CKR Smile More
I almost missed it! I thought it was usually Feb 10?  Anyhoo...

Since I had no idea it was upon us until my reading list lit up, I didn't think I'd be able to participate.  And the DH was extremely cranky today, so it was hard to even think about finding joy, yannow?  I need to do an actual rec post though, because the holidays brought some joyful stories.

Today I was on day 2 of 2 all-day trips to our Waukesha office, receiving the files and detritus of the 11 projects I just inherited from Mr. Annoying who was laid-off last week.  And he was just as annoying as ever, except for one thing.  At the end of today (5:20 actually) I went out to start my car, which had a couple of inches of snow on it thanks to winter finally arriving.  Mr. Annoying already had his car warming up and brushed off, and he was brushing off MY car!!  WTF! I told him I have a brush, but he kept going, so I thanked him for both the time he spent with me and the de-snowing and off he went.

So while my car was warming, I dug out my scraper/brush tool and took care of my boss's car.  He'd driven us to lunch and realized he didn't have his scraper in the car yet ("I guess I just thought winter was never going to arrive"), so he used a cloth grocery bag to wipe off his car.  I figured with the ice on his car, he'd need more than a cloth bag this time.  I have no idea how much later he stayed, but for sure his car wasn't as tough to clear off as it would have been.

So that is my meager contribution to bringing MORE JOY to the world today.

Also, today is day 1 of my cold. Bleh.

New Tattoo!

Jan. 2nd, 2012 05:23 pm
My Rainbow Infinity Symbol Tatt

I totally forgot to provide pictorial evidence here (I posted on FB but it's not the same).

This is my "Woman in the Maze" tat, based on a traditional Hopi symbol, and surrounded by sprigs of rosemary and basil.  The maze symbol is all deep green, and the basil and rosemary are various shades of green highlighted with yellow.  The woman has her arms raised to symbolize achieving a goal.  The basil and rosemary symbolize love and abundance.  The secondary meaning for this is to remind me to show my appreciation for all that I have been blessed with by being more careful with my gifts.

     

It's been just over two weeks and it has healed nicely.  I like the location, but wow, I was more sensitive there near the shoulder than I expected to be.  It wasn't terribly painful, but there were a few moments of gritting my teeth.  I was very pleased to see my art made the brag wall (just like [personal profile] were_duck 's!)

Okay, I'm off to assemble a spinach salad to go with DH's roast pork shoulder.  Go, Badgers!
Goldy's Sparkles N Porn Nametag


So I've been musing over what to do about LJ and the great fannish migration to DW, coupled with the great social migration to FB. I'm not a technophobe or luddite, even though tech doesn't always like me back, but I just don't see FB being a decent journaling tool. The timeline and archive will make things a bit easier to find, but no real tagging system, and the clunkiness, and having to put up with the advertising and weekly format changes just all add up to a not-very-user-friendly experience.

I really don't want to have my non-fannish people stumbling into my fannish posts, and I really don't want to filter because I've found that I have collected up a few subscribers over time due to some points of commonality, and I think that's really cool. If I filtered all my "fun" stuff, it would be much harder to make these interesting semi-random connections. And I feel awkward asking strangers for access when I might only want to read one thing, or visit one link. I know some people filter just about everything and then grant access when asked, but how do you know if the stranger who is asking is going to be welcome?

Anyway, it's a new year, so I'm going to try a new thing. I haven't been journaling much in the past two years anyway, so I guess I can resolve to do a little better on that topic. I'm going to keep posting the entirely generic stuff at LJ and link to those posts (not crosspost), but add more personal stuff here. Mainly because I do enjoy hearing the personal things my fannish friends have to say, I appreciate the glimpses into your daily lives and I think I should reciprocate.

I don't typically do hard and fast resolutions - and mostly I commit to things that are more about self improvement than self-flagellation. ie, try one bite of everything offered (which led to a whole new level of foodieness). The past few years' goals have a similar vibe though - a desire for more connection with more people. I think I've done well in the more people department (people from all over, not just one group or age range), but not so well in the deeper connections. Although I have to say that I've got a couple of bright spots on that horizon. A couple of grown up women and a man, all completely outside of work, and all my age or a bit older. That age bit is the strangest because I'm forever making friends way outside of my age range. As a kid, all my friends were adults until I was a teen, and the last few years I've been taking a page from DH and collecting much younger friends (it's a fannish thing mostly). But anyway, I've also become closer with some extended family, so maybe I should be putting that particular goal in the win column after all. However, relationships take work and constant vigilance, so it's not like I will ever say "I'm done!"

I'm also going to try to do something active everyday. I have an actual selection of activities available now: Wii, dancing, yoga, walking (with and without dogs or companions), and in the summer I want to add back canoeing (it's been TWO years since I've been on the water!). Last year I had spurts of activity and stretches of not, but I did add something entirely new (East Coast Swing), and I'm looking forward to taking a couple more dance classes. I might manage an actual yoga class as well.  [community profile] sun_salutation  is a lovely community and has helped keep yoga in my awareness, and encouraged me to keep at it, but I need to stretch myself (no pun intended). Plus it would be nice to have something to share with the community myself.

For work, I want to get better at finishing things, closing projects, knowing I'm DONE with something so I can really move on.

Financially I need to get my house in order. I've been poking at this for a couple of years, and done some good things, but also have let some bad habits creep in. I'm going to take care of that. I have no excuses for what I've let happen. I am really blessed with good fortune, a good job, and the ability to do better than just pay my bills. So I should be acting a little more adult about that--I should show my appreciation for my blessings by being a bit more responsible and careful with them.  My milestone tattoo was to be a reminder of a particular achievement, but I'm also going to use it as a reminder of this insight. Oooh! I've never posted a pic here. I'll have to fix that.

 

The rest of today is going to be divided between more chores (I split the kitchen with DH, and have half the laundry underway), checkbook and bills, football (go Cocks! go Badgers!).

I also need to get iTunes onto my personal computer, transfer a bunch of the girl's music to her computer, transfer a bunch of pics from her computer, work out her tuition reimbursement for the first semester, and rework my bill payment schedule to align better with my income receipt schedule.  All that may not happen today, but it's got to happen before Jan 15.  That's when the girl goes back to school.
white text on red
Yikes, I just posted something fannish on FaceBook.  This here is supposed to be my fannish space, and LJ was supposed to be more of my RL musings (which are rarely being mused these days).  FB is just the place where I keep in touch with high school people, my extended family and local events hosted by RL friends.

It's not the end of the world, I just said I enjoyed "The Help" and also mentioned that the woman who played Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) is Ron Howard's daughter.  And then the squee thing came out:  "She has his faaaaace!"  I dunno, it's just that we have a certain language in fannish circles, a certain way of expressing ourselves, and I try to keep that completely separate from RL.

I guess it's kind of ironic, given that my online persona has been "fullygoldy" for 10 years, and it was supposed to signify me integrating all the aspects of my life into one whole being.  Sigh.  I was soo a pollyana at the time. I was going to be OUT about being poly and bi!  That was just before I was introduced to slash.  I'm pretty sure that talking openly about my slash habit in front of my Mormon relatives (who I mostly love and adore and don't discuss religion with) or my Catholic in-laws would probably result in a few disownments.  And the poly thing is just not open for discussion at all anymore.  SO. Separate sites for separate aspects of my life.  And yet I keep posting more RL stuff here (because my LJ flist has pretty much defected here) and now my local fannish friends are posting fannish content on FB. Doh!
 
Dan Rydell in shorts behind the desk

I haven't checked my personal (or work) email in 3 days.  Tonight I found this message from DW:

<quote>Dear fullygoldy,

Your account has been randomly selected to receive xdawnfirex's payment
through our sponsor-a-free-user program.

The account type that was purchased is:

Paid Account for 12 months

Congratulations on your paid time! </quote>

WOWOW!!  I was just thinking I should get off my but and renew my subscription tomorrow.  So I will - by making a similar donation :)

Thanks, [personal profile] xdawnfirex  !!  I'm going to enjoy my free year!
text = She Could See No Good Reason to Act Her Age
I am excite! I had my second consult on Wed, and I love what Dana did to combine my two ideas into a cohesive whole.  I can't wait to see the finished product.  She is also going to touch up my infinity symbol, which I've needed to do for about 2 years.

Got up to find several bday wishes on FB, and I'm off of the whole day, with tattoo at 11:30.  This afternoon, I'll be hanging with my sweetie, and probably end up doing the usual Fri evening thing with the gang at Crystal Corner.  We might go for a drink at Delmonico's also.  Then later, between 9 and 10, Mavis will arrive home with her posse.  They're picking her up from O'Hare, so I wouldn't have to drive down there and miss out on any evening festivities.  I think I better have some snacks on hand, because I'm betting we'll be staying up late, and there will be lots of giggling and hugging.

Also, last night a new program on a piece of equipment went into effect, and it worked! YAY!  It's been a problem ever since the weather started getting cold, and was driving us crazy, but the unit stayed on all night and didn't trip off this morning when it transitioned to occupied mode, so Happy Bday to me! I don't have to go to the site and turn it back on every time it goes off all weekend long.

Did all y'all know that Adam Lambert's music is frequently played on Headline News' Morning Express?  It's so fun to have these little snippets pop up between segments or going in and out of commercials.  They're so prevalent, even DH recognizes them.  Or maybe he just notices me noticing...  Yesterday was "For Your Entertainment" and today is "If I Had You." 
Woman reclining under text block

I'm having a pretty relaxed holiday season so far.  It's been a long time since the season didn't feel like a rushing swirl of stuff to do that ended up being left undone.

My adventures in the land of BH&G (aka I'm no Martha) )

Tonight is a Retro Cocktail Party at our BFF's (their annual tradition) and tomorrow is an early Bday present for me - we're going to see Beauty and the Beast at Overture! We haven't done a show in ages.  Next weekend is my milestone tattoo appointment, and a friend's 40th bday party-festive but not holiday-centric.  Also next weekend, the girl arrives for her 1-month sabbatical.  We've got 2 more Sunday afternoon dance classes left.  And that's basically it.  Not too many hours/days at work, not too many parties, not too many events or visitors, and almost no trips to the mall.  I'm feeling pretty zen about the season. \o/

Tattoo

Dec. 9th, 2011 09:08 am
Yellow Roses

So I'm finally getting around to making arrangements for my "milestone" tattoo.  I've been planning it for awhile, and at the beginning of the year I realized I'd reached the milestone, and I had the design pretty firmly finalized.  I've been visualizing it for well over a year, and still want it.  I had to do the same thing for my first - waiting for the design that stuck in my head the longest before making the committment.

I want a version of the Hopi "Man in the Maze" symbol, with a woman instead (of course) and I want the raised arms version (I have arrived) as opposed to the more traditional arms down (still searching).  Of course, in RL, I'll always be searching, so there's a certain amount of chutzpah associated with the arms up design, but it's a statement and a reminder about reaching goals.

OTOH, I've been struggling all year with the concept of cultural appropriation.  I've got a tiny smidge of Native American blood which doesn't distinguish me from many others in our melting pot, so I don't feel I have a legit claim to the symbolism.  It's just that I've been fascinated with the symbol and concept from the first time I encountered it.  I brought back the raised arms version from a trip to the Grand Canyon on a magnet that has been posted as a welcome on my kitchen door ever since (10 yrs?).  I look at this every day as I enter the house.  It's very meaningful to me. More so than any of the Celtic or Asian symbology I've ever considered (and discarded) for a tattoo over the years (and these seem to be widely accepted tattoo themes).  It comes from a place that I consider to be my true home (I get the desert-rat blood directly from my grandmother).  But. I am concerned with the appropriation perception.

On the gripping hand, I have been vacillating even worse on the design ever since [personal profile] were_duck  got her tattoo.  She's got these beautiful leaves that are so realistic as part of her design.  The moment I saw them, I said, "dammit! now I want leaves!"  And then there's the whole decision around what kind of leaves.  I'm thinking about basil.  Rosemary and basil are my go-to herbs, and cooking, food, feeding people are all tied up in love and belonging and abundance for me. 

The upshot is today I have a design consult, and I'm hoping to finally decide. Having read were_duck's mental journey toward selecting and designing her tattoo, I don't feel too abnormal about the way I struggle with mine.  I know people (my own daughter included) who just see things and say "want it" and they go get it.  I can't be that spontaneous. I don't want a large collection, I don't want an individually large tattoo either.  Although I did once see a fabulous vine that twined all down one side of a woman's body, including her arm and leg.  They were all there like pencil sketches, and she was getting them colored in a little at a time.  Super gorgeous, but more ink than I'd ever be comfortable sporting myself.

Does anybody want to weigh in on this?
Yellow Roses

so how do you get the neat new counter on your comments?  I know it's new, and I know my friend [personal profile] jesse_the_k  had something to do with it (for values of something = original, brilliant idea), but I see that it's not universally applied, so obviously I have to change a setting somewhere. I would like to play along.

* or you know, totally wiped out from the 4-mimosa brunch, 2-beer, 1-tequila chat, and 1.5 hrs East Coast Swing class.  Same, same.
Steve M <3 Danny W
Woke up this morning from a H50 dream.  A really weird, H50, crossdressing, polyamorous, bdsm(lite) dream with angst.  WTF, brain?

Wherein, DH & I were in a (fairly new, I think) relationship with Steve and Danny, and they were both supposed to dress and come to our house for a date/scene/what-have-you.  Unfortunately, as so often happens to Steve, RL intrudes, and prevents him from being on time/ruins his outfit, fills our house with unwelcome guests, and causes
the angst:

I looked out the front window and saw an extremely uncomfortable looking woman, with a not-quite coordinated outfit and a big floppy hat (remember those bridesmaids hats in the 70s?), who upon closer inspection also had 3-day's stubble.  She stopped on the sidewalk, took in the excess of cars in the driveway and high-tailed it away down the sidewalk.  I left DH in charge of the chaos and pursued "her" on foot.  I finally figured out Danny had entered a neighbor's seemingly empty house.  I tiptoed around the house until I found him in the bathtub, hat & lavendar pumps missing, under a blanket and crying (from embarassment/disappointment).  I had to talk him down (with lots of hugging and petting too), and convince him to return to our house with me.  Just as soon as he agreed, we hear the neighbor coming home.  We tried to sneak out through the basement/garage, but it turned out that was the way he was coming in.  So we just brazenly walked out past him, hand-in-hand, with a nod and a cordial "good morning" while he stood there a bit agape (he kinda looked like the Antiques Roadshow guy, and the area we were walking through was filled with old furniture).  Aaaaand once we hit the sidewalk, I woke up.

SO WEIRD. I like the new H50, I enjoy the Steve/Danny fic, but I'm not gaga over either of them. I've never really wanted to bed either one, just, you know, watch them do it.  And not while they're badly cross-dressed either.  Must have been the pizza+Inception fic? IDEK.

Inception

Nov. 20th, 2011 08:48 am
text = On the internet, no one can see your wrinkles

Last weekend, I finally saw Inception.  Watched it "On Demand" with DH.  We were hurting for viewing material, and couldn't find anything we both agreed on until this popped up on the menu. 
DH said, "buh? what is it?" 
I did not say, "it's on my list of at least 10 fandoms I'm reading without benefit of canon." 
I did not say, "all the fangirls love the Eames/Arthur." 
I said, "it's supposed to be good, you'll like it.  It's sci-fi, I'll like it." 

So we really enjoyed it.  Lots of action, starts in media res, which was a format I apparently liked even before I found fandom.  It must have come from the mysteries (Nancy Drew, et al).  I used to eat those up as a kid, and there was always the challenge of figuring out something that wasn't being shown directly. Someone once said to me that she couldn't get into the Vorkosigan 'verse because she always felt like she didn't really know the canon.  She was speaking about the actual canon, and the way Bujold tells a story by revealing bits of "known" history randomly, instead of building an orderly backstory from the outset.  /tangent

Anyway, it was a complex, and well-told story.  Lots of layers, just like dreaming.  It's compelling enough to make you keep thinking about it afterward and want to watch it again right away, because you know you'll take away something new on the rewatch.

Is it really spoilers if you're probably the last person to see it? )
I'm enjoying the Eames/Arthur, but it's so removed from my experience of the movie, it's more like I'm reading original smut stories with characters of the same name.


text = If there's a slashers' heaven, I bet they've got a hell of an archive
with thanks to [personal profile] kass :

Dear everyone involved with the Archive of Our Own,

Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who's ever written a line of code, fixed a bug, wrangled a tag, answered a support ticket.

Thank you to the back-end coders and thank you to the front-end coders.

Thank you to everyone who's ever brainstormed about what the archive might do, and thank you to everyone who's poured their hearts, souls, and spare time into trying to make the archive do all of those things and more.

I use the AO3 every day. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for building it for me and for everyone who uses it -- and for everyone who doesn't use it yet but might use it someday.

This archive isn't something to which fandom is entitled. It's a labor of love. You make the archive as your gift to fandom, and I appreciate that gift so, so much.

Even though it isn't finished yet. Even though it isn't perfect yet. It's still awesome, and your hard work is tremendous and admirable, and I just want to say thanks.

(Dear everyone else: if anything in this post resonates with you, feel free to signal-boost or repost.)

So this thing happened on AO3 this weekend - the site looks different, but for me, it was very similar in look and feel. I didn't have any access problems, nothing disappeared, I don't use a fancy skin, so nothing broke. The stuff I searched for popped up quickly.  I guess I was in the lucky minority, or I just didn't hit it at the right time to experience all the wrongs.  I'm not a huge fan of the light gray background, but it wasn't horrible. I'm just grateful that I can reliable go one place and reliably find lots of fanworks.  I used to love the "Complete Archive of Slash" hosted by Minotaur, but it was clunky to use, and too much work for one person anyway.  It just seems like when one person creates something, people will be more forgiving, or they won't go there. Maybe the color scheme sucks, or you don't like the tagging system, but hey, it's still a valuable resource, so you can put up with those things.  But since AO3 was created by an organization, it's been de-personalized in some ways.  But as [personal profile] kass
  reminds us, it's ALL personal.  So really, please remember to be kind to everyone who's giving so much so you can enjoy your corner of fandom a little more easily.
McClane & Matt in profile

Back on Oct 1, I listed out the fandoms I'm reading without knowing the canon.  There were 7 listed with zero exposure, 1 with half an episode, and 1 I had started reading at the begining of it's fandom, and finally started watching when the first season/series was nearly complete.  I tagged the entry with 2 others that for some reason didn't make it into the original post. So that made 10 fandoms without a basis in canon.

Last night I finally saw Live Free or Die Hard.  It's only been out since 2007, and I started reading the fic thanks to Nestra and Shrift and their Polyamorous Recs.  Some solid authors have written in this small fandom, and I enjoy it alot.

So, comments on the movie:
1) I saw it on FX and they have too many (naturally), too long commercial breaks. bleh.
2) I missed the first 10 min, but the next 5 resolved the "Daisy Duke" moniker issue - I always thought John calling Matt "daisy" in fic was just shorthand for him being an ass.
3) I missed (if it was there) the basis for Matt's Red Bull addiction so I still don't know if it's canon or fanon.
4) My favorite bit: "Did you see that?!" "Did I see it? I DID it!"
5) John's bad habits wearing off onto Matt (he tries to throw a punch, he smart-mouths the bad guys with the guns, etc) are love
6) Lucy is tough ("Daddy? ... There are only 5 of them now.") What I thought was dumb though, was John and Matt are sporting scrapes, scratches and bloodstains from the first action scene.  Lucy gets smacked around more than once and never has a bloody nose, split lip or even a bruised cheekbone.  Can't let the girl look mussed up, eh Hollywood?
7) The "dog fight" between the fighter jet and the semi? Utter bullshit.  It only would have been worse if McClane had jumped into the jet and landed it after the pilot ejected.
8) This was fairly early, which surprised me, I finally got to see John throw the car at a helicopter (#4) which gets referenced in most of the fics.  I figured it would be in the climactic fight scene.
9) Lucy is a brunette! In my mind she has always been blonde.  I thought maybe I was mixing her up with the daughter in 24, but no, wrong face. So it's going to bug me until I figure out who I was picturing as Lucy.

AAAAND, I've been reading Tony Stark/Steve Rogers fic, so I don't think I'm actually making headway on abolishing my canon-less reading list. *facepalm*

For Mavis

Oct. 22nd, 2011 10:17 am
Stag Patronus in blue sillouhette

I woke up with this little bit in my head:

Draco:  I'm glad you like.
Hermoine:  Mmmm, I do. I like you so much right now.
D:  You can tell me, you like me way more like this.
H:  Well, I do, but I also liked the old you.
D:  'Mione? 
H:  He got my attention, didn't he?
More snogging and snuggling ensues.


Also: Archive of Our Own Draco/Hermione fic and Draco/Ginny

And:  Polyamorous Recs compiled by shrift and nestra, two of the most awesome BNFs in fandom.  They always have good recs, and if you're not careful, you'll end up with more fandoms than you know what to do with.

Vacation!

Oct. 11th, 2011 06:24 am
text = She Could See No Good Reason to Act Her Age
I've only ever done this once before, but I'm going on vacation to CA without the spouse.  The first time was because we were in the throes of opening our business, strapped for cash, and my BFF (for realz) was getting married. So it was a whirlwind trip to attend the big event and get back home before DH had a total meltdown.

This time it's my 30th high school reunion, and DH might have come with, but since his 40th reunion was at the end of Aug, we were again a bit cash-poor (compounded by helping the girl with tuition for her first semester of college), and he's been having health issues (Thrush *again* and Bell's Palsey of all things and this post isn't about that).  So my sister and the girl are going to drive in from the Reno area and hang with me in the old home town.  It will be my first ever "girls' vacation."

I'm leaving at dinner time CST on Wed, arriving at SFO at 11:45 PST, then driving down to Santa Clara and the hotel.  I expect to sleep *a lot* on Thurs.  The girls will arrive no sooner than 8 pm due to class schedules.  Friday will be a lazy-ish day I think, with sushi for dinner and a trip to the Black Watch in Los Gatos, for old time's sake.  Sat. there's a tour of the old high school (haven't decided if I'm going) and of course the official reunion in the evening.  Sunday afternoon is a BBQ at the park we all used to hang out at.  Then I'm at loose ends all evening because my flight departs around midnight, with me arriving home at 9:00 am CST.  I expect to sleep *a lot* on Monday as well.  The weather forecast says it will be gloriously sunny and warm until about Sunday, so YAY!

I'm expecting some fangirl interaction with the girl - she's started reading HP (Hermoine/Draco) and is looking for recs, and I found a bunch of her CDs (mixes) in the basement and have ripped them to iTunes so I can transfer them in person.  I'm also expecting that my period will start while I'm there because my body hates me, it always wants to start while I'm traveling, and my cycles are getting shorter. blech.

I'm shooting for daily yoga practice while I'm gone, because this twice a week schedule isn't nearly enough.  If I get into the routine there, maybe it will stick when I get home.

I'm going to wear the same dress I wore for my brother-in-law's wedding two years ago, a floaty brown chiffon with ecru polka dots, but I've got new accessories. Coral necklaces and a stack of bracelets and coral nail polish. I don't know which shoes yet. the white bandolino slides (last time for the year, yeah?) or the brown patent peep toe pumps (understated and seasonally appropriate).  I need to pack tonight!

text = If there's a slashers' heaven, I bet they've got a hell of an archive

OY, how/why do I do this?!

I seriously have never seen the original canon for any of these, and yet, I am reading enough of them to have to fully include them in my "current fandoms. In reverse chronological order:"

Thor (it's all [personal profile] astolat's fault, though I totally intended to see the movie when it premiered, but RL had other plans)
Inception (IDEK, it just happened)
My Chemical Romance (but it's just crossovers with Adam Lambert-including Tommy macking on Frank spectacularly)
Sherlock (BBC)
Merlin (BBC)
White Collar (who can resist all the pretty? Now [personal profile] china_shophas me reading Clinton/Neal in addition to the OT3.
I recently reread the Supernatural/Friday Night Lights crossover by [personal profile] bone, (SO HOT!) which featured Dean/Tim. I've seen half of one episode of SPN, so I'm standing by my "no original canon" claim there.

Hawaii Five-O is also current, but I've finally seen at least half of season one, and everything that's aired since the premier of season 2, making it the only canon I'm watching that is currently airing.

What on earth is wrong with me?!?!

ETA: How much wine had I drunk when I posted this?  I see I tagged it with "die hard" as in Live Free or, and "genkill" Generation Kill, but didn't even mention them.  And really, Die Hard McLane/Farrell was probably my first "no canon" fandom!
Reboot McCoy "I'm a Dr."
via [personal profile] china_shop :

Ask Me Meme: One of the quirks of LJ/DW/online interaction in general: We think we are close, but really, we know nothing about each other. Ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Then if you want to, post this in your LJ/DW and find out what people don't know about you.

In other news, I got my color refreshed for fall.  Lots of lowlights and dimension in there.  Not sure I'm 100% on board with the results, but my stylist and her co-worker were gushing over it, so maybe it will grow on me.  Also, if there's any more sun at all this season, it'll bleach out the top layer - my hair lightens in a second of sunshine.  I'm not getting a real haircut for another 2 weeks, and I'm thinking of altering my style a bit, going for something a little asymmetrical. It would be a revival (3rd time around?) for me, but that just makes me worry I'm trying too hard to recapture my youth.

Speaking of, it's pretty much gone, right? I'm officially perimenopausal, thanks to yesterday's physical.  I wear more sparkly makeup now than I ever did, but I've also calmed down some of my fun fashion choices. OTOH, I've gotten a bit more playful with my professional wear.  I figure I'm being taken seriously by lots of men on a professional level, I can stop worrying about presenting such a genderless face.  This only applies to "dressy" professional attire, since there's just not much you can do with jeans, polos and steel toes to make them less genderless.  And no, I won't resort to wearing pink (bleh).
McKay's got a Headache
I haven't had a classic Monday like this in forever.  And I nearly missed out on Talk Like a Pirate Day, ARRRGH!

First off, last night I remembered to put my phone on the charger for today.  Good thing mateys, since the phone had drained down completely and shut itself off.  This morning, I'm getting ready to leave, so I collect my phone and go to turn it on. Only it won't.  I play with it a bit to no avail, then decide later to take the battery out.  The water detection spot on the end is bright pink! I don't even know when this could have happened - really anytime in the past 6 wks since the last time I looked at it.  You'd think the water event would line up with the phone-not-working event, but I know for a fact that the phone worked fine through Friday, and did not leave the safety of my purse all day Sat & Sun.  I stuck it all back together for safe keeping, and Lo, the phone, it is alive. (Imma request a replacement though, too many weird phone probs this summer).

Second, I got to work and spent the morning online, catching up on administrative "year end" stuff (it's our FYE this month).  After lunch, I notice I'm having trouble with my internet connection.  I figure it's my POS VPN connection.  But no, restarting that is a no-go. Then I realize my Cricket connection has dropped.  No biggie, just reconnect. Only it WON'T.  Keeps saying "cannot connect to network." Sure enough, the little light on the device is red, not blue.  Keep trying for about half an hour, to no avail.  Decide I'll go home to finish up some stuff.  Leave a note for the guy coming in at 3, and head out.

Third (as in three strikes, you're outta here), I get home to the great surprise and delight of DH.  I relate my woes. I say, "so I came home to get back online."  He laughs at me. "Nope, not gonna happen."
Me: Why not?
Him:  Power is out in the neighborhood.  Fire Dept and Electric Co trucks are in the neighborhood.
Me:  ....
Me:  You wanna take the dogs for a walk?

After the walk, the power is restored, but my desire to do anything productive is seriously eroded. I straightened up my office (which I haven't actually inhabited in over a year).  I've still got to put the clean sheets on the guest bed, and clean up a doggie stain in the corner (it requires more attention than the 18-yr old gave it), and there's a boat load of filing of both personal and work-related stuff.  But the desk is clean, there's room for yoga, and I'm looking forward to moving back in at the end of the month.  Just, I'm not in the mood to actually work in here today.

And yay! Just like that, Monday is officially OVAH!! (It's 5:00 where I am, sorry if it's not for you).  DH just left for his first of 10 mandolin lessons, and now is officially the time I have set aside for more-intense-than-usual yoga workouts for the next 10 Mondays. I've got at least 1.5 hrs, maybe by the end of the run, I'll actually have the stamina to go that long.
Yellow Roses
We've been enjoying the summer abundance again!

Labor Day weekend, it was heirloom tomato pie, fresh corn salsa, and home-cured & smoked bacon (an experiment that seems natural when you've got half of a pig in your freezer).

This past Friday, I went home and cooked dinner for what felt like the first time in ages.  DH has been doing most of the cooking, or we go out, or we eat leftovers.  So, I did a light lemon-ginger sauteed chicken, and a whole-wheat conchigile in cream sauce with peas and walnuts.  Saturday, I cooked again! Penne in fresh tomato-vodka sauce, tilapia filets that poached atop the sauce and a lemon cucumber, artichoke and cherry tomato salad with tarragon-dill vinaigrette.  I've been using agave to sweeten my vinaigrettes instead of sugar, and I really like the result.

Yesterday, we went to the BFFs for "lunch" which set a personal record I think - 6 hours of eating, drinking, & socializing at lunch!  Crawfish etoufee, shrimp & grits, sweet potato and corn salad, biscuits with 2 savory toppings and 2 sweet, traditional finger/relish stuff, bloody marys, vodka lemonade, beer, fruit-infused tequila, ice cream with yummy toppings, and chunky bacon on demand! The weather was perfect to laze a Sunday afternoon away, and the laughter rang through the neighborhood. An excellent party. Also, that was my only meal for the day, LOL. I was completely stuffed and had zero need for dinner.

We have half a pound of oyster mushrooms that need to be used this week, and I'm positive they're going into our new comfort food/shameful secret - fried oyster mushroom po'boys with homemade remoulade.  SO so so DELICIOUS!!!
Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara

This morning, I woke up from a dream in which I was having hot, delicious sex with ::drumroll::

Helen Mirren!!!!!!!111!!

Now, my dreams tend to be pretty equal opportunity in the sex department, but when I dream of women, I rarely see/remember their faces, unless they're someone I know in real life. Strange fun fact: when I dreamt of men, for about the first 10 yrs of my marriage, they always had my DH's face, no matter what their name was or even if they were someone I knew in RL. So on the rare occassions that I'd see someone else's face in a dream, it was usually shocking enough to wake me up.

 

Back to Helen... )

Then I went back to sleep and dreamt of David Hasselhoff being a jerk (thankfully there was no sex in this one - just, ewwww).  I don't know what's going on in my subconscious. I very rarely dream about celebrities, and here were two in one day! Yay, fandom?

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Yellow Roses
fullygoldy

January 2012

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