully, money.

If I could be a writer, I'd like to be the female John Grisham. Easy, fun to read. Many twists.

If I could be an architect, I'd recreate the exquisite beauty, style and detail of homes during the turn of the century. (In my dreams, I would take the floor plans of some of the mansions on Summit Avenue and create my own home. This was a thought/dream before God put the conviction that materialism is too rampant in America. And not in a legalistic way. Just.... we can do so much more with our money than build gargantuan, ornate homes.)

If I could be a bonnie pirate, I'd be the Dread Pirate Roberts.

If I could be a chef, I would create food with all the tasty-ness of full-of-fat food, with none of the calories. No strange aftertastes from nutrisweet or splenda.

And I tag Transcrap, Little Shoe girl (you can post a reply, because you don't have your own blog) annnndddd....Anne. Oh, and if you guys don't want to, uh, no problem. Just don't let me know, because I don't know any other bloggers "personally"!
With octaves of a mystic depth and height