Anybody need friends for Thanskgiving Dinner? phoenix_melody and I are staying in town, and any of you are welcome to join us. My house, next Thursday. (Fi says I'm in charge cuz it's at my house, so I'm coordinating.)

So post here if you'll be in town/coming, and let me know what you'll be bringing!



I need a food icon.

PS~ If you have a dream in which people keep asking you, "How do you ID a missing body?" you should let them know that their reasoning is wacky.

Also, if anybody's interested, the CW is marathoning "Vampire Diaries" December 14th through 18th (2 eps a day).

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult.
- Charlotte Whitton

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
- Noel Coward


Last night's affair was a lot of fun, but I missed pixiepilot and pudges. :( We toured my house, chatted, vented about LTUE, ate my soup and the goodies people brought (Ki's brown butter sea salt rice krispy treats were a big hit - would you share the recipe?), sang me happy birthday and ate cake, watched "Wolverine" (and laughed a lot) and then the first two episodes of the 90's "X-Men" cartoon (and also laughed a lot).

It was a good night. Sorry if my crappy couches hurt anybody's back. :P

I feel much better today, much more reasonable. Maybe they were right, maybe they were wrong; regardless, I am doing a great job just keeping with the program. "Just keep showing up. Keep pressing 'Play.'" is something they say in the videos. "Do your best, and forget the rest." All my favorite pants are overly loose now, and I've fit into a few dresses/skirts that were too small for the past couple years. Last night instead of throwing in the towel (how appropriate that phrase is here) I decided to work myself harder, striving for more push/pull-ups than I had last time, using heavier weights than last time, and as a result I'm a lovely shade of sore today. We just started Week 12, the last week of weights/resistance training; one more Recovery Week after that, and the program is complete. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for having my back and cheering me up. I appreciate all your encouragement and feedback. Thanks really a lot.


PS~ It snowed today! Fat, fluffy flurries, and they didn't stick, but it was fun to watch.

My goodness, it's late. I better say stuff quick and go the heck to bed!

Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes. :) It was a full day, but not a bad one. Work was okay; we got the internet back, but I'm going to stay pretty light on my usage so as not to repeat the past couple of weeks. Sorry. I went to Magleby's Fresh for lunch and splurged on my favorite dish there - the guacamole bacon cheeseburger (but still forewent their tasty fries, sadly) and a free piece of chocolate cake. The cake was lovely, but, alas, more sugar than my body was ready to deal with, and I got a headache from eating it.

After work I bought a few groceries, including a pumpkin to carve at FHE, and rushed home so my little sister could do laundry at my house. My roommates had decorated with streamers and balloons, which was really sweet. While I waited for Chels to come, I helped my roommate make pumpkin-cream cheese-sandwich cookies for FHE dessert, and essentially abandoned my sister as soon as she got there. It worked out okay, with her just hanging out in the basement to do her homework while the laundry was going.

FHE was quite fun. They sang to me and we had a lesson, then carved pumpkins while watching retro Halloween shows (like the Charlie Brown one, some Looney Tunes sketches, Mr. Boogedy, etc). Here's my pumpkin:


One guy in my group did the Batman symbol, and suggested maybe carving one for each of the Justice League, so of course I had to add my two cents. I think it earned me coolness points. What would be really cool is if I could use some kind of green light instead of just a tea light or whatever.

Anyway, after FHE I went to someone else's house where we were learning some of the Thriller dance for our stake Halloween activity on the 31st. It's going to be way cool. Parker joined me there, and we ended up hanging out for another hour after most people left, just chatting with the guys who lived there and a couple of my neighbor girls. My sketchbook was oohed and aahed over, and that's always fun. I still feel good about my ward, and I'm happy to be attending activities with these people. Very optimistic about it.

Anyway, it's way past bedtime. It was a good day, but I'll have to do actual celebrating later, when things are less busy.

Despite starting out a little melancholy (I mostly blame the fact that I'd left off at a melancholy part of The Blue Sword when I went to bed), Thanksgiving was a blast.

Dinner was at 2, and it was amazing. Sanzo did her famous potato rolls and the turkey à la Alton Brown, and a French silk pie. Duo made green bean casserole (which I had for breakfast this morning) and a cranberry-orange jello. Fi brought deviled eggs and five bottles of assorted Martinelli's, and her sister brought mashed potatoes. Ki brought stuffing, and apple and cherry pies. I provided gravy and the relish tray. Everything tasted fantastic, and we had a lovely time eating and chatting and snacking.

Ki and I subjected the rest to the pilot episode of the BBC "Merlin" series (which is very fun - see sarahtales's delightful review here for more info!), and later, Ki and Fi and I talked about writing (with random interjections from Duo and Sanzo). They got me talking about Muse for upwards of an hour, I'd guess, and I always get really excited when I talk about Muse. (The best part is when people ask me questions about this or that aspect of the world/story/characters, and I actually have answers to give them!)

We all hung out until midnight, and I slept in Friday morning til 8:30 or so. I bought a new iPod at Circuit City (the new 120GB Classic), and I'm thrilled at how much space I have after adding all my music. I'll actually be able to put audiobooks on it and take it on roadtrips - yay!! And I took myself out to see "Twilight" a third time - the more times I see it, the more I seem to like it; I'm getting better at separating Kristen Stewart from Bella, and therefore seeing Bella more objectively, and she's not so bad this time!

Today I read until I finished The Blue Sword, played my Rogue until she finally got out of Hellfire Peninsula (ugh!!), then watched last week's "Legend of the Seeker" and two episodes of "The Mentalist," divided the revised version of Muse ch.1 into pages (all the additions, and I'm still short! but will rearrange when I get to actually drawing the pages (SOON!), did the rest of the Thanksgiving dishes and wiped up the kitchen, and came upstairs to putter around on the internet some more.

Now I'm going to make the program for Church tomorrow, and then probably play WoW some more. (Also, Death Knights FTW!!!!)


OH~ And PS~~ My 16-year-old brother texted me and said that he'd seen the Twilight movie. "And?" I said. He told me he loved it. It was way cheesy in some parts, but overall, he really liked it. He said he found himself explaining to his friends things that I'd read to him from the books. (!!!?!!?!) During our discussion, he commented that the special effects could have been better, and I told him that it was a pretty low-budgeted movie, but since it has made bank already, I'm sure the FX in the next movie will be better. His reply? "I hope so, cuz I'll definitely be seeing it." XDDDDD MY 16-YR-OLD BROTHER!! Wow. There are not words to explain the absurdity and amusement I feel.

Sanzo, Isaura, and I went to Olive Garden for lunch today, and I scribbled a little pirate girl on Isaura's takeout box, reminiscent of her Halloween costume. I thought I'd try again, and put a little more effort in it. I think she'll like this a lot more than the takeout box. ;)

Voila!

It feels good to have painted something pretty again. I need to do this more.

PS~ Yay for Daylight Savings!!

I received this forward from a friend, and decided to pass it on here. :) It makes me feel all warm and squishy inside when I think of you guys, all y'all.


"None of that Sissy Crap"

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems?
Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.
You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card-
Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad -- I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick -- Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off-- After I laugh my butt off!!

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!



(PS~ Provo-ites, consensus is we'll do the 7:15 showing tomorrow.)

PPS~ Last night's "How I Met Your Mother" -?? ZOMG!!!!!

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box cake mix (any flavor)
2 eggs
1/2 C oil

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs in a bowl, add cake mix and oil, and mix well. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes. Leave on pan 1-2 minutes before removing.

Optional: Frost one cookie and top with another to make cookie sandwiches.

The recipes I checked for this varied between 2 and 5 dozen, but I got almost 3 dozen from it.



An excellent potluck tonight - good food and companionship from everyone.
We'll miss you, Gochan. <3

Plans have changed - instead of Movies 8, we're meeting at Fi/Ti/Ci's place at 7 and watching a movie there. That's what you get for disagreeing. XD

Bring any movie(s) you want up for consideration.

So LJ has notified me that rurounigochan is having a birthday in a couple days.. and since we didn't do anything for pixiepilot's last week-ish (or for isauraoktobre's in April, for that matter), and since pudges needs a Girls' Night....

How's about we make a night of it at Movies 8 on Wednesday?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, pixiepilot!!!!

I know you don't care for birthdays, but because time feels rather ethereal for me these days, I don't really think of them as birthdays. I think of them as the day designated for us to try to make you feel as special as we think you are, and to tell you how much we love you.

<3 It's Duo Celebration Day <3

So I was rear-ended on my way home from work yesterday, in backed-up rush hour traffic. It wasn't bad, just gouged up my bumper, but I was pretty shaky the rest of the evening. And now I understand how my sister felt, after our last accident, about being stopped in traffic with cars behind her. And again I get that mental panic when I hear screeching tires. Sigh. I was just starting to feel comfortable in a car again.. (Haven't I filled my quota of car accidents yet???)

Anyway, the girl and I exchanged contact and insurance information, but I'm not sure what to do from here. Anyone know what you're supposed to do for a mild fender-bender in Utah?


In other news, I got the "Chess" musical concept album in the mail yesterday. ^____^ Through some research and obsessiveness, I found out that this is the mysterious album I've been listening to on my boss's iTunes the last couple of weeks. She only has the second disc, so I'm amused to finally be able to hear the first half of the story. (The song "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head is on this album, by the way. Didn't know it was a musical, did you?)

Also, I found out last week that my freshman-year roommate, Amy, is getting married! Next week! Hahaha! But I got an announcement in time, and tonight is her bridal shower. Unexpected and important events like this are why I try not to make ultimatums like "I will go to Institute *every week*" because I haven't seen Amy in probably four years, and her bridal shower overlaps with Institute. Again I have to decide which is the priority. :/

Oh, and our mystery roommate has returned. She moved in one night, a few days after we did, and then went out with friends and we never heard from her again. We're talking almost three weeks, no contact, no word. We were convinced her evil boyfriend had murdered her and thrown her in a ditch somewhere. On Friday I finally called the managers and told them we hadn't seen her in a couple days and could we get her cell number? They gave it to me, and I left her a message about how we hadn't seen her and we were worried. She called me back and explained that her sister had a really difficult delivery (something about the baby hemorrhaging and the mother leaking spinal fluids), and her parents were in Italy, so she flew home to help and didn't think to tell us. But she got back last night, and everything's fine.

O glorious rainstorm, wouldst thou stay for another week, to cool my apartment and sing sweet rhythm at my window? Grey the skies out my office window and dance in the puddles in the parking lot! I never tire of thee.

~ ~ ~

It's been an interesting day.. I've gotten several emails from school friends, wondering how I'm doing - I hadn't heard from them in a long time. Months, almost a year maybe. And I got an email from an old roommate, too, out of the blue - she's half an hour out of Long Beach and asked me if I would be at Anime Expo (in which I'm positive she has no interest); she's going to come up and have lunch with me or something. I haven't seen her in two or three years.

Oh, and I randomly found Daniel Hughes' wife on the Twilight Lexicon. I recognized her forum avatar as one of Dan's paintings, so I PM'd her and said "Do you know Daniel? I went to school with him." And she wrote back and said "I'm married to him!" Crazy small world. She says that Borders (she has a friend who works there) may be having a midnight party for the Eclipse release; I told her I'd love to be there.

I've been getting over some of the sour feelings I'd finished school with, since participating in the mailing list my classmates set up. For a long time I didn't even read them. Who knew this would all come together so suddenly? It must be a sign. I've got to get my desk set up and start painting again. Maybe with the sense of my classmates' support I won't feel so artistically isolated and I'll be able to get back into it. It certainly can't hurt.

I think it was good for me to move up here.

Well, I don't have much to say tonight. I've been watching a lot of Naruto with Parker the last few days (we don't know when he's leaving again for school), and he seems to really enjoy it. We're near the end of the Chuunin Exam arc, so of course I've been thinking about the RP again, thinking how sad it is that it died. I know there are other RPs out there, even Naruto RPs, but this one was my first and the attachment is still there. And since the community is closed, I made a post in my Lee journal, for you Revanche people (who probably wouldn't check it without this notice).

~~~

Last night I went to two wedding receptions, for (already married) friends' younger siblings, and missed a third reception that was for an actual friend of mine. But that one was across town, and all three were at the same time, so my chances of making it weren't that great. The evening was kind of oppressive (I find myself pretty disgruntled at wedding receptions, unless I know the people pretty well), until Parker and I stopped at Hayley and Ian's place and convinced them to go see a movie with us. They convinced us to see "Casino Royale" and it was actually pretty dang cool. And I must admit, it was my first Bond movie. Usually I avoid him like the plague, by reputation and what clips I've seen. I even mentioned to Ian that if they were all that cool, maybe I should reconsider, but he said they're not - "this one was actually realistic." (And, admittedly, there were several parts I found *too* realistic/violent/whatnot and had to cover my eyes for a bit, but the rest..!)

Also lately I've been catching up with my Flist one person at a time (so don't be surprised if I make a boatload of comments all at once), and the other night I was reading about alphabet26 in Japan, and then thinking about Japan a lot. I wonder if I could just up and take a trip there for a week or two? Would that get the wistfulness out of my system? Would my Japanese hold up anymore? Would all my years of study help me get on better there? Or better than last time, even?? (I'd decided long ago that I missed out a lot by being so shy while I was there, and I HAD to be more outgoing next time.) I don't know. Maybe I should finish paying for the first trip before I even think about it.. ^^; But you know, I met a Japanese lady in the store a few days ago, who was getting some business cards remade as a court/etc. interpreter (how much demand is there in Phoenix, Arizona for Japanese courtroom interpreters??); I talked to her for a few minutes, and she said she's doing a Japanese master's at ASU, and it was a good program, and if I missed using my Japanese why didn't I try the JET program? It was an interesting coincidence, since Japan's been on my mind lately.

Oh, and since I won't really be using my Revanche (Lee) journal in the forseeable future, I transferred over a bunch of my Lee icons. There you go!

( my (late) Christmas stocking )