I'm getting married.

...when you wake up to this sight in your dinning room. Amazing what a dripping water pipe can do.

Anger at RTD has already stolen too much of my time these last few weeks. So, in a desire to concentrate on happier things here is a very cute and happy video of a very different kind of "wedding march."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

This fits in so well with the conversation that Spade and I were having this afternoon.

I know that there are fans who have acted out of line when it comes to their reaction to the reccent events that happened in Torchwood. There are always some fans who are incapable of behaving. But overall, people have merely tried to convey their disappointment with a series they had come to love and feelings that they would no longer be watching a program that seemed so changed from its original format.

They do not deserve this smug, dismissive response from the show's creator:

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/07/backlash-shmacklash-thats-torchwood-creator-russell-t-davies-reaction-to-the-outcry-over-the-death-of-gareth-david-lloyds.html#more

So please, any and all disenchanted Torchwood fans, come join us in watching Supernatural. It's a great show with wonderful characters and a head writer who also writes his own story vision, but actually has respect for his fan base. What a concept!

Really like this trailer. It's creepy and badass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSjozL01lI

What an amazing human being. I really need to read this book.

http://www.parentdish.com/2009/06/08/jim-beaver-shares-what-to-do-when-lifes-that-way/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl3|link2|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parentdish.com%2F2009%2F06%2F08%2Fjim-beaver-shares-what-to-do-when-lifes-that-way%2F

Yeah, I know. Con Stuff. This week I promise.

I'm finally feeling like myself again and this review came out first. That and a rant about the "unhappy" SPN fans.




Okay, end of rant. On with review.

Okay. I know I own a con report and it's coming later tonight. It's been delayed because I've come down with something and am feeling a little run down and have no real voice to speak of. In the meantime however...

When I'm sick I'm pretty tired, when I'm tired I'm pretty cranky, and when I'm cranky the last thing I need to deal with is pervy guys calling looking "massage parlors" cause they saw an ad of mine that happened to have the word pleasure in it (as in an ad specifically aimed at tourists to the area who might "need stress relief and relaxation whether you are visiting for business or pleasure, while getting away from it all"). In the almost 5 years that I have been a CMT I have never actually been propositioned, so I suppose I'm due, but I'm tired and it took me correcting him twice on the use of phrase massage parlor and him emphasizing the word pleasure in "business or pleasure" for me to catch up. :S

He wouldn't take the not subtle hint of "I'm a Nationally Certified Massage therapist who only provides ETHICAL Massage Therapy" and didn't sound at all embarrassed about his total lack of subtlety. So I hung up...and he tried to call me back!

Dumb-ass.

...but not without far more struggle than was necessary!

Things we learned on our trip here:

* Around Baltimore you can go 15 miles over the speed limit (qualifying as reckless driving) in a desperate attempt to keep up with traffic and still be constantly passed on both sides...even by the State Police.

* In Delaware Tolls are $5...each...even if there was one less than 10 miles before. And, do not attempt to take any form of photo imaging near a toll booth. It's some form of terrorist act.

* You cannot take a left in New Jersey. I so wish I was making that up.

* When MapQuest fails, it's an EPIC FAIL!!!

*sigh*

But no matter. We are now here at the hotel, registered and ready to go. It's early at the moment (so of course I'm the only one awake). I think con stuff gets underway at around 11am. Jim Beaver(Bobby) and Misha Collins(Castiel) won't be here until tomorrow (along with Charles Whitfield who played Hendrickson), but today we are getting to see Traci Dinwiddie (Pamela), Richard Speight (the Trickster), and Gabriel Tigerman (Andy). Should be fun!



Me and spade

I realize that it has been forever since I posted anything thing at all in this journal. There are reasons for that. RL reasons that I really don't need to get into at this time, but may share some information about later. There is quite a lot of crazy shit going on in my head lately, but I've decided to take it just a little at a time. And right now...not that time.

Now is the time to talk about the awesome trip I'm taking to New Jersey. "What," you might ask yourself, "is so great about a trip to New Jersey?" Well spade and I are headed to Cherry Hill for this weekend's Salute to Supernatural Con. We've got a 5 hour road trip ahead of us and a whole weekend of crazy fangirl fun, where we will hopefully get a chance to meet Misha Collins (our main reason for attending) and Jim Beaver (who is there to replace Padalecki who had a conflict, but who I am MUCH more excited about meeting, is that wrong?). Hopefully regular reports will happen. I know I never posted Comic Con reports, but this event won't be nearly as busy as that one, so I should have some more time.

We hit the road at 8am. I can't wait!

Has it really been since October that I last posted?

Wow.

I guess things have been a little busy for me. Mostly the good kind of busy, but at the moment I feel like it is bordering on the negative. I'm feeling overwhelmed and a little bit down at present. There is so much to do that right now even when I get things done I don't really feel accomplished because all I can see are all the other things that aren't done. I need tonight to just have an evening at home re-grouping, but I'm on duty at school so that ain't gonna happen. I'm actually making myself post just so I have a minute or two outside of my own head.

Tomorrow will be better hopefully. At the very least because the muscles in my chest won't hurt anymore (or should at least hurt less). Why, you may ask, do the muscles in my chest hurt? Cause I got to spend a large portion of what was supposed to be a romantic evening Saturday puking my guts out. :(

This person should be severely smacked around for committing this atrocity.

Chicks in bikinis or not...

DEAN WINCHESTER WOULD CRY!

http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/0807_lrmp_american_woman_1967_chevrolet_impala/index.html

So, I have relationship issues.

I also have some self-esteem issues, and sadly these two things often mix far too easily. Throw in some out of control hormones and you've got yourself quite a little self-pity party.

It had been a long time since I dated anyone. I mean a really long time. But, I've been seeing C now for about 5 months and it is going pretty well. Actually, it's going really well. So well that I find myself constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is, of course, one of the fastest ways to sabotage a healthy relationship, not to mention adding a whole lot of stress and worry that just doesn't need to be.

Overall, I've managed to just ignore that stupid little voice, but a couple of times it has started to get the better of me. This weekend was one of those times. I worried and worried, but of course everything turned out fine.

Thank you spade and M for listening to me rant and keeping me from doing anything really stupid.

I don't usually watch the presidential debates because it...well...does bad things to me.

But I really tried this time.

I swear.

I made it about 30 minutes. At which point I could actually feel my blood pressure rising and my heart-rate had almost gotten up to the point it's at when I walk my 2 miles in the morning.

Not so good.

I'm off to calm down enough that I can go to bed now.

While I found this to be a tedious and often frustrating project, I have to say that the results turned out great!

My friend gave me some Recycled Sari Silk for my birthday a couple of years ago and I have had the toughest time trying to figure out what to do with it. In the early spring, I bought a very simple black dress (cause apparently every woman needs one) and had told myself that it would be fun to work on different pieces to dress it up. So here is the first one.



( more pics )

Want to make one of your very own? The pattern can be found here: http://www.knitomatic.com/lemon_squeezy.html

It is very simple to make. My frustrations stemmed from the fact that it is basically the same to rows knitted over and over again and the fact that silk yarn has almost zero give to it. But like I said before, you can't argue with the results.

I've been inspired by several people lately, as well as my diminishing energy levels, to do something about my weight and my overall lack of fitness. I tried to get a routine going last winter and managed to lose 12 pounds, but also managed to lose the routine. Luckily, I only seem to have gained 3 of the pounds back, but unfortunately I have lost even more muscle and energy. All I know is something has to change.

I have learned a few things about myself over the years. First, if I am going to workout, it has to be first thing in the morning. If I wait until later in the day then I am too tired or too busy. Second, I need accountability. My being unfit and overweight is not enough to get me out of bed in the morning. I need to know someone expects me to be there. Third, looking at the whole goal at once is too overwhelming. I want to lose 40 pounds, but if I think of it in those terms it seems like an impossible task. I have to think of things in stages. That way I can say, "Yeah! I lost 10 pounds!" and not "No. I failed to reach my weight goal."

So, today is a new day.

My original plan for the week was to start out really slow and do at least 15 minutes of exercise every morning. That did not work out so well. However, I have finally found someone to be accountable to in the mornings (thanks Sarah) and I got up and worked out on the treadmill for 45 minutes this morning.

Starting off, my health plan goes like this:

STAGE ONE

* 45-60 minutes of exercise each day (minimum) Monday-Saturday
* Portion control for meals, less/healthier snacks
* Drink more water
* Regular massage and chiropractic care (as needed)
* Drop from 203 lbs to 190 lbs
* Light weight-lifting

I know that these are my last few years at having an easier time achieving the fitness level I want. After 35 it becomes much harder. Not to mention if I were to have a health issue or an accident that forced me to be even less physically active. Where would I be then? I have things I want to do in my life that my current state of health makes really hard if not impossible. Is an extra hour of sleep or an extra helping of dessert worth sacrificing those dreams for? I know I can do this. I'll just focus on one stage at a time.

I have a filthy house, bills that aren't paid, laundry that isn't done and cooking that desperately needs to get finished. I plan to tackle all of that tomorrow, but tonight, I've at least finished this project.

I'm quite broke at the moment, but I have a friend whose baby shower is on Sunday. So, with very little time (and no money) I decided to wip up these little items for her. They aren't much, but it was a great way to use old yard that isn't really suited for most of the things I want to do anymore, as well as something bright and colorful for a child.

The yarn is just your standard worsted acrylic Red Heart (which you can just throw in the washer, important to a new mother). The blanket is just a huge granny square and the bunny is from a pattern that can be found for free on the Lion Brand website here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60480A.html?noImages=




( More Pics )

ETA: My apologies for the giant pictures. They updated the Rich Text Editor or something the other day and now my journal is making me do everything in HTML, which I suck at. I want my RTE back!

I have been nothing but a total bum all day long. But at least my hand is feeling better. There was an incident with my kitten earlier.

So, I just finished watching the original rough cut of the pilot for that HBO Show True Blood that I've been interested in, though I'm hearing that they have done several re-shoots and made a lot of changes (including recasting one of the main characters) between that one and the final cut that will be airing on the 7th. I sure hope they've made some major changes, cause otherwise I'm not too impressed. Right now the trailer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd5E-pHzXGI , is far more impressive than the series actually is.

All the elements for the show to be good are there. The casting isn't too awful, though most of them aren't the choices I would have made, the world that was created in the book is intact and feels very real, and they actually seem to be sticking fairly close to the plot of the first book. However, the quick pacing and quirky humor of the books is missing, the editing choices make you feel like you're watching 3 different shows from 3 differnt genres spliced together (one of them being really bad porn), and some of the special effects they use are worthy of sci-fi channel movies. Right now, I'm pretty disappointed. It probably didn't help that I re-read the first book today before I watched the pilot.

The marketing for this show is still awesome though. Funny too. Here are some of the "commercials" set in the world of the series I thought you might appreciate..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQhv7xKkSm4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG_JCYdj0lg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSXP6VoAbGs

I think I'm drunk.

Not because I've consumed that much actual alcohol, but that the alcohol I have consumed when combined with the level of exhaustion I feel makes it impossible for me to perform even the most basic tasks.

I'm pretty sure that counts as drunk.

My teenagers have arrived for the year.  The parents have been dealt with and sent away.  Introductions have been made.  The law has been laid down.  Everyone is getting settled and rested for the start of classes on Tuesday. 

Let the games begin.




Oh, and to the mother who thought she was bringing her daughter to an upper class, traditional, southern (aka white) boarding school, you should learn to read.  Every brochure we send out brags about our International Boarding program.  Also, when we say international, we mean students from abroad.  Your continual questions about when our "domestic" students were going to arrive (when most of our African American student were already here) weren't subtle.  You ain't fooling anyone when you say you want to make sure your daughter doesn't have too many "international" students living around her.