A Week Ago. . . .

Naughty Auda and Me

In continuing with my shortened recount of where I was on my trip last week, I'll continue with last Monday. I got up at 6:36 EST. I only mention this because that equates to 3:36 PST. Which is kind of how my entire week went in some way or another. I ended up sleeping about 3 hours each night. Kind of explains why I started sneezing and being stuffed up last week and have spent all weekend sleeping and draining.

I got to Oakland City to visit my dad, took a tour of his campus and then headed off to see my grandma Wrye, aka Naughty Auda (which rhymes and is perhaps the most awesome nickname of all time, which makes sense because she's the most awesome lady of all time). We had a nice long visit. The only bummer of this trip was not getting to see my aunts and uncles on my dad's side. Since it was wedding on the Mom's side and I hadn't seen them in a LONG time, they got the visit. But it sucks having to miss people.

After seeing grandma, I met my dad at the Barnes and Noble, which used to be favorite jaunt of mine, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian."

checked out the bargain books. Sadly because of suitcase space and the "it's cheaper on Kindle" rationale, I only really check out local authors and discount books at the chain bookstores. Independent bookstores are a whole different matter. Apparently Evansville doesn't read enough because I got three bargain books for less than $16 and was a happy camper. What didn't make me so happy was the FIVE bookshelves dedicated to "Teen Paranormal Romance" and "NEW Teen Paranormal Romance." I totally blame Stephenie Meyer. Damn, Twilight books have made all teen girls think that true love is only available with a vampire, zombie or werewolf. I might end up writing something in YA just to go against the grain. Although I'm not sure I can do it as well as Sherman Alexie's "

I totally want Hermione's wand.

But they did redeem themselves with this little beauty from Hermione. :)

Dad and I went to a movie ("Now You See Me"--not too shabby) and dinner (for Father's Day) and just had a nice night. ... so I could get up again the next morning for more visiting.

Somebody that I Used to Know

Pretty much spent my free time today trying to get this song out of my head:


And I registered for Pottermore, the Harry Potter extension website from JK Rowling. I'm anxiously awaiting my results to see what house I got sorted in. It's kind of like a sorority rush but without the hairspray and judging. Wish me luck!

Christmas Came early But I don't get my Gift for Four years

Overlooking the general vicinity of
Universal Studios Hollywood :)

We all know that I'm a geek.  I'll happily concede that and know that my nerdiness will shine through. This is one of those cases. I did a happy dance today in my office while reading an LA Times story that announced the building of. . . the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Wait? Don't they already have one of those?, you ask.

They do. In Orlando, which is umpteen million miles away from me in Hollywood. But today they announced they're building one at Universal Studies Hollywood. Hollywood--as in a mere 6 miles from our apartment. Hoorah!!!

That's the good news. The bad news is that it doesn't open until 2016. So, I'm gonna go camp out now. :)

"My I Don't Have to Run-Day"

Mila hanging out before falling asleep.

Sundays are pretty awesome in general, but I have a feeling that this one is going to be super awesome--borderline double awesome. Here are some brief notes and some pictures to explain why this Sunday will rock:

• Had my best elliptical 5K time ever at 23 minutes, 44 seconds. Not too shabby.
• I'm an optimist, and while I'm in the bedroom watching football on mute (Bills vs. Cowboys and Falcons vs. Saints), I'm also listening to the Colts game. I think this might be the Colts week. (Chef is in the living room playing Skyrim).
• After the game is over, Chef and I will begin our Harry Potter extravaganza. All 8 movies are lined up and ready to go. We've got Carne Asada cooking in the crock pot and a plethora of candy waiting for us to consume in a Potter-craze.



Genghis before leaving to hang
with Chef.

• Being in the bedroom means that I get to hang out on the bed with some cats. Genghis even makes an appearance every once in a while before scurrying back to Chef.

Just was I was finishing up this list, Chef yelled to me "I guess you're having to listen to the game? It's not on?". "No, it's not on, but I'm listening to it and watching two others." He waited a beat and then said "Not too shabby a life, is it?"

That's it indeed. It's a great life.

Candy (from left to right): White chocolate macadamia cookies, candy corn, chewy Sweet Tarts, Cherry Twizzler Nibs,
Grape Nerds. (not pictured: skinny cow chocolate clusters, chocolate chunk cookies and sugar cookies with icing)

Pretzel M & Ms

Carne Asada filling the apartment with the savory smell of deliciousness.

Harry Potter is Dead. . .Kind Of

More than a week after it came out, Chef and I went to see Harry Potter: The Dealthy Hallows Part 2. While we certainly could've gone last week, I wanted to wait a week for a couple of reasons. 1) I'm never a big fan of watching movies in large crowds. Cell phones, texting and annoying conversations are more likely the more people are involved. Hence my love of the sinner showing. 2) I wanted to hold off on the last piece of a long era. It's like saving favorite gummy bear flavors in a pack until the end.

And so Chef and I packed up this morning and went to The Grove. It's not our favorite movie place Arclight rules), but HP7 wasn't being played at the Arclight Hollywood, so it was either hit The Grove (about 10 minutes door to door) or drive 35 to the next nearest Arclight. Of course, the tipping point was that I thought I had gift certificates to the Grove theater, but it turns out, I did not. Oh well. We'll definitely use those on another occasion.

In the end, I loved the movie and thought it did just as well as the others in capturing the Harry Potter spirit. In the end, I was thinking about all my Harry Potter memories and one in particular came to mind. It was the summer just after I graduated from college. I had gone home to help take care of my mother while she was ill and that summer wasn't the best in my life.

One of the high points was that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out. I had pre-ordered my copy through Amazon and unfortunately had to go to my day job at GE when it was supposed to be arriving at my house. My mom had ordered something from QVC too, as was her past time. She decided that she'd make something special out of our packages arriving, so she said she'd wait until I got home and we could open them together. Kind of like a Christmas, even if we both knew what we were getting.

So I got home, and we tore into the packages like it was Christmas morning. I danced around the living room so excited and a few minutes later hole myself up in my room to read. I don't remember what was in the box for my mother. I do remember it was a surprise to her because she opened it and said "Oh, that's not what I thought it was going to be!" and was excited genuinely as well.

Now Harry Potter is over and I think about those kinds of memories. The story was great, but the context of where i was in my life when I read or watched the story progress is something different and special altogether. I mean, I know I'll remember this movie because it was the only Harry Potter I saw or read for the first time as a wife.

What Should I Do This Weekend?

It's Friday which means that two glorious days and three nights of time away from work are just a few hours away. The question now becomes "What should I do this weekend?".

There's a word in there that complicates things a little. The word is "should". Here's what I should do this weekend (productive version):

• Organize drawers and weed out too big clothing items once and for all.
• Work out for an hour each morning.
• Stretch after said workouts.
• Shop for nutritiously sound food with Chef.
• Play with the cats.
• Write for at least an hour each day on my current projects.
• See Harry Potter.

Here's what I should do this weekend (take advantage of California version):

• Go to beach.
• Go to the farmer's market.
• Try a new ethnic restaurant.
• Find a flea market.
• Explore a new neighborhood.
• Work out each day at least 45 minutes.
• Shop for local foods with Chef.
• Cook healthy meals.
• Browse a local book store. (Get the Confessions of a Prairie Bitch book that Anne recommended).
• See Harry Potter.

Here's probably what I'll end up doing:

• Sleep in late.
• Work out for 45-60 minutes.
• Go grocery shopping at Ralph's and Trader Joe's with Chef.
• Eat somewhat healthy but highly processed meals.
• Watch crappy TV and good movies while lounging on the couch.
• Put off doing any kind writing until I feel guilty about it.
• Think about going to the pool but then decide it's too much trouble (it's about 40 yards away).
• See Harry Potter.

What are your weekend plans?

Gym and Laundry but No Tanning

It seems as if my days have gotten into a routine. Maybe not the type of routine that I'd like (as I'd prefer to have the routine dictated by a job), but a routine nonetheless. I get up about 9 or so (later than I normally would, but I'll explain that later), pull on my gym clothes, brush the teeth, and pet the cats. I get to the gym and pray that there's no one in there. It doesn't happen very often.

Usually I'm stuck watching The View or Regis and Kelly. It totally befuddles me that guys will turn it on those shows. I understand the women who watch it, but if I want my time on the treadmill, I don't want Elizabeth Hasselbeck in the background mocking me with her skinny ass and uptight views. Or Sherry Whatever her name is that is an absolute idiot in all forms of the word.

I prefer my time on the treadmill watching SportsCenter. The stories are bite-sized and break up my routine. It also helps that there's a plethora of fit dudes egging me on as I sweat. That always helps. In fact, I'm fairly certain that's why I was successful with my boot camp.

But I digress. After the gym, I wash the pools of sweat off and slap some stuff on my body. Some days I go out and about. I make a run to Target or the grocery store or just driving around an area that I'm curious about. Other days I stay in the complex and do laundry (like today). By mid-afternoon, I'm back to hang out with Chef. The last couple of days, we've either watched movies or played Lego Harry Potter on Xbox (which cements my role as a geek).

I also enjoy the mail coming every afternoon. We put our Christmas cards on the wall near the bar and it's a little festivity to the place. I have gotten two packages so far and I'm holding out until Friday to open them. While we aren't celebrating the traditional way, it still IS Christmas and I want to have something to open. It's killing me though. I'm not a patient person by nature.

Then cooking some dinner, watching TV and more Harry Potter game. It's about 2 or so before we head to bed. Or at least I head to bed. Then it's up again to start a new day.

At this point, I'm still checking the employment listings and submitting resumes every day. However, I know that between now and the new year, I don't really expect to hear much. It's the dead period. So, I'm going to enjoy it for now.

Vacation Day Ten: Last Vestiges of Relaxation

It's the last official day of my staycation. While a tiny part of me is ready to go back to work, another part of me is ready for a life of being independently wealthy. Who isn't though, right? The good thing about tomorrow is that I wasn't overly ambitious and have no external meetings. One full day of getting caught up and back in the swing of things.

For the last two days, I've been working diligently to get as much relaxing in as possible. It's a tough job, let me tell you. I've slept. I've eaten. I've baked. It's been glorious.

The other thing I'm thanking God for is that for the third week in a row, I'm not working a full work week. I'm off on Friday because I'm heading up to Indianapolis to see my girls. I'm so excited to see them that I wish today was Friday. Plus it will be Liam's first long trip. I've got to get the ipod loaded up and ready to go. Ladies, I'm going to request that we have at least one cocktail of everyone's choosing while we're together.

But until then, I will enjoy the remaining hours of relaxation. Maybe I'll dig back into the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I've gotten 56% through it (or at least that's what the Kindle says). Now I'm watching a special on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the Orlando Universal Studios theme park. Is it bad that I really want to go and visit Hogwarts in person? They keep saying "kids" will love it, but that means kids at heart, too, right?

Tomorrow it's back to work. Back to writing every morning. Back to running every morning. Back to eating better. Back to being healthy. Wish me luck.

On Days When I Feel Like A Porker

Today I am all about eating. Not even bad things, but just an abundance. Okay, so not the whole day, but there was a synapse that must have switched this afternoon that said "eat more food for no apparent reason". I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. I fed it some sugar-free chocolate and it was moderately happy. Now all I can think about are the soggy leftover Subway sandwiches in the kitchen. Soggy and delicious, but I'm trying to resist.

• Begging will get you a new phone if you first pay your dues by spending a minimum of an hour on the phone with tech people. It's the price you have to pay for having working technology.
• Role playing is only fun in the bedroom and even there it's not always a guarantee. While it is useful in sales strategies, it's never fun and I am lucky enough to be able to opt out because I rarely have to go in for the kill (at least by myself).
• How can "I thought I replied to that" be a legitimate excuse for someone over email? We both know that if you had replied I wouldn't have asked 5 more times because although I can be annoying, I am not in 10 year old autistic child. I typically only ask once if I get a reply.
• How many stages are there on the Tour de France? I think if it's less than 50, they should just quit because nothing says sporting event like three straight weeks of "Is Lance winning? No, (insert indifferent shoulder shrug here) okay."
• I used to think it was creepy that I thought Harry Potter was cute. Now I realize that there's a difference between thinking someone is cute and feeling shame AND having mad lust and feeling pride.
• I'm certain Chef will beat me in tonight's weigh in. And I'm hoping that by tomorrow, I'll care enough to eat less chocolate.

Darkness comes after the 'Twilight'?

A few months back my friends (and there were several of you out there) persuaded me to give the 'Twilight' series a try. The aforementioned friends also got me to jump on the 'Harry Potter' bandwagon fairly early, so I was more apt to give their reading suggestions a whirl.

However, 'Twilight' is no 'Harry Potter.' It feels like it was written by a repressed Mormon. I can sense the danger in mentioning their touches, but this is 2009. Few dudes, Master Vampire or not, is going to take the chivalrous route to sex. I get that he comes from a much earlier time, but I'm still not buying what she's selling.

Aside from that, Bella is a pretty pathetic chick. She's ruled by a dude she met and fell madly in love with. She moves away from her mom and shows very little interest in her dad, other than wanting him alive and sparing him harm. Why didn't Meyer just kill the parents like most good kids books do? She's not necessarily strong or endearing and other than being the "new kid", I'm not sure anyone in Forks would've paid much attention to her. I'm not buying Edward's intrigue other than his inability to use his "powers" on her.

Look, I'm all for books that get people reading. Especially kids. So for that, I'm going to respect "Twilight." But while Harry Potter took me to a world where things were entirely different, Edward just falls flat. Instead of learning about Quidditch, we get...baseball? really!?!?! Also length is only NOT an issue if the story is constantly moving forward. Potter repeats itself a lot, but mostly following the format of repetition in kids' books. Twilight just feels like it's haphazardly put together and things made up at the end to pull the pieces together. Not interwoven into the plot.

And before people get pissed, I'll let you know that I'm into the third book. I keep trying to find that spark that makes me a fan, because I want to be if it's worthy, but I haven't yet. Perhaps book four? Until then, I'll just watch the Twilight movie. Shorter plot, less moony dialogue and Robert Pattinson (aka Cedric Diggory).