betty edit blurbs

Rachmaninoff

2012-02-17T22:32:00.001-08:00

One thing I love about listening to Rachmaninoff is that I always know when the piece is over.

Bathroom Talk

2012-02-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

You know, for as many things as are wrong with my house--front door sticks and makes a horrific noise, faucet handle goes around and around without stopping, roof and shower both leak, walls are bending and cracking and have lots of holes, house is slanted, etc., etc. (I could go on)--my toilet is really very efficient.

I have an awesome toilet.

(And sometimes that makes a big difference.)

Motivation and Exercise

2012-02-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

To say that I loathe exercising would be putting it mildly.

I'm not particularly against exercising, I just like to be active as I do things I actually care about. For example, I love running around with Queen Tuffet's kids, dragging them back and forth across the backyard in their wagon, or chasing them at the park. I love taking dogs for walks (although I don't actually own a dog, so I don't do this often). I like playing ultimate frisbee (although I haven't done so in years), and I like climbing things I'm not supposed to climb (so I don't do that often either). I generally don't like walking unless a) I have no homework and no items on my to-do list (ha ha ha); b) I am walking with someone and we can talk and enjoy each other's company; c) I am on a treadmill and reading a book or watching something worth spending the time to watch.

In other words, I don't like wasting time on exercising. And yes, I know there are physical benefits and all that, I'm just talking about exercising versus stuff that I have to do. I'm not going to get a lower grade if I don't exercise, but I will get a lower grade if I don't do my homework.

Basically, I don't exercise, and I have a desk job. I've been trying to figure out now, for several months, how to motivate myself. I want to get moving, I just have no intrinsic motivation whatsoever. None. I am motivated by external factors, and always have been.

Then, last week, I got an idea. Last week, I purchased this:

Oh yeah.

Currently, this box is sitting on my coffee table, gathering dust. It is unopened, and will remain so until I earn it. I have a system I made up for myself*, wherein I give myself a point each for doing certain things: going to bed before midnight (never happens), eating healthy (also never happens), exercising... Once I get 100 points, I can reward myself with a prize, which is usually just a book or a movie. This time, however, the prize will be this box of Legos. I cannot touch it until then, though I can see it every time I pass from the kitchen to the bedroom.

So far I have exercised 3 days this week. Just think about that: months and months of nothing and then 3 days all in one week! What else could give me that sort of motivation? Must be the Legos!

*My system probably comes from when I was little and hated practicing: Mother Edit, who taught me to play the piano, gave me points for each song I passed off each week at my lesson. Then, when I reached 100 points, I could get a toy from the store that was $5 or less. I was so elated every time I got to pick out a toy. :o)

Destination Tofu

2012-01-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today as I was driving, I saw the front of a bus, the display that tells the destination, and it said TOFU.

"Tofu?" I thought.

I looked again. It actually said TO U OF U, not TOFU, but my brain had squished out the extra U and O to make tofu.

:o)

Movies I Love But Would (Almost) Never Recommend

2012-01-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

We all have them: movies we love, but wouldn't necessarily admit to loving. They're the movies we think of when asked, "What do you want to watch?", but we don't say anything because chances are no one else wants to watch it. These are the movies that I like or love, but usually keep mum about.

1. The Mummy Returns
I love this movie. It is, hands down, the movie I watch the most frequently*. I love the humor, I love the family dynamics, I love the female protagonist (Evelyn, played by Rachel Weisz), and I won't say that Brendan Fraser, Arnold Vosloo, and Oded Fehr don't make it more enjoyable too. This is not a movie that I would have expected myself to like, yet I always come back to it. I also don't normally like violence, but for some reason I'm not bothered. This is my big secret: The Mummy Returns is one of my favorite films.

2. The Mummy
The second Mummy movie is better than the first, but I do like this one too. It's a lot cheesier, but it still has some good humor, and the characters are likable.

3. The Neverending Story
The Neverending Story isn't always a movie I keep hidden quietly on my shelf, because I think it has kind of a cult following, or fan base. I think maybe I have a thing for interesting characters and fantastical settings, because that seems to be a common theme on this list. Fact one: I like the song that plays during the opening credits. Fact two: I named my French horn Falcor, after the luck dragon. In the movie, Falkor is spelled with a K, but I spell Falcor with a C because "cor" is French for "horn".

4. A.I.
Last week I watched this movie as I worked on my Lego Tower Bridge (post to come), and remembered how much I liked it. I also realized that Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) was in this movie! I recognized his voice before I recognized his face.

5. Moulin Rouge
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Beautiful music, beautiful sets, beautiful everything... Just be careful about mentioning this movie to people in Utah. Some people are ok with it, others aren't.

6. The Hours
This is another movie that I am careful about mentioning in Utah, but it has a great cast, is well-told, has excellent music by Philip Glass, and is just all around beautiful. Ok, maybe a little depressing too, but beautifully depressing, you know? Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep are on my list of most talented actresses** ever.

7. My Little Ponies
Ah, My Little Ponies, a movie I grew up with. The movie has a surprisingly strong cast (Madeline Kahn!), and is not so dumbed-down that I want to gouge my eyeballs out. There are actually a lot of different characters and settings, so that keeps things kind of interesting. I'm not certain I would like this movie if I hadn't loved it as a child, but really, how can you beat the floom song***? I used to quote that song, the part where the one sister says, "Happy Birthday!" and I didn't realize until years later where I got that from. Anyway, it's a fun movie.

8. The Fifth Element
Do not ask me what I like about this movie, because I don't know. It makes me laugh and smile and cry (except I don't really cry). See #3 above where I talk about liking fantastical settings and characters.

Those are all my "secret list" movies that I can think of right now. What movies do you secretly love?

*Not counting the few movies I have on my iPod, which I watch while I wash the dishes. I watch those the most because I have only five to choose from.
**Is there a gender neutral term for "actor"? I really dislike the word "actresses".
***Located at 2:30 on the YouTube video.

Anya: Envelope Head

2012-01-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

Cat + Manilla Envelope =

Anya and the Sticky Trap

2012-01-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

One morning, I woke up to Anya zooming from one end of the house to the other. She does this not infrequently, so I slept through it for a while, but some part of my subconscious realized she was making more noise than normal. I got out of bed and plopped down a can of food to settle her down. My eyes still weren't all the way open, but as I leaned down to pet her, I discovered why she'd been running around so much: she had a sticky trap stuck to her tail.

I'd bought these traps and placed them around the house, in what I thought were cat-proof places, but I guess I was wrong. Thankfully, the trap wasn't too difficult to cut off, or rather, the fur on her tail wasn't difficult to cut off to free the trap. I'm just glad it hadn't gotten stuck on one of her paws or her face or something.

The other sticky traps were thrown away later that day.

I can't believe she got that whole big thing stuck on her tail. No wonder her galloping was so noisy.

"Not for you, Betty."

2012-01-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

I happen to fill a lot of prescriptions at Target. Two of those prescriptions are refilled monthly, but they are on opposite schedules, so I'm in to pick up medicine every other week.

Not too long ago, I headed out early to work, intending to pick up my prescription on the way. I got in my car and glanced at my watch.

"Oh no!" I realized. "It's almost 1:30!"

The Target pharmacy closes between 1:30 and 2, but I decided to go anyway and see if I could make it.

When I arrived at Target, the lights at the pharmacy were off, but there were still two employees at the counter, and one lady was being helped. One of the employees I didn't recognize, but the other guy was someone who always seems to be there when I am (and I've done some fairly memorable stupid things while he's there too, like coming in for my prescription when I didn't call to refill it). I didn't realize just how memorable I'd made myself (or how frequently I'd picked up prescriptions), until I asked, "Is the pharmacy closed?"

He looked at me, and then he said, "Not for you, Betty."

Ha! He knew my name. How hilarious is that? I was laughing all the way out to my car. That was great customer service.

Looking Back

2012-01-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today as I was contemplating 2011, I realized that a lot of really good and surprising things have happened in the past year. In no particular order:

-I went to Hawaii for the first time.
-I went snorkeling for the first time.
-I went to ComicCon for the first time (I also rode Amtrak for what was probably the last time).
-I went to Legoland for the first time.
-I went to Disneyland for the millionth time (but the only time this year).
-I successfully completed my second year of grad school.
-I got my first smart phone.
-I bought my first desktop computer (I've only ever bought laptops before).
-I finally finished unpacking (from moving in September of 2010).
-I turned 30 and had the best birthday ever.
-I bought a bunch of Lego sets (see my post about not being addicted).
-With the help of a friend, I exercised during the spring and summer.
-I learned to use Adobe Dreamweaver.
-I went to my first library conference.
-I went to my first writing retreat.
-I went to the beach for the first time in years.
-I carved a pumpkin for the first time in years.
-I decorated my house for Christmas for the first time in years, since my Christmas decorations were finally with me, and not in a box in my parents' garage. ;o)
-I saw some really fantastic sunrises and sunsets.
-I got to spend a glorious Christmas with my family.

Most of those are things that I never would have predicted at the beginning of the year, and few of them had anything to do with the resolutions I made for 2011. I'm sure there are other wonderful and fantastic things which have happened too, which are not on this list.

I've made a few resolutions for 2012. Among other items on the list (the standard stuff about health, religion, and school) are these:

-Finish writing my novel.
-Create a personal website.
-Dictate and digitize my family songbook.
-Clean off my desk.
-Go to bed earlier (ha ha ha).
-Read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
-Figure out the best way to store my Lego sets.

I'm kind of free with my resolutions--I like to change them as the year progresses, and revise them as needed, so we'll see what I've actually accomplished when the year comes to a close.

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 24: Santa Yoda

2011-12-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

My nephew LOVES this minifig. I opened my advent calendar weeks ago, and Prince Lego has been playing with it ever since. He carries Santa Yoda around with his other (human) Santa minifig and makes a sleigh for both Santas to store their toys in. Santa's reindeer are an odd mix of Kingdoms horses and skeleton horses. Maybe now that Prince Lego has his own Santa Yoda minifig, he'll let me have mine back! ;o)

I hope you are all enjoying time with your families and loved ones today and tomorrow and throughout the holidays. I'm also enjoying having a month break before my next semester of school starts. :o)

Sometimes I wonder if I use too many smileys, but then I think maybe I'm just a person who smiles a lot!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Santa Claus:

Yoda:

Lego Santa Yoda:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 23: Christmas Tree

2011-12-23T00:30:00.000-08:00

These last two days are way easy, so I would just like to say THANK YOU to everyone who read these posts and to those who commented too. I very much appreciate your encouragement and feedback. Thanks!

Christmas Tree:

(photo by ShellyS)

Lego Christmas Tree:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 22: A-Wing Starfighter

2011-12-22T00:30:00.000-08:00

The RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor (aka A-Wing) was a kind of touchy little craft, and required great skill to pilot. A-Wings did not use astromech droids. Like the TIE fighter, the A-Wing left little chance of survival after a collision.

A-Wings are found in Episode VI. The most notable A-Wing is the one which crashed into the bridge of the Empire's super star destroyer, which in turn crashed tip-first into the second Death Star.

A-Wing Interceptor:

Lego A-Wing Interceptor:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 21: Millennium Falcon

2011-12-21T00:30:00.000-08:00

Hooray! The Millennium Falcon!

Pretty much everyone knows about the Millennium Falcon (and if you don't, go away and don't come back until you've watched the original Star Wars trilogy!), so here is a link to a YouTube video of Episode IV excerpts with Rifftrax narration. Rifftrax produces hilarious audio tracks to play with your favorite movies; if you've ever seen MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000), you'll know what I'm talking about--these are those same guys*. In the video I linked to, the Millennium Falcon connection comes in at 5 minutes.

Millennium Falcon:

Lego Millennium Falcon:

*Note: Some of the Rifftrax audio is aimed at an adult audience, but mostly it's pretty clean.

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 20: TIE Fighter

2011-12-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's TIE pilot doesn't fit inside very well, but today we get a tiny TIE fighter. It's not the most spectacular thing ever. It does destruct easily if you throw it against a wall though, so that's just like a real TIE fighter would be--easily destructible. :o)

TIE Fighter:

Lego TIE Fighter:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 19: TIE Pilot

2011-12-19T00:30:00.000-08:00

Today's build is a TIE pilot. You probably never would have guessed, but TIE pilots fly TIE fighters. Crazy, huh? ;o) You can see TIE pilots in each of the movies in the original Star Wars trilogy.

One interesting thing I learned from Wookieepedia is that TIE pilots didn't normally carry survival equipment or emergency rations with them, because in the event they crashed, it wasn't very likely they'd survive anyway.

The photo on Wookieepedia of an actual TIE pilot (see below) looks kind of insectoid to me, but the advent calendar minifig looks cute (as usual). I gave my TIE pilot one of the blaster guns from the weapons stand, even though TIE pilots didn't often carry firearms.

TIE Pilot:

Lego TIE Pilot:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 18: Y-Wing Starfighter

2011-12-18T00:30:00.000-08:00

Today's build is the BTL-B Y-wing starfighter (that's a mouthful, eh? Personally, I'd prefer a BLT-B Y-wing starfighter...) (har har har). Anakin Skywalker flew this particular type of Y-wing during the Clone Wars, so you won't actually see this ship in any of the original 6 movies. The BTL-B did show up in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. :o)

Y-Wing Starfighter:

Lego Y-Wing Starfighter:

I don't know why, but those two little jet engines sticking out the back like that remind me of turkey legs...

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 17: Weapons Stand

2011-12-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

The weapons stand today is not specific to any particular movie, but it has some fun stuff on it: two blaster rifles, one lightsaber, and a pair of macrobinoculars.

Blaster Rifle:

Lightsaber:

Macrobinoculars:

Lego Weapons Stand:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 16: Clone Pilot

2011-12-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

In the regular Lego sets, a clone pilot's head looks like this:

(If you stare at his head long enough, his mouth turns into a mustache, and then he is smiling at you.)

In the advent calendar, the clone's head is just a plain black head. I guess you can't have everything, right?

Clone Pilot:

Lego Clone Pilot:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 15: Republic Gunship

2011-12-15T00:30:00.001-08:00

Today's build is a Low Altitude Assault Transport (LAAT), also known as a Republic gunship. I found another really cool microbuild of the Republic gunship, but it's a bit bigger and more involved than the one in the calendar. The building instructions are on brickshelf.com.

There's not much to say about the Republic gunship–it was used to transport troops, was especially easy to maneuver, and had a lot of weaponry on it.

The Republic gunship can be seen in Episodes II and III.

Republic Gunship:

Photo from C4Des.

Lego Republic Gunship:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 14: Mouse Droid

2011-12-14T00:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some forms of inter-office communication one might encounter in real life or fiction:

Business: email
Junior high: 5th-period student assistant
University: courier
Mansion: intercom
Star Trek: communicators
Ministry of Magic: paper airplanes
Star Wars: mouse droid

The mouse droid wasn't just for carrying notes around spacecraft though: according to Wookiepedia, it could also be used for sanitation, security (mostly as an alert system, I'm guessing), and navigating troops through Imperial ships to wherever they were needed. Direct quote from Wookiepedia: "Their use was only limited by their owner's creativity."

And here I thought they were just there to feed the cat droids. :o)

You can see mouse droids in Episodes III, IV, V, and VI.

Mouse Droid:

Lego Mouse Droid:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 13: R2-Q5 Astromech Droid

2011-12-13T00:30:00.000-08:00

Astromech droids are cute, and Lego astromech droids even more so. R2-Q5 is an astromech droid. You can see him in Return of the Jedi, about three-and-a-half minutes in, if you look closely at the background area as the camera pans over the troops. The Stockholm Droid Factory has a good picture if you want to see where to look.

R2-Q5:

Lego R2-Q5:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 12: Rebel Snowspeeder

2011-12-12T00:30:00.000-08:00

The T-47 airspeeder, aka rebel snowspeeder, was seen in Episode V, during the battle on Hoth.

To me, snowspeeders have always resembled some sort of sucker-type animal, or maybe a stingray.

Photo by Kevin Eddy

But maybe that's just me. :o)

Rebel Snowspeeder:

Lego Rebel Snowspeeder:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 11: Pilot Battle Droid

2011-12-11T00:30:00.000-08:00

Following the theme of shuttles, starfighters, and other flying things, today's build is a pilot battle droid (not to be confused with the command battle droid, security battle droid, or generic B1 battle droid).

I've always wondered about humanoid droids--is the upright human shape really the most efficient design in terms of mechanics and function? Particularly in the case of a battle droid, I'd think it would make more sense to incorporate weapons into the droid's body structure directly, rather than having it hold the weapon, but that's just me. :o)

OOM-series Pilot Battle Droid:

Lego OOM-series Pilot Battle Droid (with extra arms for carrying weapons or not):

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 10: Imperial Shuttle

2011-12-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

Apparently this isn't just an imperial shuttle, it's a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. I never would have guessed. :o)

You've seen the imperial shuttle in Return of the Jedi, when the Emperor visited the second Death Star. It's also the shuttle that Han, Luke, Chewbacca, Leia, and the rest of the strike team used to land on the moon of Endor, which led to the downfall of the Empire. Woohoo!

The coolest thing about this Lego build, in my opinion, is the blue plate which represents the lights on the back of the shuttle.

Imperial Shuttle:

Lego Imperial Shuttle:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 9: X-Wing Starfighter

2011-12-09T00:30:00.000-08:00

I've always loved the X-Wing: it's the starfighter Luke flew when he destroyed the first Death Star, it's the starfighter Yoda raised from the murky swamps of Dagobah, it's the starfighter that was used by Rebel pilots in the destruction of the second Death Star, and it pretty much just looks awesome.

Another cool thing about the X-Wing is how the wings can be locked together or spread apart, which Lego captured perfectly in their Day 9 build.

X-Wing Starfighter:

Lego X-Wing Starfighter:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 8: Zev Senesca

2011-12-08T00:30:00.000-08:00

Day 8 Minifig's identification is a little tricky. For some reason, Bricklink.com lists Day 8 Minifig as Dack Ralter (alternately spelled Dak Ralter--not sure which is right). However, compared to all the other non-advent-calendar minifigs Lego has produced, the Day 8 Minifig looks most like Zev Senesca. Here are two pages from an awesome book called Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia (Amazon page) to compare the two (convenient that Zev and Dak are on the same spread, eh?):

The only difference between Day 8 Minifig and Zev Senesca is that Day 8 Minifig only gets a plain white helmet--no cool markings. Thus I conclude that Day 8 Minifig is Zev Senesca with a bleached-out helmet.

Zev Senesca was the pilot who, during Episode V, located Luke and Han after they spent a frigid night outside the rebel base on Hoth. Zev died not long thereafter, during the battle with the Empire forces.

Zev Senesca:

Lego Zev Senesca:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 7: Tool Stand & Barrel

2011-12-07T00:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got Chewbacca, and where would Chewie be without his bowcaster?

Today's build is a tool stand/depot/barrel. I'm not sure whether this is modeled off an actual stand as represented in any of the movies or literature, but I do know there are plenty of weapon and tool stands in the films, so it's not unlikely.

The crossbow is meant to be Chewbacca's bowcaster, which he uses in Episodes III, V, and VI. The other tools included are generic Lego, but they could be some of the tools Chewbacca used as he fixed the Millennium Falcon during Episode V. :o)

Bowcaster (shoots more like a blaster gun than a crossbow):

Lego tool depot:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 6: Chewbacca

2011-12-06T00:30:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love Chewbacca? This minifig really confused my little 5-year-old nephew at first. He kept asking me, "Where's his head? Where's his head?" I think he finally got it when I showed him that the head was included on the entire big piece that went over the body, so he didn't need a standard minifig head too. :o)

Chewbacca:

Lego Chewbacca:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 5: Slave I

2011-12-05T00:30:00.000-08:00

The Slave I was Jango Fett's ship, but Boba Fett took control of it after Jango died. The ship in the advent calendar is the Slave I under the ownership of Boba Fett.

Slave I:

Lego Slave I:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 4: Homing Spider Droid

2011-12-04T00:30:00.000-08:00

As seen in Episode II: Clone Wars. I think it's a pretty good likeness. :o)

Homing spider droid:

Lego homing spider droid:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 3: Mechno-Chair

2011-12-03T10:46:00.001-08:00

My first thought when I put this together was, "What in the heck? Is this supposed to be a droid or something?" Turns out it's a mechno-chair.

Never heard of a mechno-chair? I hadn't either. You'll recognize it when you see it, though; it's the contraption that projects a hologram of the emperor (technically, he wasn't the emperor yet) while keeping pace with the real-life Neimoidians he is talking to. I'm not sure why Lego thought we'd want a mechno-chair without an Emperor hologram minifig, but whatever.

This thing is also known as a mechano-chair, but if you're doing a Google image search, "mechno-chair" brings up better results.

Mechno-chair:

Lego Mechno-chair:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day 2: Nute Gunray

2011-12-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

When I first got this calendar, I opened it up along the side and slid the tray out to see the pieces. Then, I looked at this minifig and actually noticed that his head was missing. Yipes! Luckily, Lego is super nice about missing pieces, and they sent me a replacement part right away. That was back in October, I think, and I'm glad I caught that early on. Can you imagine the disappointment of opening the little window and finding out your minifig is missing a head? I would've had to use a pumpkin head from Hagrid's Hut! :o)

Nute Gunray:

Lego Nute Gunray:

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, Day I: Republic Cruiser

2011-12-01T17:00:00.001-08:00

This year, Lego released a Star Wars Advent calendar, which I purchased, and I have decided to share each day with you, my lovely readers. So, for day 1, we get a Republic Cruiser. I actually thought this was the Tantive IV at first (silly me), but it's not.

Republic Cruiser:

Lego Republic Cruiser:

Most of the non-Lego images for these posts will be taken from Wookieepedia, which is an excellent resource for all information Star Wars.

Retrogression

2011-11-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else noticed a horrible trend spreading across the internet? It seems like websites are moving back to the 50's, when people didn't have color TVs. Grey is the new it color for fonts, icons, and backgrounds. Let us look at a few examples.

We'll start with Google, as Google is the primary perpetrator of this movement.

I used to love Google. I used to be totally Google gung-ho. But now they've made so many horrible time-wasting changes to their products that I've actually looked around to see what my options are for other email clients, online document editors, and blog readers. I am a lazy person, so I probably won't change, but if Google keeps getting worse, who knows?

Here is the standard Google search page:

Notice the complete and total lack of any sort of advanced options for searching. Where have they gone? Away. The word "Advanced" apparently takes up too much room on this screen and makes it look cluttered. Yes, that's right: I think that single word alone would tip this page from "clean" to "cluttered" in eight letters flat.

If you still want an advanced search, you can find it from the search results page:

Still can't see it? See that tiny little cog wheel in the upper right-hand corner? If you click on that, you will get the option to do an advanced search. It only took me several minutes and multiple Google searches to figure this out. Google, if you are trying to make your site more intuitive, you are failing big-time.

Now let's move on to Google Docs. I like that the icons are updated, sure, but honestly, how are you supposed to distinguish one thing from another?

Even the color options (text color, highlight color) are portrayed in black and white. How does this help anyone? People use colors as visual cues to determine what they are supposed to do and what symbols mean. Take away the color and you've removed one of humankind's primary sensory input mechanisms.

Moving on.

Gmail itself is still ok, more or less. It takes an extra click to switch between Mail and Contacts, but otherwise it's not bad.

Google Reader, on the other hand, is sad. The first sad thing about Reader is that you have to take three steps to even find it. First, you have to hover over the big Google icon in the upper left-hand corner of the Gmail page. This will make a drop down menu appear (which, by the way, is not fully visible "above the fold" on my netbook when using Firefox):

Then you have to go down and hover over the "More" option, which causes another menu to appear:

Then, at last, you can click on the Reader icon.

The link to Reader used to be directly on the Gmail page, and was a one-click deal. Then Google shunted it under the "More" link so it required an extra click, and now they've just buried it completely. At least Google has cleaned up the look of the email page though, eh?

Here is what the Reader page looks like:

Boring, boring, boring. White on white on white. Who designed this?

Unfortunately, other pages are starting to take Google's lead, and are washing out all color from their sites. Take, for example, this page of links from the website ifttt.com:

I know those websites' icons are not all in grey.

Grey text is especially difficult to read, especially when paired with a light background. Check these out:

Norton's webpage
A TechCrunch article
and even FedEx

What is so great about grey? I will tell you: nothing. Please, people, bring back the color. I want to keep moving forward, not backward. The 50's are over; let them rest in peace. We don't need to go nuts like this webpage:

...but it might be nice to at least have a little color, you know? Something subtle, not too crazy. One webpage I like (love, actually), is outofmilkapp.com:

By the way, if you are a list person and own a smartphone, you would probably love the Out of Milk app; I use it every day, and it's one of the few apps I've actually upgraded to the Pro version. At any rate, the point is that their website looks nice. It has pleasant colors, it has enough contrast to be able to read the text, and it has a simple and clearly visible menu at the top and bottom of the page. Superb!

What is my conclusion? Boo to grey!

Seriously though, I do like websites which use color to help their readers. Removing color altogether is not helpful, and, in fact, it makes a website harder to use. Subtle coloring and wise use of colors is a good thing, and will make people feel more comfortable when visiting a website. We should not have to retrogress.

Penguin Cam

2011-11-28T17:07:00.001-08:00

The Living Planet Aquarium has a live penguin cam! I guess I am a sucker for live cameras, and penguins are pretty darn cute. Check them out:

Also, unlike lions or certain other animals, I think the penguins are active during much of the day.

The official page is here.

Jack-o-Lantern

2011-10-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

This year I carved a jack-o-lantern. I haven't carved a pumpkin since 2006, so it was pretty gratifying. Don't you love all those goopy guts dangling from your fingers? I tried to think of something clever to carve, but I couldn't think of anything clever enough, so I just went with traditional evil.

Here's what my pumpkin looks like in the light (yes, those are my Lego sets behind him):

Here's what he looks like in the dark:

I guess he could kind of be a Voldemort pumpkin, eh? He's got the nose, at least. :o)

Unfortunately, I'm not really going to be home tomorrow during trick-or-treat time, so I'm thinking I'll just leave him lit up on the porch and hope the candle lasts until nightfall (it's a big fat candle).

Puzzles Up for Grabs

2011-10-29T21:20:00.001-07:00

After extensive cleaning today, I've decided to get rid of some of my jigsaw puzzles. If you'd like any of them before I haul them to DI, let me know. I've created a photo album of the puzzles so you can see what they look like. If you'd like the link to the album, just email me and I will give it to you. :o)

Special Musical Number on the Organ

2011-10-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Two Sundays ago, I was sitting in the foyer a couple hours after church when my bishop walked by. We chatted a bit and then he asked me if I would like to do a special musical number in church sometime.

"Sure," I said. "I could play something on the piano."

"Oh, you can play the organ," Bishop said.

"Uh, ok."

So, I am going to perform a musical number on the organ at some point in the near future.

Performing a musical number on the organ is significantly more difficult than performing a musical number on the piano, for (at least) three reasons:

First, it's the organ. The organ has multiple keyboards, plus the foot pedals, plus the volume and crescendo pedals, plus you have to pick all the stops. On the piano, you just sit down and hit a key and the sound that comes out is always the same. You can make the note louder or softer, but that's more or less it (I'm ignoring modern techniques of plucking the strings and whatnot). On the organ, you can have a mellow tone or a sharp tone or a nasal tone or a brassy tone or a billion other tones. That's a lot of choices.

Second, I don't own any organ music. I do own one little book of Bach fugues or something like that, but that's not something I'd play in Sacrament meeting, even if I did have the skill to perform them.

And third, to perform a musical number on the organ requires that I practice the organ. It is exceptionally difficult to practice an instrument when you don't own one. And as much as I'd love to buy an organ, it's not exactly at the top of my grocery list.

I do happen to have a few books of piano arrangements of hymns. I took those to church yesterday and found one I could modify to play on the organ. I've practiced at the Institute before, so maybe they'll let me do that again, but I don't like having to ask someone to let me into the chapel. Maybe I'll just practice on my piano (which is digital and has an organ setting) and hope for the best.

The Best Part of October

2011-10-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite cereal in the WHOLE WORLD.

The end.

Present on the Porch

2011-10-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight when I got home, there was a peanut on my porch.

I'm not sure how it got there, but it made me laugh.

How many people get to find a peanut on their porch?

Black and White for a Purpose

2011-10-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today, to the general public, I look like I'm wearing a white shirt and black pants. But actually, I'm wearing the black in memory of Steve Jobs, and I'm wearing the white in honor of Apple.

Addendum to Previous Post

2011-09-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

I just ate some of the casserole and it wasn't as fabulous as I recalled, so never mind.

Here's a fun optical illusion to make up for it instead. When I showed this to the physics instructor at my work, he had me print a copy so he could take it and look at it until he figured it out (which he did rather quickly). :o)

Google+ and Zucchini Casserole

2011-09-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking of things to post, but then I end up posting them to Google+ instead. Now I know how Facebook fanatics feel (I never use my Facebook account).

Here is something to tide you over until I write a real post: I made zucchini casserole today. It's really fantastic zucchini casserole that tastes nothing like zucchini, and is probably more unhealthy than healthy, which is why it's so delicious. It won a ward cooking/baking/whatever contest once. For real! It's not my recipe though, it's just one I found on the internet. But boy is it good!

The end.

P.S. Someday I will be able to take something out of the oven without burning myself. I don't know why my flesh is so attracted to that metal...

P.P.S. My cat just got a whiff of the casserole and came zooming up from downstairs. That's how good it is.

Betty as a Lego Minifig

2011-09-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last night I created my Lego counterpart:

Ta-da! A Ravenclaw minifig! And she looks just like me, too!

"But Betty," you say, "Lego has never produced a Ravenclaw minifigure*. How is this possible?"

I will tell you: it is possible with an extra old-style Gryffindor torso, some extra body parts from Lego Pick a Brick, a Harry Potter sticker book, a pair of scissors, an Exacto knife, a cutting mat, and lots of time and patience. But hey, I think the end result is worth it (and I wasn't going to use that sticker of Cho anyway).

*Lego has produced a Ravenclaw microfigure, but that's not nearly as good looking as my personalized minifig, don't you think?

How Tired Am I?

2011-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

This morning Anya woke me up sometime between 5 and 6, as usual. I was falling asleep even as I opened her can of food and dumped it onto the plate, but instead of going back to bed after I'd fed her, some part of me decided to eat a bowl of cereal. I got out the Wheat Chex, the milk, the bowl, etc., but when I sat down to eat, I opened my eyes and saw that I was holding a fork, poised and ready, over the cereal. A fork. I'd also gotten out a butter knife to go along with the fork.

Sometimes I wonder where my brain goes when I'm sleepy.

Epiphany

2011-08-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

I love it when I look at something and I see, not the object itself, but an answer.

Ladies With Wings

2011-08-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last night in my dream, all the women had wings. Olive asked what that meant, and I said it was probably because I'd been looking at my Star Wars Lego book I bought at ComicCon, and Lego makes minifigs of Geonosians, both the winged and the non-winged varieties.

It was a nice dream, anyway.

Just A Note

2011-08-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

I love Snape.

That is all.

Disneyland: Find Jack!

2011-07-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Remember how Elegyrl sent me that insane Disneyland game? Well, I recently took a trip to California and went to Disneyland, and decided I would return her the favor. However, I didn't want to be a copycat, so I tried to come up with a fun idea that was still challenging. I figured out two possibilities:

1. I could take a small plush toy with me to Disneyland and take pictures of it in various locations, then have Elegyrl find the plush toy within each photograph.

2. I could take pictures of every ceiling and/or floor of every building I entered.

I kind of did both.

I brought along my baby Jack Skellington stuffed doll, and took pictures of him throughout the day, in various locations. I also took pictures of ceilings. The ceiling pictures I will send directly to Elegyrl, but I thought the pictures of Jack were pretty cute, so I am sharing them with you.

The challenge: In each picture, locate the stuffed Jack Skellington toy. Some of the pictures are just for fun and he's not really hidden, but some of them are almost a little tricky. Jack is not always completely visible in the pictures.
Bonus: For an additional challenge, also determine where Jack is within the park (i.e. where each picture was taken).

There are 42 photos in all, which can be seen here.

And maybe there will be a prize for whoever gets the most right, though I'm not sure if that would really be fair: Elegyrl basically lives at Disneyland, and other readers of my blog were actually there with me. Hm. Well, we'll see.

Parallel Parking

2011-07-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

There is something immensely gratifying about executing a perfect parallel parking job on the first try*. I feel like I've just won first place in something.

*Without assistive technology.

A Comparison

2011-07-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

You know that scripture that goes:

"...he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things..."
(Doctrine & Covenants 88: 41)

Well, after finding a couple of them in my toaster oven (how the heck did they get there?), I've decided that I think cat hair is the same way.

A Flute By Any Other Name

2011-07-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

The particular organ which I play each Sunday has these stops, among others:

Harmonic Flute
Flûte Celeste
Spitzflöte

On the swell, there are these:

Flauto Traverso
Flûte à Bec

No wonder I can never figure out what all the different organ stops mean: they’re throwing all the German, French, English and Italian terms in there all together, and I’m not quadrilingual!

flute (English)
flûte (French)
flöte (German)
flauto (Italian)

I did, however, discover a fantastic site (thank you Wikipedia!) called the Encyclopedia of Organ Stops. Maybe I’ll spend some time there; looks easier than learning two new languages, at least. ;o)

Last Night's Sunset

2011-07-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Disneyland Game

2011-06-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Elegyrl is a little bit nuts, if you want to know the truth, but she's nuts in a good way (mostly). But don't take my word for it; I'll let you decide for yourself:

A few months ago, Elegyrl (pronounced elly-girl, like elephants, get it? she loves elephants) sent me 120 tiny photographs in the mail. These photos depict various places throughout the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks, though they are unlabeled. Each picture is numbered on the back. Along with the pictures, Elegyrl also sent me a map of each park, a list of 188 possible choices for answers, and a list of the real answers. Each of the aides (map, multiple choice, answers) were hidden in stapled papers so I wouldn't peek at them. I guess she knows me pretty well. :o)

Since I was in grad school at the time I received this game, I put it aside because it was too involved. Now that I'm in my summer break, however, I pulled it out to see how I'd do.

First of all, I spent way too long doing this thing. WAY too long. I not only studied each of the 120 pictures, but I also looked at photos I've taken at Disneyland, and photos I found online, to try to find these miniscule elements. Some of them I found, some I didn't.

Incidentally, one of the places I discovered in my search online was a site called Tours Departing Daily, where they display fantastic photos they've taken of the Disneyland parks. I love those pictures. Go take a look.

The end result of my attempt: 65 of 120 correct. I suppose some would argue that my score was lower, as I gave myself a point on incorrect replies when my answer and the given answer applied to the same attraction. So, for instance, the giant leaves that are located all over Bug's Land were listed as "Bug's Land", but I chose "Above Ladybug Boogie." I gave myself the point because the leaves are above Ladybug Boogie, as well as throughout Bug's Land.

Here are all the pictures:

Anyone else want to try?

Cat In Window

2011-06-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Pancake Fiasco

2011-06-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, I've been craving pancakes, and this morning when I got up, I felt this was the day to do it. I was planning on just whipping up some batter using my Bisquick mix, but before I started, I decided to check to see whether my eggs were still good.

I don't go through eggs very quickly. I only buy a half a dozen at a time, and they usually sit in my fridge for way too long. Mostly I use them for baking, sometimes for the occasional (and rare) omelette. The carton I had this morning only had two eggs left, and the sell by date was... sometime in April. Yup. April.

Just to be absolutely sure that my eggs weren't good, I looked up some information online about eggs. Did you know that all FDA-approved eggs have a 3-digit stamp on the carton? The stamp indicates which day of the year the eggs were actually packed, with day 1 being January 1, and day 365 being December 31. The three-digit stamp on my carton was 063. This didn't bode well.

I read another web page which said that you could tell how good an egg was by how it floated in water. New eggs will sink, but older eggs will float (and middle-ish eggs will sink but stand on their tip). My eggs floated.

I could have given up at that point and eaten Raisin Bran, but I really was in the mood for pancakes. I searched online for egg-free pancake recipes, which were not difficult to locate. I also pulled up a discussion board where one person said, in effect, "I made pancakes without eggs and they tasted the same. What do we even need eggs for?"

The posted answers were varied, and none of them actually addressed the question. The replies contained shared experiences of pancakes people had made without eggs. From the comments on that board, I began to think that maybe I could just make my Bisquick mix without the eggs, and it would be totally fine. In that case, the ingredients would just include milk and Bisquick.

At the bottom of the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box, however, there's a heading that says, "Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pancakes". There are two different varieties of Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pancakes. The first, the "Classic" variety, involved sugar, baking powder, and lemon juice. I didn't have lemon juice, so I looked at the "Supreme" variety, which included sugar, baking powder, and vanilla. I did have vanilla. Thinking that perhaps the additional ingredients for the Supreme Melt-In-Your-Mouth pancakes might mask the lack of eggs (if there was any noticeable difference), I whipped up the batter. I'd also thought about making the Melt-In-Your-Mouth pancakes before but I'd never done it, so I figured this was as good a time as any.

Once upon a time, I purchase a cast iron griddle. I don't know when or where or why, but I did. I don't frequently use this griddle, but sometimes I feel like I should use it. Does anyone else do this? Feel like they should use their griddle just so it will get used once in a while? At any rate, today was the day for that, too.

The griddle is located in my big cupboard of pots and pans and sheets and racks. Having worked at the good old BB&B for some years, I have a pretty good bakeware collection (whether or not I use that bakeware is a different story), and the griddle sits at the very bottom of it all, in the very back corner. It's convenient, I know. I pulled out the griddle and turned the stove on to a little less than medium, then gave the griddle a couple minutes to heat.

A not-so-secret secret about me is that I don't really know much about griddles or how to use them. Actually, I know a lot more now than I did this morning, because I have since read this page, which I thought sounded good. Once the griddle was hot, I took a stick of butter from the fridge and rubbed the end of it over the griddle. It smoked and fizzed and it was great. I scooped up some batter and plopped my first two pancakes on the griddle.

Then it started to smoke in earnest. I wasn't sure what was smoking--probably the butter I rubbed on the griddle, and probably the griddle, and probably the pancakes too--but when I looked up and around at my kitchen, it was FILLED with smoke.

Do I have a smoke detector? I thought. Because it should be going off right about now. (I have since located the place where my smoke detector is supposed to be, and I think the detector itself is sitting on top of my cabinets, I just need to check and make sure--and put a battery in.)

I decided I really didn't need to cook with the griddle after all. The pancakes, which had only been on the griddle for a short time, were already burned beyond even what I would eat (and I like somewhat charred food most of the time). I turned them over anyway, just so they wouldn't be runny when I threw them in the trash, and I removed the griddle from the burner. I then fetched my big box fan from my bedroom and turned it on high to clear out the smoke. The windows were already open.

My regular old frying pan is more accessible than my griddle, thankfully. I set it on the hot burner so it could heat up, but I was tired of waiting by then. I gave it maybe a minute, then sprayed the pan with non-stick spray*, dumped the next pancakes in and waited and waited and waited until they were ready to flip.

As I flipped the first pancake, I noticed that there was still a trail of smoke coming from the general cooking area, and I lifted the pan. Something, some little blob of substance, had slipped down onto the burner pan. When did that get there? Did it just do that? I don't think I did, but I don't remember when else it would have gotten down there. All the same, the blob was not happy to be there, and it smoked and smelled bad just to prove it. That's something I'll tackle later, I thought, when the burner is cooled down.

There was nothing particularly unusual about actually making the pancakes, once I finally got going. Perhaps they were a tad more difficult to turn, as eggs serve to stick the ingredients together, but overall it seemed normal.

At last my pancakes were made, and I sat down to eat. I drizzled (okay, poured) on the syrup and took the first bite. Delicious, right? Not so much.

I should not have made the Supreme Melt-In-Your-Mouth pancakes. I could taste the vanilla, and I didn't like it. It is also highly likely that the vanilla has gone bad by now too (how do you tell when vanilla goes bad?), so that may be partly why. I wished I had stuck with the regular recipe. I always put chocolate chips in my pancakes anyway, so it's not like I need the extra sugar.

Oh well.

I brought a couple pancakes to my friend and she seemed to like them, so maybe they were ok. Next time, however, I will definitely use eggs... and maybe I'll practice with the griddle more before then.

*Yes, I know you are not supposed to use non-stick spray on non-stick frying pans. But I do anyway. So there.

Gummy Bear Glob

2011-06-04T22:58:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you leave a bag of gummy bears in the car on a warm day.
They were Haribo gummy bears. They still taste delicious.

I'm Not Addicted. I Can Stop Whenever I Want.

2011-05-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

I do NOT own every set ever made. I just started in 2010.

Can you find Voldy in this picture?

This shot is a little closer to help you out:

This is what he looks like (but I moved him, so this isn't where he is in the above pictures):

Here's Harry playing quidditch:

Harry dressed up for the Yule Ball, and Dumbledore:

The trio in Diagon Alley (that's Mr. Ollivander on the right):

Teachers* (Flitwick, Snape, Hagrid, Dumbledore):

Luna is riding the Hogwarts Express:

Hermione is reading the newspaper on the train:

Draco got stuck pushing the food cart (ha ha):

What on earth? How did Sensei Wu get in there?

Crazy Bellatrix! (and Fenrir Grayback)

And of course (part of) the Weasley family:

Just because I pre-ordered two of the three new sets already does not mean I'm obsessed. I just happen to like Harry Potter. And Legos. And Harry Potter Legos.

*Some of the characters, including Snape, came with a cape/cloak, but the papery cloak things annoy me, so I took them off. Only Voldemort gets to keep his on.

If Only I Could Tap Dance

2011-05-26T09:45:00.001-07:00

In the main foyer of the institute building, there are two parallel staircases. Halfway up each staircase is a small landing, where the stairs switch to the opposite direction. That's fairly standard.

The strange part is that in between these midpoint landings, there is a tiled platform, as if it wasn't just dead space above the entry doors, but a place where people were meant to walk or stand or be.

What I would really like to do is climb onto that platform and tap dance, but I don't have any tap shoes, and I don't know how to tap dance. Ah, well. They'd probably kick me out anyway if I tried.

Anyone know how to tap dance? What other pranks could I pull from this tiled platform?

Things You Should Not Put In The Microwave

2011-05-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

(speaking from personal experience)

potatoes (maybe you can do potatoes now?)
paper
Easy Mac in a too-small bowl
wrappers
clothing
cheap plastic wrap
cardboard frozen concentrated orange juice cans with a metal bottom
metal in general
the honey bear bottle for more than 30 seconds
paper with foil on it
any sort of foil
microwave popcorn bags after you've already popped the popcorn (guess they're serious when they say "do not reheat")
pizza (unless you put it in the toaster oven afterwards--otherwise it's just a nasty soggy mess)

Excerpt #5: Entwined

2011-05-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

And now, for your amusement, some excerpts from a very enjoyable book, Entwined, by Heather Dixon. This book has THREE starred reviews so far, which is pretty darn fantastic, if you ask me. I don't even have ONE starred review. Granted, I haven't published anything yet, but still.

If you haven't heard of Entwined, it is a retelling of the 12 dancing princesses, but it goes way deeper than that. It's about love, and family, and acceptance, and courage, and mourning, and loss, and discovery, and relationships, and all sorts of other things. The main character, Azalea, has all the innocence and kindness of Mary Poppins (in the Disney movie), but is also passionate and capable. At one point, when Keeper asks for a dance, Azalea tells him to, "Snap your own head off." I love that part. :o)

The humor in the book is subtle. Here are some instances of the humor that make me laugh. They're even better in context.

In the very first chapter, the king is going off to fetch the doctor for the queen:

"Really, Azalea," said the King, putting on his stiff hat. "Is everything about dancing to you?"

It was, actually, but Azalea decided now wasn't the best time to point that out.

Later that evening, Azalea finds all ten of her sisters crowded behind some Christmas trees in the ballroom in order to watch the ball:

"Looks... comfortable," said Azalea.

"It's not so bad now that we can't feel our legs." Bramble grinned, her thin lips turning up into a wry smile. "It's a bit squashy, but it's worth it."

Azalea's father (the king) shoves her out of the library and locks the door behind her, all without a word:

"It's just a guess," said Bramble after a moment, "but I don't think he's in the mood to see us."

The sisters attack Azalea and Lord Bradford with potatoes (no excerpt).

Azalea (on horseback) argues with the king while at the dock in the rain:

She threw the coat with all her might at the King. It fell only a foot from her in a soggy pile on the platform.

The stiff (but lovable, in my opinion--all Heather's men are lovable, even the bad ones) Prime Minister Fairweller speaks with the sisters about their father, who is away at war:

"We haven't written him?" said Bramble, her ears red. "He hasn't written us!"

"Yes." Fairweller took a sip of the strong-smelling tea. "Your family is very interesting."

Lord Teddie visits:

"Oh, great muffins," he said, bouncing up and down again. "Everyone knew your mother. I knew her before she boffed off to Eathesbury! Met her at one of Mother's balls. She taught me a bit of the Entwine, you know. I was five."

"You were five?" cried Hollyhock, tugging at his hand. "You weren't of age and they let you go to a ball?"

"Crumbs, yes! Best way to learn how to dance, I say!"

The younger girls crowded about Lord Teddie, hopping with eagerness. Azalea groaned inwardly, thinking of the headache she would have explaining to the girls that they still wouldn't be allowed at balls until they were fifteen.

Fairweller is a guest at their house:

"I can be agreeable," said Fairweller. "If the other party is."

"Oh, well," said Bramble. "There goes that, then."

Trying to get rid of an undesirable suitor:

"Lord Howley," (Azalea) said. "Why don't you tell the King about that marvelous three-party system you were explaining earlier? He'd love to hear it."

Lord Howley pushed a branch out of his face. "I don't think he likes me very much," he said.

"He's that way to everyone. Besides--" Azalea clasped her hands together, still beaming. "It would impress him!"

"Do you think so?" Lord Howley brightened.

"Oh, yes. He loves it when people tell him how to run the country."

When Azalea falls into the stream and is rescued by Lord Bradford:

"Are you all right?" he said. Water dripped down his face and long nose.

He's talking to you! her mind yelled. He's talking to you! Say something clever! Say something clever!

Azalea said, "Mffloscoflphus?"

When Azalea blacks out:

"What happened?" said Clover, wetting a cloth in the basin, and dabbing Azalea's face.

"She had a sort of fit," said the King. "I think her underthings may be laced too tightly."

All the girls, including Azalea, blushed brilliantly.

"Sir," said Eve. "You're not supposed to know about the U word!"

"Am I not? Forgive me."

Just after Azalea hides in the closet to avoid Fairweller:

When the door jangled closed, Azalea burst from the closet.

"Good heavens," said Mr. Bradford. "There's a lady in my coat closet."

Clover recounting to Azalea the story of when a lady wanted her (Clover) to deliver a love letter to Fairweller:

"What did Fairweller say? When you delivered the note?"

"Oh," said Clover, calming a little. "Well . . . nothing, actually. I sort of . . . accidentally . . . tore it to pieces."

"Accidentally," Azalea echoed.

"And threw it in the fire," said Clover.

"Oh."

And, to further whet your appetite, here is one last excerpt, from when the sisters discover the magical place they escape to in order to dance each night:

...They turned the next curve, revealing an archway below. A soft, silver light emanated from it. Azalea's brows furrowed. Bright moonlight? Indoors?

The girls stayed back as Azalea descended to the doorway. Hands quavering, she leaned against the edge and looked.

She stepped back, dumbfounded.

The scene washed over Azalea like a crystal symphony. A forest.

But nothing like the wood behind the palace! Every bough, branch, leaf, and ivied tendril looked as though it had been frosted in silver. It shimmered in soft, misty light.

Azalea inhaled, catching the muted scent of a morning fog, with a touch of pine, and stepped through the doorway into the bright forest. Everything sparkled in bits, catching highlights in glisters as she moved. Even the path beneath her feet. She turned to a glass-spun tree on her left. Silver ornaments glowed among the delicate silver leaves--glimmering glass plums. Azalea touched one. Its edging glittered as it swayed. Next to the ornament, strings of pearls swathed each branch in swooping arcs.

"It's so beautiful," whispered Flora. The girls had followed Azalea through the doorway, their voices hushed.

"Like winter, when the snow's just fallen," Goldenrod whispered.

"Or... the Yuletide trees," said Clover.

Azalea thought it looked a mix of all of them--the gardens, the palace, and the Yuletide--all mixed into one and dipped in silver.

"Az, what is this place?"

Don't you want to read it? I already read it once through and now I'm listening to it in the car. Fun times! Oh, and today is Heather's birthday too. Happy birthday!

Excerpt #4: Hawaii

2011-05-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

These are from a book called A Pocket Guide to the Hawaiian Islands. While in Hawaii, I bought some little touristy books because they had nice glossy pictures. One book I bought just because I liked the paper it was printed on. I've been pleased with my touristy books so far. The pictures are actually not too bad. The writing is generally ok too, but in this particular book... Well, this book is written by a guy who writes coffee table books for a living. So maybe that explains it.

This first excerpt is written about the big island of Hawaii:

Northeast trade winds stream across the young landscape, dropping moisture on the windward rain forests, funneling through the saddle areas, accelerating down the leeward declines, and eddying around Mauna Loa's buxom mass.

Come on now. Really? Buxom? Sheesh.

This second excerpt is a caption for a double-page spread of a sunset (with palm fronds bordering it):

A golden path of fading sunlight bestows its blessing of romance on a tropical paradise. Such soothing displays of idyllic beauty contrast the jagged coastlines, volcanic peaks, and raw, elemental forces of the Hawaiian Islands.

They couldn't have just written, "Sunset off the coast of Hawaii", or whatever. :o)

I wouldn't mind this writing style so much if I'd encountered it less frequently, but almost every paragraph is written like this, thick with heavy prose. It's a bit much for me. I can only take the book in small doses, and I mostly look at the pictures.

Excerpt #3: Sharon Creech

2011-05-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Sharon Creech is one of my favorite authors. Her stories are creative and her characters are real, plus she writes beautiful prose.

I especially enjoy Chasing Redbird. The main character, Zinny, is outwardly quiet, but inwardly vocal, which makes for some fun situations. The part with the beagle cracks me up, and Zinny's whole relationship with Jake is also interesting. This excerpt is slightly longer to show how Sharon Creech sets up the relationship between Zinny and Jake, and Zinny's older sister May.

Into my mind flew Tommy Salami. His real name was Tom Salome, but even he called himself Tommy Salami. Three years ago he was in May's class at school, but whenever he saw me, he'd give me a present. They were bitty things: a plastic ring from a cereal box; an old bottle from his barn; and a rusty key he'd found along the road. To me, they were treasures, and I got the dizzies just thinking about him.

He would say the most unusual things. He asked me if I'd ever seen trees walk, and if I'd ever wanted to be an aquarium.

"An aquarium?" I said. "You mean something in it - a fish?"

"No, I mean the whole aquarium. Everything: the water, the plants, the fish, the snails - an aquarium."

I worshipped Tommy Salami. I thought of him day and night, I dreamed about him, and I wrote his name in all my school books. As far as I was concerned, Tommy Salami had hung the moon and stars; that's how great I thought he was.

Then one day, I saw him walking up our drive. I could barely breathe: Tommy Salami was coming to my house. Tommy Salami was coming to see me. Quick as a dog can lick a dish, I whipped a brush through my hair, changed my shirt and ran downstairs. I pushed through the screen door, and there on the porch swing was Tommy Salami. Beside him was May.

I crept back inside, stumbled through the house and out the other side. I made my way down the drive and waited. One hour. Two. At last, I saw Tommy Salami leaving, and I stepped out.

"Zinny?" he said. "Where did you come from?"

I didn't answer. There weren't any words.

"I owe you some thanks," he said. "You must've put in a good word about me with May. She's going to the dance with me. How 'bout that?" He had a grin so wide you'd have thought he had a couple extra sets of teeth. "You're a real peach, Zinny."

All I could think was that I was Zinnia Taylor: idiot. I was mortally embarrassed and certain-sure I'd die in my sleep of complete and total humiliation. I didn't amount to a bucket of spit.

There were more boys like Tommy Salami. There was Jerry Abbott and Mickey Torke, Slim Giblin and Roger Pole. They all plied me with sugar-mouthed flattery and gifts, and they all eventually ended up with May. I might as well have been a pig in a dog race...

...But after Tommy Salami, I was not as trusting, and by the time poor old Roger Pole came along, I was downright nasty. When he offered me a bag of popcorn, I threw a double duck fit and said, "Take your stupid popcorn and choke on it."

So perfect. You can tell Zinny wants to be liked, but you can also tell she's fed up with being a doormat.

At any rate, read Sharon Creech. She's fantastic!

Excerpt #2: From Class

2011-05-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

One of my fellow students is, in my opinion, rather preposterous. This was evident throughout the semester, but I was still surprised when, on his final project, on a totally publicly accessible website (the website was the final project), in a place where the other students in the class were directed to go in order to give him (and everyone else) feedback, he posted this:

Is this "A" work? I think it is. In fact, it might be the best one in the class. I'd put this site and my Adobe Flash CS5 creations up against anyone else's for the "tasters choice" seal of excellence. I know that's a bold statement indeed and I realize this probably can't compete on a commercial level but no one else did as much with integrated audio, video and text. No one. Frankly, I think it's "A+" work if compared against my peers, that is unless you're holding me to some higher standard which would be totally unfair - though not unprecedented. It seems a lot of professors give me a "B+" when I not only earned an "A" but was the best student in the class with the best work (Wacholder did it, so did Belkin). I guess that it just goes to show how "subjective" and "petty" things really are.

First of all, I don't know why anyone would publish that anywhere, online or off. Second of all, I don't know why anyone would indicate that their professors, who have years of experience and are well established and respected within the field, are incapable of accurately assessing the results of one's efforts within the class. It's all a bit mind-boggling to me, but then again, I try not to be an inflammatory and radical person (at least in public), so maybe that's the problem.

Excerpt Week!

2011-05-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! In honor of my finishing another semester of grad school (I'm halfway through now!), I am going to publish a post every day this week and share with you an interesting excerpt from something I've read recently (or not so recently).

To start off, here is an online review my coworkers found for a car seat (can't remember from which retailer). We read this review aloud to each other multiple times because it amused us so.

It was a gift! I thought was all are same so I decided keep it, Wrong Mistake. In the beginning , I like it because it is light weight and the car seat is ok BUT my complaint is that first my son is so big for car seat, so it's no worthy, but the stroller is a piece of junk because won't turn and the wheels all lock up. Exactly like the other lady is describing. My husband put some oil expecting to see an improvement in that...And no, just suddenly it get locked. My son is not SAFETY, and the important thing is always reclined the baby cannot sit up (stroller) It's true: DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND get an expensive brand. Remember is the safety your little baby, and always you will use.

I bolded the parts that made us laugh the hardest. :o)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting excerpt!

Hawaii's State Flag

2011-04-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

I think Hawaii has the coolest state flag. It has a Union Jack on it!

I would write more, but I am sunburned and pooped; so instead, I'll go to bed. Good night!

Polynesian Cultural Center Bathroom Signs

2011-04-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

Men

Women

Gecko Guest at the Kua 'Aina

2011-04-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today we ate at a fantastic restaurant called Kua’Aina. My friend at work recommended Kua'Aina as a great place to get avocado burgers (which I love), so we drove up to the North Shore to Haleiwa to try them out. As we sat waiting for our food, we noticed the locations listed on the cup:

"Haleiwa, Honolulu, Tokyo."

Hm.

We're staying in Honolulu. Guess we didn't need to make that whole long trip around the island.

It was a nice drive, anyway, and during dinner we were joined by this little guy:

I’m sorry to say he about scared the pants off of Mother Edit, next to whom he appeared, but he only stayed around for a few seconds and then scampered away, so no harm done. I thought he was cute. We had seen a lot of these little geckos at the Dole Plantation earlier in the day, but none of them really stood still long enough or were close enough for me to take a picture.

When I texted Elegyrl to tell her about our gecko guest at dinner, she said, “Did he offer you any car insurance?” Ha ha ha. :o)

Hawaii: Mountain Views, Murphy Beds, and More!

2011-04-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

The good news about doing school online is that you can access it from anywhere in the world--anywhere! Even Hawaii!

The bad news about doing school online is that you can access it from anywhere in the world, even Hawaii.

I'm in Hawaii right now, for the very first time ever. Pretty exciting, let me tell you. It was all I could do to keep from flinging myself straight into the ocean as we walked along the beach yesterday. We were just scoping out the area around our lodgings, however, not swimming, and I was fully clothed so I restrained myself (though I did put my feet in and it was PERFECT and I really wanted to jump in anyway, fully clothed or not).

Here is the view from our window:

We ate lunch at the Crêpe House, which was DELICIOUS. I want to go back and try some other kinds:

Anyone have any idea what that emblem in the middle is supposed to be? It does not look like either a crêpe or a house, nor does it look like France... could it be something Hawaiian? Could it be one of those dancing mushrooms from Fantasia, eating a crêpe? Who knows...

And this is my bed!

I've always wanted to sleep in a murphy bed--haven't you? There are other pillows here, but I prefer to sleep with my fancy-schmancy travel pillow that is the same kind of pillow as the one I use at home, just smaller. I think that's better than those cheap thick poly-fill ones that are just one big lump of stuffing.

Now let's see: homework versus Hawaii. Term projects versus tanning (or in my case, burning). Studying versus swimming. Sigh. This is going to be a tiring week. Not that I'm complaining--I'm in Hawaii!--I'll just have a hard time disciplining myself each day to do something productive for school.

Poem

2011-04-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

There's nary a box in my room,
Nary a spot to be seen--
Six months I've lived in my home
And now it is finally clean!

Rave: Entwined

2011-03-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today's the day! You can now obtain your very own copy of Heather Dixon's novel, Entwined, which is simply ripping. I just finished reading it, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Here's what it has in it:

dancing
princesses
magic
music
murder
blood
violence
frivolity
death
poofy dresses
chivalry
sisters
swords
fighting
horses
creepiness
silver
castles
gardens
dismemberment
deception
crinolines
war
love
secret passageways
family
duelling
dimples
Christmas
graveyards
invisibility cloaks
hairpins
pistols
seduction
Merciless Teasing
hungry rugs
cinnamon bread
potatoes
a pocketwatch
elopement
secrecy
spite
forgiveness
swearing
a clock tower
handsome suitors
scandal
balls (the kind you dance at)
and much much more!

This is one of those books that I had to force myself to put down because it was cutting into my productivity. ("That's not my fault :o)," Heather texted when I told her it was eating up my time. "Whatever," I texted back. "If you hadn't written it so well...")

The cover and the subject matter* may give the impression that this book is for girls. But look at that list above. There's a lot in there for boys to like too, particularly all the crazy magic and wars and secrecy and violence and all that. There really is a lot of violence. I bet my nephew would love it, and he's 15.

Heather's book is available in hard cover, as a Nook book, as a Kindle book, as an audio book on cd, as a downloadable audiobook, and even as a Playaway! Or, if you want to try to snag a copy for free, go to Heather's blog and enter her coloring contest. Don't forget to tell Heather how much you love her writing and how you can't wait for her next novel to come out too. :o)

*At its most basic, it is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses... though that description really doesn't do it justice.

Umbrellas

2011-03-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I have loved umbrellas. My favorites are the traditional cane-like kind that are long and have a curved handle at the end. I also like the compact kinds that are the size of a glasses case. I like the ones that automatically pop out, and I like the ones that have a knob for the handle. I like the clear plastic ones that kids sometimes have (especially the way the rain sounds as it hits that solid plastic), and I like the ones with the squishy gel handles. I like colorful umbrellas that have unusual shapes or ears on the top, and I like pretty parasols that aren't meant for water at all. Pretty much I love umbrellas.

Once upon a time, in high school, I bought a beautiful umbrella. It was a Cirque du Soleil* umbrella. It was not a cheap umbrella, but it was a fantastic umbrella. It got lots of compliments whenever I used it.

Unfortunately, I lost that umbrella.

So I bought a new one. Same kind, same price. Actually, someone might have given it to me as a gift. I'm not sure. At any rate, I got that lovely umbrella again.

Unfortunately, I lost that umbrella too.

That was when I stopped buying Cirque du Soleil umbrellas.

Now I have two main umbrellas: one in my closet, one in my car. I have a couple other brollies kicking around somewhere, but I don't actually know where they are, so I don't think they count. Queen Tuffett might also have my old rainbow umbrella from when I was little.

The thing I like about umbrellas is that they are mechanical, but not electric. They are non-digital. There are no batteries to wear down. Even on umbrellas that have electronic components, the actual functional umbrella part is a regular old non-battery-operated spring-loaded (or manual) mechanism. I don't worry about the umbrella in my trunk losing its charge as it sits there year after year; I know that whenever I need it I can pick it up and it will work just fine, even after such a long period of inactivity.

Ironically, I sometimes prefer not to use umbrellas in the rain. I just like to have them. I like to feel the rain on my head and my face, and when I carry an umbrella, it is usually so that people won't feel sorry for me for getting soaked, because they can clearly see that I have an umbrella and it is my choice not to use it. I will admit that I have started to use umbrellas more frequently the older I get, and I suspect that trend will continue as I age.

And now to leave you with, here is a stylish umbrella that every young lady should own (found here):

*I used to be mildly obsessed with Cirque du Soleil. Now I'm just a standard fan.

Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar

2011-03-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

Peanuts

Dates

Salt

How can three little ingredients taste so delicious?

Time to try out the other flavors!

Chocolate Chex

2011-03-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else absolutely love Chocolate Chex? I think I could eat it all day long.

YUM!

IR LAND

2011-03-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

I think I've hit some sort of milepost in my schooling. Yesterday when I saw a license plate that said "IR LAND" (and there was a space between the IR and the LAND) I actually thought "Information Retrieval Land" before I thought of the country.

:o)

Need Advice

2011-02-27T22:18:00.000-08:00

Every week at church we sing a closing hymn. Then someone says a closing prayer. Then I start to play the postlude music on the organ and people stand up and wander and visit and get ready to go home (we have Sacrament meeting last).

Then along comes Brother Hadrian (that's not his real name, in case you couldn't guess).

Brother Hadrian is our high councilor, and he likes to talk. To me. While I play postlude. Why? I haven't the slightest idea.

Let me just mention here that I don't normally like when people talk to me while I am playing the organ. I like to use prelude and postlude as a chance to practice using the pedals, since the music is more open to a freer rhythmical interpretation (i.e., I can pause while I shuffle my feet around). Basically it's my only practice time on the organ, these few minutes before and after the meeting, so when people talk to me it is distracting. Most people, however, are cognizant of the fact that I'm trying to concentrate, so they keep their comments to a sentence or two, and I am not thrown off too much.

Not so with Brother Hadrian. As I said, the man likes to talk, and he does. He talks about anything and everything: old memories, anecdotes from work, places around the city, and who knows what else. Whatever pops into his head. He also asks me questions as if we were conversing face to face, rather than that I'm playing the organ and he is standing (very uncomfortably close but not socially unacceptably close) next to the organ bench.

This is all very disturbing.

The last time Brother Hadrian did this, I followed Mother Edit's suggestion: I stopped playing and turned full-on to face him. Unfortunately, I was at the end of a hymn anyway, so it didn't have the desired effect, and actually, I don't know that he would even notice if I stopped playing a hymn right in the middle. He doesn't strike me as the type of man who would be bothered much by an unresolved Dominant Seventh (shudder).

So now the question: what should I do?

Should I try Mother Edit's solution some more--stop playing when he starts talking--and see what happens? Should I just ignore him? Should I talk to the bishop?

Honestly, this man is making me dread the end of church every single week.

Help!

The Problem With The Cocky Pedestrian

2011-02-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

The problem with the cocky pedestrian is that s/he never takes into account the unknown. It is true that, at the constant rate I am going, and at the constant rate you are going, you will finish your mosey across the street just before I reach that spot. However, what if you were to trip and fall? What then?

Or what if I had to speed up to make it through the light? (note I did not say "run a red light", just "make it through the light")

Or, what if a car turned a corner and didn't see you?

What if, while crossing at a crosswalk as the light turned green for the opposing traffic, one car's view was blocked by a truck, and it sped forward as you walked in front of it?

What if you dropped something? Like a cell phone?*

What if a car flipped a U-ey the same moment you stepped off the curb?

A million different things could happen in just a split second. And then if I hit you, it would just become another statistic that encourages Utahns to plaster "HEADS UP" signs onto Trax cars and buses and billboards, alerting automobile drivers to look out for idiot pedestrians.

Here are some signs I would like to see:

"You're a pedestrian. Quit texting and cross the street."

"Pedestrian vs. car: can you guess who will win? Don't step in front of traffic."

"Motorcycles: obey the laws so cars can 'start seeing you.' "

"Everyone: don't be a jerk-face."

Ok, now I'm just griping, aren't I?

The end.

*I did once see someone drop their cell phone down by the Trax train as the doors opened for him to get on. It wasn't his fault: the phone fell on the sidewalk and skidded off the edge. I could see him as he struggled with wanting to save it versus not getting his arm ripped off by the train. He chose to stay put, and as the train started to move again, we heard a sad crunch. At least it wasn't his hand, right?

To Fit Into A Swimsuit

2011-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

In April I am going to Hawaii. It's my first time, so I'm getting excited. The bad news is that I am pretty sure my swim trunks are not going to fit me anymore. My swimsuit is fine, as I just bought it last year, but the shorts... not going to happen.

Yesterday my friend offered me a cookie. I'd had three already (they were small, ok?), but everyone knows that while 3 cookies is perfectly ok to eat if you're trying to slim down, 4 cookies is just too many. So I declined, saying, "No, I'm trying to actually fit into my swimsuit when I go to Hawaii."

"Oh," she said, "You know what you should do?"

"What?" I asked. I hoped she was going to tell me that one weird old tip to flatten your belly that all the websites advertise but I never can find out.

"Buy a new swimsuit," she said.

...

She went to Hawaii last year, so I guess I can trust her advice.

Time for new swim trunks!

P.S. I've gone swimming with swim trunks since junior high, so going trunkless is not an option.

A Scent of School

2011-01-20T23:30:00.000-08:00

Whenever I open my textbook, it smells like book glue, and I love it.

LOVE it.

(I also like the smell of erasers, wooden pencils, paper, new shoes, leather wallets, Cold Stone Creamery, hardware stores, chocolate, gloves, plants, rubber cement glue, churros, and sometimes the ocean.)

Pre - School Assignments

2011-01-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

Remember back in the good old days when school didn't start until the first day of school?

Readings due by Tuesday (the first day of classes): three articles and one chapter of a book I hadn't ordered as of ten minutes ago (and that's just for one class--I haven't yet heard from the teacher of the other class).

Yes, I miss those good old days.

Ice

2011-01-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

When I open my front door in the morning and look down, this is what I see:

Yes, that is my welcome mat frozen in neck-breaking ice. In fact, my whole front porch is covered in one solid sheet of ice, and it's not very thin ice, either:

The stairs are covered in ice:

Note the absence of any sort of hand rail or something for me to hold onto as I hobble up the slippery stairs.

The walkway to the stairs is also covered in ice:

Time to invest in either an ice pick or some ice melt, methinks.

The Sunday Afternoon Nap

2011-01-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

They may as well have put it in the Gospel Principles manual. It's practically doctrine, isn't it?

Good night!

The Boxes in the Garage...

2010-12-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

...are no longer in the garage. They have been expurgated to my front room... and my bedroom... and my kitchen (which is pretty much my whole house).

These are not just the boxes of kitchen gadgets and linens from when I moved home before my mission, either. These are ALL my boxes from my parents' garage, even the ones containing the relics (and I have a LOT of relics) from my childhood.

Methinks I see a major purging and trip to DI on the horizon.

Mouse

2010-12-10T08:07:00.001-08:00

The good news: Anya caught her first mouse ever.

The bad news: It was in my bedroom.

More good: Anya is fed well enough that she did not feel the need to eat any part of the mouse (which gets gross, let me tell you).

I'm increasingly grateful for my childhood pet experiences, as I actually bred and raised hordes of mice (well over 100, maybe over 200--they had big litters of 8-13 mice each time, so they multiplied pretty quickly, and we had fun raising the cute tiny baby mice). Thus I don't freak out when I see a dead rodent, and I'm not too worried, because I haven't seen any other signs of mice around my house. Granted, I haven't been looking, but usually when I'm in a place with mice (I haven't been in many, but I have been in some, mostly cabins) I can hear them scurrying around at night and I see their droppings and things they've chewed, but I've experienced none of that so far, so maybe this was just a stray little girl who came in from the cold. Poor thing.

Besides that, my downstairs neighbors have 2 or 3 cats, and I have Anya, so if there are more mice, they'll hopefully get caught (but I'm still telling my landlord, don't worry).

My Money Talks

2010-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

...and it says, "You spent HOW much on smashed coins at Disneyland?"

I will tell you:

17 smashed quarters at $1.25 each (one dollar for the smashing, plus the quarter to be smashed)
3 smashed dimes at 85¢ each (75¢ for the smashing, plus the dime to be smashed)
7 smashed nickels at 80¢ each (75¢ for the yadda yadda, you get the picture)
78 smashed pennies at 51¢ each (50¢ + 1¢)

= $67.18
(you guys can do the math to double check me if you want, because I did it mostly without a calculator).

The good thing about collecting smashed coins is that they are an inexpensive souvenir compared to everything else sold at Disneyland. The bad thing is that once I start collecting things, I like to have a well-developed collection. Besides that, buying the smashed coins never actually suffices as a souvenir; I usually get something else too, even if it's only one of the delicious chocolate-covered peanut butter graham cracker sandwiches. Okay, I guess food isn't actually a souvenir, but the point is that the spending never stops with just the coins.

All the same, it is kind of fun to have some sort of quest when I go to Disneyland. It's like a game, a very slow blackout game that I'll never get blackout on because they'll always keep changing the machines.

It's Disneyland. It's a diversion. What else can I say?

Smashing Pumpkins

2010-11-22T09:05:00.001-08:00

One thing I detest about Fall is that so many poor pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns get kidnapped from their porches to be smashed unmercilessly* in the road. For some odd reason I have a particular affinity for pumpkins, so to see mangled and run-over pumpkin bits in the street makes me sorry for both the pumpkin and whoever owned the pumpkin. I should probably also admit that this shenanigan happened to me more than once as a little girl, so I know how traumatizing an experience it can be for a child.

This year I was given three pumpkins by a very generous friend who grows them herself. One is a sugar pumpkin, which I intend to bake and make into bread. The second pumpkin is about the size of a basketball, and then the last one is about the size of a large grapefruit, or maybe a small cantaloupe. Or at least it was.

The grapefruit/cantaloupe-sized pumpkin started to rot early for some reason, even though I hadn't carved it. Its skin was getting soft. I put both it and the bigger pumpkin out by my porch to be festive (you couldn't really tell from a distance that the smaller pumpkin was rotting). They sat there for a few weeks. Finally, I decided I needed to do something with my poor little rotting pumpkin.

You know how sometimes when you see a spot of mold on your cheese or your bread or some vegetables left in the fridge you just leave it there to see what the mold will look like as it grows? Well, I had this vague idea that it would be neat if I could watch my little pumpkin as it rotted. With that in mind, I removed it from the porch and put it on a small tree stump behind the garage. It's a very hidden stump, out of view of everyone except my downstairs neighbors, and then only if they go out their back door (which they never do).

Unfortunately, my downstairs neighbors had a party one night. It was quite a party. It involved all sorts of interesting chemicals and substances, and when I came home around 12:30am there were people wandering randomly around our yard, and even into our neighbor's backyard. It was… quite a party.

The next morning as I looked out my front window I saw a smear of orange in the road. My first thought was that it was a pumpkin, but it was way past Halloween, and my own pumpkin was still intact on my porch (I checked), so I figured the smear must be leaves. I didn't give it much more thought after that. As I left for work, however, I noticed that my little rotting pumpkin was not on the stump behind the garage, and the truth hit me: it was a pumpkin in the street, and it was my pumpkin.

Sigh.

I wonder what it is about my pumpkins that scream, "Take me! Throw me on the asphalt!" Maybe it was because it was soft and rotting. Maybe they figured it had been forgotten and they were helping me out. Maybe they were drunk.

Maybe I should stop leaving my pumpkins on the porch.

*Did you know that "merciless" and "unmerciless" mean the same thing? Weird, huh?

Hairy

2010-11-09T08:30:00.001-08:00

I'd forgotten how hairy long hair is, how it sheds all over the place, clogs the drain in the shower, clogs the drain in the sink, leaves shining strands on shoulders of sweaters and coats…

I'm used to cat hair all over the place, but long hair—even when it's my own—is a different matter entirely.

Blech.

Occasional Piccolo

2010-10-28T18:37:00.001-07:00

I always have a difficult time remembering how many Cs are in the word occasion or occasionally. Tonight, however, I sat down and thought about it. I played around with the letters and spelled occasion, ocassion, and occassion. Ocasionaly. Occasionaly. Occasionally. Occassionally.

It's a tricky word!

Then I thought of the word piccolo. I always know how to spell piccolo. I don't know why. I just know how to spell it. There are two Cs in piccolo. There are two Cs in occasion, occasional, and occasionally.

Piccoloccasionally.

Now I will never forget it.

Refrigerator

2010-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is my fridge:

Actually, it's not my fridge, but it's the fridge that came with my house. Note how there is only enough room in this fridge for two gallons of milk. Yes, two gallons. I go through two gallons of milk in a matter of days, so this is a problem. No matter how I've re-arranged (or removed) the wire racks, however, the fridge still only fits two gallons. Until last week.

The door of my fridge is a little bit ridiculous in that it has this can-holder built into it:

I don't even drink stuff out of cans, generally speaking. And I certainly can't remember the last time I ever bought a canned drink. I was really annoyed that my door had so much wasted space, until I got the grand idea to remove the wiring for the can holder. Once I had done so, guess what I discovered? I could fit another whole gallon of milk in there! Observe:

Yes, it does stick out a little:

And yes, I do have to be careful as I open the door to make sure it doesn't fall out:

But hey, overall I think it's a pretty good solution! Now I can fit THREE gallons of milk in my refrigerator, and only go to the store once or maybe twice a week, instead of every other day.

New Digs: 13 Things

2010-10-13T18:38:00.001-07:00

I don't live with Tree-Hugger anymore. :o( BUT, there are good things about the new place I live. Here are 13 of them.

1. I'm in the same ward.

2. My room can be really dark, so it's great for sleeping in.

3. I'm not in the basement. I wasn't in the basement before, either, but I just really hate basements, so I consider this a good thing.

4. There's room for both my big bookcases, as well as my three smaller ones.

5. My new place looks kind of cute inside. If you don't look closely.

6. My house looks cute from the outside, too.

7. The hardwood floors look nice*.

8. The hot water is just the right temperature, and comes out after just a few seconds of running the water.

9. I got to pick out the window treatments!**

10. Once I get all my boxes from Mother and Father Edit's garage, I'll have all my own kitchen stuff again! I haven't seen my kitchen stuff in over 3 years. Boy, I've missed it. How can one miss measuring cups and mixing bowls, you ask? Hey, they're really nice measuring cups and mixing bowls!

11. I have adequate closet and storage space, which is nice.

12. My house is architecturally interesting.

13. There are a lot of electrical outlets.

Bonus 14, because it's mixed: I don't have wireless (no wireless = problem for online student), so I've bought a device which allows me to access the Internet via the 3G network. It basically turns my laptop into a big phone, so I can get an Internet connection wherever I can get phone service. Woohoo!

THE END

*When they're swept. Remember how Anya is carpet-colored? Yeah, well, I no longer have a carpet, and carpet-colored whitish-tannish hairs really show up against a lovely dark hardwood floor.

**I honestly wouldn't be so excited about this if I hadn't been the drapery specialist at BB&B. But I was, so I am.

Tis the Season

2010-10-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

I started practicing Christmas hymns on the organ on Sunday. Hooray! I am going to make Joy to the World all brassy and sparkly, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing will be powerful and mighty. I still don't know how to handle Once in Royal David's City though. What am I supposed to do with those scales in the bass? I need an organ class.

Lo Weight

2010-10-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

The last few times I've used my scale, the display has flashed "Lo" on the screen.

That means I'm losing weight, right?

Pillsbury Dough Boy Goes Kaboom

2010-09-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

Did you know that if you leave a canister of Pillsbury biscuits in your fridge for 5 months after the expiration date, they will explode? I didn't know that either! Well, now I do, but I didn't before today.

Who knew?

It's The Little Things In Life...

2010-09-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I love when I buy a new anti-perspirant that works well. It's like this great secret I carry around that makes me smile all day long.

Pillow Hog

2010-09-04T23:16:00.001-07:00

When Queen Tuffett and I used to share a bed on family vacations, we'd usually wake up in the morning to find that I had sprawled myself out all over the bed, and she had hogged all the covers. I thought it was a good system.

Now that we are all grown up, I only ever share my bed with Anya, who, as it turns out, is more of a bed hog than I am. This is what I wake up to almost every morning:

My head is usually on that little corner of pillow you see to the right.

Luckily I use a queen-sized pillow. Otherwise I think she'd boot me straight onto the mattress!

Diddle Diddle Dumpling

2010-09-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Diddle diddle dumpling, Anya my cat
Likes to bat around her brown stuffed rat.
Her tail twitching, her ears laid flat,
Diddle diddle dumpling, Anya my cat.

Awkward Pose

2010-08-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

You know how shoe ads often show a pair of legs in a typically "bashful" position, with the toes pointed in? Like this:

Or like this:

To me, these legs do not look bashful, or playful, or even particularly well positioned to flaunt the shoe to its greatest advantage. To me they look grotesque. Misshapen.

As I was looking through the Target ad this week, I came across the worst example of all.

Girl on left: leaning casually against the wall, legs crossed. Suave. Cool. I want these boots.

Girl in middle: somebody find this woman a bathroom, FAST!

Girl on right: oh my goodness, that poor dear. Look at her sad legs, all deformed and twisted. And she has such nice kneecaps, too. Maybe if I buy those boots it'll make her happy.

???

Looking For A Place To Live

2010-08-25T19:29:00.001-07:00

Honestly, is it too much to ask for a nice private one-bedroom home, with room for all my bookshelves and my piano and my desk, that'll let me have a cat, isn't at the top of a hill, looks cute, has a/c and laundry and a garbage disposal and good plumbing, isn't part of a huge complex, is located in a good part of town, isn't infested by bugs or critters, has off-street parking, and goes for under $400 a month? I mean, I'm not asking for the world here, just the basic amenities. Sheesh.

Oh, and a pool would be really awesome, too, but that's totally optional.

;o)

Irony

2010-08-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

And of course on the Tuesday that I blog about never receiving anything good in the mail on Tuesdays... I receive a 17-page letter from Elegyrl.

Go figure.

Tuesday Mail

2010-08-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

I have this theory that nothing good ever comes in the mail on Tuesday.

So far I think I'm correct.