Meme?

1. Explain what ended your last relationship?
Ewan's wife? Honestly, I can't remember back that far.

2. When was the last time you shaved?
This morning, but just the pits.

3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
Reading emails, checking up on my boyfriends Ewan and Joss.

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
Checking up on my boyfriends, again. I'm too tired to work.

5. Are you any good at math?
Not so much. I got an A in my College Algebra class, but probably only because I flirted with the professor.

6. Your prom night?
I went to prom with Jboy's dad because the dickhead told everyone we were going even though we broke up because I told him I wanted someone else to ask me. Thank goodness we don't always get what we want though, or Jboy could be a blond moron. Okay, prom. I had a wicked tan. We had dinner in the limo...went to the Taco Bell drive thru. And I cut in on my friend's ex boyfriend and his skanky date all night, just to be a bitch. I vaguely remember locking myself in the bathroom with a tub full of booze to avoid said baby daddy. That might have been another dance though.

7. Have you had to take a loan out for school?
Yes. And my grandma paid off all but a tiny bit too. And I'm sure I'll be taking out loans for Jboy's school very soon.

8. Do you know the words to the song on your myspace profile?
I don't think there's a song on my myspace page. I only go there to read Nathan's page. He's so hot.

9. Last thing received in the mail.
Two DVDs from amazon.com. Into the Woods (I heart this show!) and Serenity in high definition. I don't even own a hi def TV or DVD player.

10. How many different beverages have you had today?
A 20 oz bottle of Pepsi and about 3/4 bottle of water. Planning to down a bottle of Jack tonight at Happy Hour!

11. Do you ever leave messages on people’s answering machine?
Only when I have to and I always end up sounding like an idiot.

12. Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to? Shayne says "Motley Crue of course!" but I think mine was actually KC and the Sunshine Band. I think I was like ten years old.

13. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
Always.

14. What was the most painful dental procedure you have had?
I had my bottom retainer removed after ten years on the same day that I had all four impacted wisdom teeth removed, without drugs. My bottom teeth shifting over the next few days hurt more than having the teeth pulled. Also qualifies as the funniest dental procedure: my dentist had to straddle the chair to get out one of the teeth.

15. What is out your back door?
KK's grandparent's house!

16. Any plans for Friday night?
Sleeping off the hangover from tonight?

17. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
I've never really paid attention to what the ocean does to my hair. The last time I was near the ocean was in Mexico. Even the hurricane was no match for my braids.

18. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
Yes, but I only like the Carmel corn.

19. Have you ever been to a planetarium?
Yes, Jboy and I used to go all the time. Can't wait for it to reopen.

20. Do you re-use towels after you shower?
So many times it's embarrassing.

21. Some things you are excited about?
Mary's birthday party tonight. Starting my new job. Ewan's new movie. Hanging out with Ruby.

22. What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O?
I don't eat JELL-O. I try to avoid gelatin because it's made from bones and hooves and other animal parts.

23. Describe your keychain(s)?
A swag Serenity keychain (big shocker), Borders discount card and a Japanese lion/dog thingy. All that for one key.

24. Where do you keep your change?
Mostly in the couch.

25. What kind of winter coat do you own?
Wow, something I already blogged about.

26. What was the weather like on your graduation day?
Humid! The football field smelled like mosquito spray and stale beer from our party the night before.

27. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
Closed. My brother is a firefighter, it's the law.

28. Tag three people: I don't know anyone else who blogs so I'll just wander around the floor at work and randomly tag three people. And then run away real fast.

Oh Holy Crap...Christmas is finally over...

We had a very nice Christmas but I'm so glad it's over. Between the last minute craziness of making gifts I should have finished months ago, baking like Martha Stewart channeling Jerry Lewis and receiving a very tempting email from Haggis Adventures, I just wasn't in the Christmas spirit. So I spent Christmas Eve watching A Clockwork Orange and painting a jacket for my niece Rubydoobey. Just call me Ebenezer.

The boys are meeting me downtown after work, no doubt to sucker me into buying video games.

I'll post photos and stuff later...and I need to do a meme. First I need to find out what a meme is, then I have to do it. Ooh, and I got the coolest shoes from Jboy for Christmas! I'll have to post a photo of those.

More later...

It's a Christmas miracle

I just got in and out of the post office in less than 10 minutes. 10 minutes! Oh, how I love those automated machines. I was secretly laughing at all the suckers waiting in line to talk to an actual person. And I even had a little old lady watching over my shoulder, asking me questions and doing her best to slow me down. She reminded me of the little pick pocket from Dirty Dancing. I bet Shayne knows her name.

So I mailed packages to my sister and to Baby K. Total homemade, or handmade in KK's case, Hammer gifts. But super cool I think. I hope they think so too, because I'm too broke for real presents this year. In addition to the last minute post office run I've been trying to finish up the rest of my shopping online. Lots of free shipping offers...but not for the things I want.

I won't even start about the five dozen brownies I had to make for a cookie exchange last night. Of course I waited until the very last minute...9:45 PM...and almost had to call KK's grandma for an egg.


Quote of the day comes from Jane: "Remember, it's a sculpture and you're Michelangelo. Chisel away enough stone and there might be a naked guy inside." Have I mentioned that I love her?

Flame on

It worked, I got the job!

Light the green candle

Wish me luck. Just interviewed for a new job. Very last minute, not sure how I feel about it but the interview itself went pretty well.

Best. Quote. Ever.

A juicy little spoiler from an interview with my boyfriend Ewan about his upcoming movie Miss Potter. He sings!

"Were you pleased to be singing again in this film?"
"Yeah, I have it written into my contract now, along with being naked. In my next film, I might do both at the same time!"

And because I'm the biggest dork ever, and a huge sucker for good charities that my boys support:

You are the current high bidder
Item you've bid on:

Ewan McGregor signed Obi Wan Kenobi action figure

Look out! I learned something new

Sunshine finally figured out how to link to crap. Doesn't mean I'll remember how to do it tomorrow though, so I'm gonna do a little linking right now.

I heart The Cheat. Hours of your life could potentially disappear if you go back and read any of the other emails, but it's so worth it. Macaroni quotes Strong Bad all the time and we own all the DVDs. Shayne, KK's gift from the boys might make sense if you see this. Or, you know, not.

I heart Jane. Super fun read, especially if you have an interest in screenwriting and/or smart chicks. I'll admit, I mostly read it to see what Jane had for lunch today. Favorite quote from her blog: "Lunch: tongue sandwich from Art's Deli. It's exciting because it tastes you back!"

I heart History. Okay, not so much. But I did love finding my grandparents birth certificates online. Awesome site for people like me, too lazy to do any of the actual geneology work.

I heart Ewan. Naked or not, that man is delicious. And HOT photos from the Miss Potter premiere. Check out his freaking shoes.

I heart Joss. And I'm not the only one. And because I heart Joss so much, here's another j-related link. My all time favorite Joss link. Ever.

Okay...time to go home. Hope those worked.

Life is good...

My very best friend is in town. Right there, huge reason to be happy.

She brought with her Baby K, CutestKidEver. (Sorry Jboy and Macaroni, but she's adorable!) So, what comes after happy? Delighted?

On Friday, my little brother and his wife (OMG! My baby brother is married! I still can't get used to that.) had an adorable, and more importantly, healthy baby girl. She's a jewel. So now I'm thrilled, right?

This morning Macaroni's hives are gone. Noticed how I skipped right over the "Macaroni has hives" part? That's because this is a happy blog today. Macaroni is healthy and smart. I got his test scores and he is slightly above average in reading and in the 97th percentile for math. Jboy is making momma proud too, straight A's at midquarter...and, he took the initiative to get out of a boring Chemistry class and is now doing an AP independent study Chem class instead. He's so awesome! So, what now? Elated maybe?

Then I roll into work today and find this. I knew it was coming, in fact I preordered it the minute it became available, but this is the best peek at art we've seen. So now I'm just a geeked-out puddle of gooey goodness. Who cares if your job sucks and your house is falling down around you? Cute kids and comic books make everything alright. Of course a little Jack Daniels never hurts either.












Macaroni, Shayne, KK and Jboy




















My newest niece, Ruby.



Netflix review: 24 Hour Party People
4 1/2 stars
All about the birth of punk and Factory Records, set in 1970's Manchester. Steve Coogan was great and the CGI'd Sex Pistols stuff was brilliant! Joy Division. New Order. Just crank the volume and enjoy.

World AIDS day

Ewan McGregor is continuing his work with Unicef and there's some fabulous information here and here.


There are about 40 million people living with HIV in the world and an estimated 15 million children orphaned by AIDS. Those are hard figures to wrap my brain around at 8:30 in the morning. Can't imagine what it's like for those dealing with it first hand.


Netflix review: The Italian Job
I have a pretty vivid memory of laying on the couch watching the original movie with my dad or grandpa. I think I was home sick from school, don't really remember the movie except for the cars. Which I remembered as Smart cars but aren't.
This remake was pretty good. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Seth Green and I'm pretty sure that's how this movie ended up on my Netflix list. Not something I would have picked out on my own.
Fun action-heist flick. Fluffy enough that I could flip through my mail without missing much. Never thought I'd enjoy watching Marky Mark from the Funky Bunch, but I didn't mind him a bit. And Ed Norton? Yum, even with the pedophile mustache. 3 1/2 stars.
And the Mini Cooper parts are cool enough to almost make me want a car. Almost.

Sunshine wants a new camera

I was going to say needs a new camera, but the one I have is only about two or three years old. What I really need are some photography lessons.

Anyway...here are some poorly taken photos for your enjoyment.

Pirate Macaroni. Notice how he hung his UNICEF box on his belt? Cute!

Macaroni and Benny the Devil Dog

The gold tooth. Or "toof" as I said all night.

They sure make cute kids, huh?

And so do I!

Macaroni pulled out two of his teeth on Thanksgiving.

Didn't want to show off his bloody pockets o'flesh.

The Sunshine standard: self portraits. Still no teeth.

I bought a new jacket last night. It's this, but in winter white. (Little the-world-revolves-around-joss fact: that green color is called Firefly.)

My dad and Macaroni sat down in the shoe department while my mommy and I shopped. The store was having a 50% off sale so it was packed. When we finally got downstairs Macaroni says "that's a half hour of my life I'll never get back". He's totally quoting Tuesday night's episode of Veronica Mars! Wow, am I a good mom or what?!?

Speaking of Veronica, I'm still trying to recover from how amazing that episode was. I LOVE that show! But Tuesday was the fall finale so now I have to wait until the end of January for a new episode. Uggh. I hate TV free Tuesdays. Buffy withdrawl was bad enough.

No Netflix review because of all the shopping. I do have three movies waiting at home though and it's so cold out. Heading to the post office after work (to ship a package to Japan) and then plan to hibernate in the recliner.

My myspace.com

You have 1 friends.















Nathan Fillion

Pick this, Destiny

I've been waiting to write until I actually have something to blog about, but this is getting embarrassing. So here goes. Thanksgiving was nice, went to my mom's and now I've got Tofurky coming out my ears. Too bad there's no tryptophan in Tofurky, an excuse to fall asleep in the middle of the day. As if I've ever needed one.

Thrilled to have spent Black Friday at home, didn't spend a single penny! Not that I have many pennies to spend this year, too many vacations. Still, I was happy to be fast asleep at 4 o'clock in the morning when my crazy parents were waiting outside Sears. Sat around watching Jboy play video games and watching crap on TV until my friend Mary came over for another Veronica Mars-athon. Can I just say, Logan baby I'd pick up on the first ring! Ugh, the heartbreak.

Jboy and I went to see Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny at Block E on Saturday. We loved it. If you don't already love the D (or have a huge crush on Jack Black...you don't have a huge crush on JB? What's wrong with you?) this may not be the movie for you. Lots of dick and fart jokes and so much cussing that this will never be playing on a network channel on a Saturday afternoon. Not recommending this one to my mom.

Let's see, Sunday. Sunday I laid my fat ass in bed so long that Jboy came to check on me not once but twice. That's really saying something. I was mostly tired and very crabby, luckily not sick. Sad part is that I'm still tired today.

Which brings us to Monday. Cyber Monday. Oooh, aaahh. Please, I'm the online shopping queen...and I haven't been able to find anything worth buying today. And believe me, I've tried. Must be because I know everyone else is out there in cyberspace, crowding me. Just a little antisocial this holiday season.
I did load up my virtual cart at Old Navel and will check out tomorrow (I know, I know...the sales are today) if I don't find anything I like at Macy's tonight. Or if, more likely, I'm too lazy to go to Macy's tonight. I need a winter jacket though and it's supposed to be cold by Thursday. Guess I can't get away with wearing a puffy vest all winter. Thanks a lot, Global Warming. I realize I just admitted to not only owning but wearing a puffy vest. Let's pretend that didn't happen.
So that was my weekend. I know it's been more than a few days since I've blogged, but really, nothing's going on. Shayne & Baby K are coming to town in a couple of weeks! And the countdown to my new niece/nephew is going to be heating up now. She's due on the 6th, but I've got my money on the 2nd.

Edited to add: oooh, accidental links below! Beware, I might just figure this out one day.
Edited again because I can't spell for shite.

Netflix review(s):Sunday in the Park with George
So many stars, both in rating the movie (it's actually a play) and the performers. Five stars!

This Pulitzer Prize-winning Stephen Sondheim musical is directed by Sondheim collaborator James Lapine. Follow artist Georges Seurat (Mandy Patinkin) as he paints his lover, Dot (Bernadette Peters), and interacts with the people who become characters in his painting "Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte." Act II portrays Seurat's artistic great-grandson (also Patinkin) and his grandmother (also Peters) as they revisit Seurat's life and work.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Was okay, 3 1/2 stars. I have a feeling the book was a lot better.

Based on best-selling author Mitch Alborn's book, this moving TV drama centers on Eddie (Steven Grayham and Jon Voight), who dies at the age of 83, uncertain that he was able to save a girl from a horrible accident and doubting that his life had any significance. In heaven, Eddie meets five souls who, through flashbacks, show him how he affected the lives of others in amazing ways. Ellen Burstyn, Jeff Daniels and Michael Imperioli also star.

The Road Home
Four stars. Really good, made me cry. The movie is told through the son in a mixture of flashbacks and current time. Beautiful movie. Who knew China looked so much like Minnesota?

Veteran director Zhang Yimou this time trains his camera on a love story between a Chinese boy and girl that endures for 40 years. Starring Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), The Road Home tells the tale of Zhao Di (Ziyi) and how she met the love of her life, Luo Changyu -- a new schoolteacher assigned to teach the children in her small village.

The Color of Paradise
Four stars? I loved this movie, right up until the end. Hated the ending. It's about a blind boy, so there's a lot of cool imagery and sound. Very sweet but sad and sucky ending.

Eight years old and blind, Mohammed (Moshen Ramezani) returns home from school for the summer after nearly being abandoned by his widower father (Hossein Mahjub). Mohammed savors the country (special sound effects capture his acute sense of hearing), but warm days and wildflowers have no effect on his father's mood. Believing his blind son will ruin his chance to remarry, Mohammed's father needs no less than a miracle to have a change of heart.

Proud momma

So I got Jboy's report card last night. Jboy is freaky smart, but has gotten pretty horrible grades since he started middle school. Like a low C average most of the time. So, although I was pretty sure he's been working hard, I was a little nervous when opened the envelope (one of those little rip off the edges, like a rebate check...guess they wised up from all of us who steamed open school mail back in the day).
He got 5 A's and a B. The B was from his History teacher, who lives across the street from us. She also gave him "outstanding student" and "good participation" though, so she's just a tough grader. Very proud of him, though I think he was a tiny bit disappointed now that he realizes how long it'll take to pull that GPA back up. I'm thinking he needs a little reward of some kind. Ideas?

By the way...Jboy took the test from yesterday and he's a little Satanist too. 97% Satanist. And...Joss Whedon himself took the Buffy character test and posted his results on Whedonesque.com, so now I don't feel like such a loser taking all these silly quizzes.

So much so that I took another this morning. Have I mentioned how slow our systems are this week? So, which Firefly character am I? Amazingly, not Wash.

RIVER: Fugitive

You scored 75% roughness, 90% intelligence, and 83% isolated!

Congratulations, you are River!!! River is the ship's resident psychic and genius, among other things. She is a mental telepathist, and also appears to be somewhat clairvoyant. She has a tendency to speak not only what is on her own mind (which is often overlooked as gibberish), but others' as well. She is able to use other people's minds as a weapon against themselves. She is a fugitive who was secretly brought on board by her brother Simon. She is forever running from the "Blue Sun" group - a heavily funded top-secret Alliance initiative, so secret that even if Alliance personel get a hint of their presence, they are immediately annihlated. River possesses powers that are a threat not only to the forces pursuing her but also to the Serenity crew, who have given her sanctuary. River is extremely graceful and loves to dance. Something she picked up on very, very quickly. Simon also says lovingly, that she is somewhat of a "brat". Before being rescued by her brother, Dr. Simon Tam, she spent years enduring experiments in an Alliance lab, after she was willingly sent to the Academy by her highly suspiscious parents. The experience has left her forever altered. Now she is plagued by chilling and confusing dreams and recounts of places and people she can't remember - or is to scared to revisit at all. She is undoubtedly a genius of sorts, but one who is tortured by her own intellect. In addition to her heightened mental abilities, she is also preternaturally dexterous and highly skilled in martial arts and weapons combat. However, these gifts appear infrequently; most of the time she swings between catatonia and manic, gibbering fits. River is often unpredictable and chaotic in her bahaviour.But when she completely focuses her mental energy on something..

"No power in the 'verse can stop me!"

No Netflix review again. I spent most of last night watching Macaroni play Tony Hawk's American Wasteland while slipping in and out of a boredom coma. I just found out that I can work a little overtime this weekend and Sunday night a bunch of us are going to dinner and a charity shopping event at Southdale. Should be fun, if I can make it through another couple of days at work.

Out of left field

I was just checking KK's blog and clicked on one of her links and then on another and somehow found this very interesting "quiz" on faith. http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=10907

(Hope that works...I still haven't bothered to figure out how to make links here.)

Anyway here are the results, quite to my surprise. I didn't expect to come up as a hardcore anything and am not at all surprised that Buddhism is second, but come on now.
Nobody tell my mom or I'll never hear the end of it! Shayne, I still get to be the godmomma, right?


You scored as Satanism.
Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan. Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those of earth-based religions such as paganism.

Satanism 75%
Buddhism 71%
agnosticism 71%
atheism 67%
Paganism 63%
Islam 54%
Christianity 54%
Hinduism 50%
Judaism 42%

I'm back. I was feeling a little weird about the whole Master of Darkness thing, so I took another little quiz. All is right with the world again. The Buffy character that you are most like is Xander Harris 45% amorality, 72% passion, 63% spirituality, 54% selflessness

Xander. Loyal, brave, true and passionate. Perhaps the best friend a person could have, always willing to jump into the frey to help out his buddies. Also, one of the most popular characters in the Buffy universe. Congratulations!

The ever so popular "Get to know you" email

Here are some things you may not have known about me.....

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. worker @ the welfare office
2. DD Financial Case Aide, working for the man
3. Receptionist for an awesome ad agency. (They had bumper cars in the lobby and the lunchroom fridge was stocked with booze!)
4. Temp at the electric company. And not the fun Electric Company either.

Four Movies I have watched over and over:
1. Serenity
2. Moulin Rouge
3. Say Anything
4. Serenity (I watch a ton of movies so there’s probably something else to put here, but seriously, it’s all about Serenity.)

Four places I have lived:
1. Minneapolis, MN
2. Richfield, MN
3.
4.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Veronica Mars (the only current show I’m watching. Don't even get me started on the episode from last night!)
2. Firefly (on DVD)
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel (on DVD) (I'm counting this as one because they go together, crossover episodes and all)
4. Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Freaks and Geeks (all on DVD)

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Scotland
2. London & Paris
3. New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas (wow, all of these so far are within the last 12 months)
4. Cancun

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza (especially spinach & garlic from Leaning Tower)
2. Tofurky (just bought two last night)
3. Mashed potatoes and corn mixed together (Shayne, remember the place at the State Fair? With the cheap mashed potatoes? The place that burned down?)
4. Oooh, Vegetable Dumplings from Tao (okay now my mouth is watering.)

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Anywhere in Scotland
2. Japan (maybe not right now. Am praying the tsunami isn't horrible and that it's no where near Shiomi's house.)
3. Bora Bora (okay, in a hammock on the beach in Bora Bora, taking a nap in between Ewan and Joss as they discuss the musical they’re working on.)
4. On Shayne’s couch, cuddling with KK!

Not if you were the last man on Earth

Since I've already outted myself as a big old comic book dork I'll admit that I spent all of last night reading a new book. A new to me book anyway. I settled into the recliner, after doing the Snoopy dance when I opened the box, and read the first three volumes of Y: The Last Man,

written by Brian K. Vaughn who writes another of my favorites, Runaways. My Imaginary Soul Mate Joss is going to take over Runaways soon so I'm trying to catch up on that, and just happened to flip through an issue of Y and was immediately sold. It's so good.
Poor Macaroni is too young for Y though. He loves Runaways, which is about a group of teenagers who find out that their parents are villains and that they have superpowers. And then they, get this, runaway. It's a great book and I usually don't even have to skip over the cussing because it's pretty minor (and it's not like he doesn't hear it from me and Jboy all time). Y, not so much. Lots of effenheimers. And violence. Plus, Runaways is superhero-y and Y is very real world. It's about a plague that kills every male mammal on Earth...or so everyone thinks...and how everyone reacts to that. It's wicked cool, yes I said wicked, but Macaroni has several years before he's allowed to see bullets flying through heads, drawings or not. Plus, all those Republican housewives scared the hell out of me, he doesn't need those kind of nightmares.

Jboy had a math team competition last night. He came home very excited about placing fourth, out of six teams. His team scored eight points in the first round, five of which were his. So, as long as he does well individually he doesn't seem to care about the outcome. His school is hosting the next competition in December and we're already discussing the menu, since they were served a bag of chips and a rice crispy bar for dinner yesterday. I'm allowed to donate money for food but I am not, under any circumstances, allowed to attend the competition. Which honestly, sounds extremely boring. Score one for Sunshine!

No Netflix review as I was buried in graphic novels (that's the shi shi name for comics now) and Veronica Mars is on tonight so there won't be one tomorrow either.

We have a Nolan

My headache still hasn't gone away. And I haven't even eaten anymore papaya, although I'm tempted every time I open my desk drawer. I'm afraid it's either a brain tumor or a big old flu bug waiting to bite me in the ass. Lots of people out sick today, which could either mean a flu bug is hanging around or that lazy people are stretching the holiday weekend even more. I'd put my money on the lazy factor despite my headache.

Not a whole lot to report. Jeph Loeb is going to write an arch in the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 comic book, which of course means nothing to the average human being. To a Joss fanactic and comic book dork like myself, it's huge. Jeph is a great writer and so popular, his issues should sell like hotcakes. I so can't wait for this!
I don't know if I mentioned the charity auction for a day on the set of The Tourist with Hugh Jackman...and by default...my imaginary boyfriend Ewan. I was a little pouty because it was after my trip to New York and I knew there was no way I could justify another trip. Well, good thing I wasn't delirious enough to even follow the bidding. It went for something like $61,000!
Hmmm...I've got most of my Christmas shopping done already. It helps that I have virtually no money to shop with. And I'm boycotting Target again so that makes the not shopping a lot easier. Although I do need to go shopping for the three foster care kids we're sponsoring this year. Luckily I think I can get everything on their list without resorting to Target or Wal-Mart.
Whatelse? Tomorrow night's Veronica Mars looks awesome, if not completely devastating. I think I'm going to need a box of Kleenex and possibly a day off to recover. Seriously, the "next week on Veronica Mars" preview makes me a little teary. Sheesh, I have absolutely no life.

I still haven't met H&E's new baby, but he does have a name now. Hoping to get over there this week. Talked to the little momma this morning and she's doing well, other than a painful incision and being tired. Like that part ever goes away. E went back to work today but Heath's mom is staying with them so Wes is getting lots of attention.

That might be all of my ever so exciting news. I can't decide if I should get my koi fish tattoo or pierce my traguses (tragi?) for Christmas (oh, you found me out. I have no money to buy my children Christmas gifts but I'm planning to find money for tattoos and/or piercings). Bad, bad mommy. The piercings would only cost about $60, which I think is a reasonable amount to spend on my own Christmas present. The tat will be closer to $400, so I don't know that I can really justify it. Not that it's ever stopped me before.

Wish I had photos to update the blog, seems so boring without anything. Love, love, love all the photos at KK's site. Grandma B looks like she had a blast! Hopefully I'll get some baby photos and finally get around to uploading our Halloween pics. Nathan Fillion was on Lost this week so I'll upload a photo of him. And since the Lost fans don't seem to be on the ball, the photo is of Nathan in Saving Private Ryan. Damn that man is pretty.

Netflix reviews: Jersey Girl
I expected to hate this movie because of the Benifer thing, but I really liked it. My favorite part was the extra features with director Kevin Smith, who I adore. Why can't I meet a guy like him? The movie is cute without being pukey, and JLo dies right away so that's a plus. 3 of 4 stars.
Review #2: Pollack
This was a bio of artist Jackson Pollack played by Ed Harris. It was very well acted (little Val Kilmer part too!) and the scenes reproducing Pollack's art were amazing. Made me want to start painting again. But I put in the next movie and the urge passed, cause I'm lazy. 4 of 4 stars, although I probably wouldn't recommend it to a non-art lover.
Review #3: hey, it was a long weekend Rushmore
I'm sure I've already mentioned that I love Bill Murray. And again, I love Bill Murray. Rushmore was funny and oh so quirky. 3 out of 4 stars.

Sulphites suck

So apparently sulphites can cause migraines. I found this out the hard way, and knowing me and my total lack of self control, it's probably something I'll learn over and over. I just discovered the wonders of dried papaya. Little dried chunks of heaven, that make my head hurt like hell. I've eaten about half of a 16 oz. bag since last night...and I'm certainly not going to toss the rest of those tasty tidbits, so instead will be conducting my own little experiment. I'm going to wait until this freaking headache goes away and then eat more. And then wait to see if my head explodes. It's all in the name science. And because they're so good.

Hopefully the migraine is just a side effect of Poopface Pawlenty getting re-elected. Although were that the case, Rumsfeld resigning should've wiped out the pain. Now, Rumsfeld getting fired, that might have cured my arthritis too.

Yesterday was the first time since 1992 that I've voted without one of my kids. It was pretty weird. Jboy was following several national seats (that I knew almost nothing about) and Macaroni went to the polls with his dad so it's not like they were neglected or missing out on the wonders of American democracy, but I felt weird without them. Another weird thing...all but one of the people I voted for actually won. Haven't been able to say that in a long time. (Okay, I lied. I just looked and two others that I voted for lost, but to people that I like too. I actually did eany-meany-miney-moe on one of them.)

There's lots to be happy about today (electing MN's first female senator, first MN African-American to US House, first Muslim in the nation elected to Congress...just to name a few), but there is a lot to be embarrassed about too. Something like 25 states now have amendments to ban gay marriage. Legalized discrimination, how unfuckingAmerican is that? Pawlenty promises to put a cap on property taxes. Property taxes that went up in order to feed little kids and pay for wasteful programs like public schools and social services for the elderly and disabled. My job is going to get uber fun, I can tell. Sorry about the sarcasm. Super nasty Michele Bachman beat Patty Wetterling (I feel an irrational connection to Patty, was pregnant with Jboy when her son Jacob was abducted, love her dearly) pretty much based on gay bashing and yelling "baby killer" at everyone. And getting a gross pastor (who oozes his congregation's money out of every pore) to illegally endorse her from the pulpit. They had so better lose their tax exempt status!

Speaking of baby killers, I'd mention a little good news in South Dakota, but I'm afraid I'll jinx a bigger thing going on in Washington today, so that will have to wait.

I know I'll never enjoy another campaign now that Paul Wellstone is gone but hopefully they won't all be this yucky and depressing. I mean, I mostly got what I wanted and it's still pretty freaking depressing. I can't wait until I win the lottery and can move to Scotland. I'm going to buy an island off the coast and crown myself queen. Then only gay people will be allowed to marry, we'll pay taxes like the Swedes and I'll hand out birth control on every street corner.

Best election day news? Baby Wes is now a big brother! Spoke to my friend H this morning and all is well. Hoping to get to see her and as-of-yet-unnamed-boy tomorrow.

Netflix review: The House of Sand and Fog
Very good movie. Totally love Ben Kingsley, and although I don't really like Jennifer Connelly, she was really good in this. I like that you really dislike most of the characters by the end, a lot of movies are too afraid to do that. Uncontrollable crying towards the end. Four stars.

Poke my eyeballs out and serve them to the politicians

I'm so sick of all the political ads on TV. Even those for the candidates that I really like. I think that step number one in campaign finance reform should be to do away with any and all television advertisements. It's too easy to lie/mislead/twist/and otherwise pollute my living room with propaganda in a 30 second sound bite. It's all about buying an election, which sadly has become the norm in this country.
The only thing televised should be debates. And they should all be moderated by Ewan and/or Joss, so I don't get too bored. So there.

I've been crabby all day and delaying this entry hasn't helped. So I'm still crabby, probably from a mixture of candy withdrawal and reading the newspaper. I promise to eat lots of chocolate and not read/watch the news all weekend. I do have something to look forward to this weekend. My friend Mary is coming over tomorrow night and we're going to order Pizza Luce, read Kathleen's gossip magazines and watch all of the episodes from Veronica Mars: Season 3. (That's #3-1 "Welcome Wagon", #3-2 "My Big Fat Greek Rush Week", #3-3 "Wichita Linebacker", #3-4 "Charlie Don't Surf", #3-5 "President Evil" for those of you not keeping track. Have I mentioned that this is my FAVORITE show?!?!?) If anything will get me uncrabby, that will be it.

Jboy competed in his first ever quiz bowl last night. His exact words were "We were decimated. But it was fun!" They had four matches, lost all but one. And yes, Shayne...that is little Mr. Nutter from church. Jboy hopes they find some other kids to join their team as you're supposed to have a minimum of four kids per team and they only had three. Jboy, his friend Jeremiah and a shy girl named Sparkle. I have no idea what Jeremiah or Sparkle look like, but I totally believe Jboy when he said that they stood out among all the snobby private school kids. I still can't get over the fact that my kid is participating in school sponsored events! At my old high school. Sheesh, I'm old.

I can't think of anything else to report. Macaroni fell (trying to sneak up and scare his brother) and hurt his arm but it wasn't broken, thank goodness.

Speaking of sneaking, Ewan is taking photos with other women again. You know, if they're photos with his wife I'm very understanding but the rest of these chicks need to back off. He is my imaginary boyfriend.

The little caption reads: picture Sunshine here

Netflix review: Runaway Jury
I should probably begin with admitting that I have an embarrassing crush on John Cusack. More embarrassing than the Ewan/Joss thing because John's single and I occasionally think I have a shot with him.

Also, if I were ever to cure cancer or AIDS or save a bus load of kittens or become a crazy bug eating hermit in the hills and Hollywood decided to make a movie of my life, there's only one person I'd want to play me: Rachel Weisz. She's a goddess. (Okay, I'd want Gina Torres, aka Queen of the Goddesses, to play me too but since I'm not planning on growing two feet and turning all my fat in muscles any time soon, I'm going to pretend that Rachel and I look even just a smidgen alike and go with her. Pretending is fun and imaginary boys are the bestest of all!)

Rachel Weisz

***

***

Gina Torres

So, Runaway Jury is a very good movie but I would have said that anyway, cause John is oh so delicious.

Salty goodness

I'm munching on Wheat Thins because I didn't get a lunch today. My face and keyboard are covered in salt and my hands are going to be uber dry from all the hand sanitizer I'm using. Bad thing about eating at your desk. That and the crazy insane I become from sitting here all day.

I'm wearing my new slipper socks today...inspired by Baby K's teddy slippers. I wish they made those in my size!

You can almost see the little hole in the left one, Macaroni wore them last night. Cue to violins - "I never get anything nice just for me." Which totally isn't true, but I just got them two days ago. Oh well, they're probably on clearance now so I could go buy myself another pair and give these to Macaroni. Wish they came in black. They'll be a little more punk rock and a little less Halloweeny in a couple of months too.

Not a lot else going on. Jboy was asked to take part in a Quiz Bowl tonight in Minnetonka. I think he was a little nervous since it's so last minute, but if there's anything that kid can do it's play Jeopardy. I just wish I could go with and watch. (Mr. Nutter is the staff person in charge. Mr. Nutter - who used to play baseball with my brothers! I can't believe he's old enough to be a teacher. Time flies.) So now we have Anime club, Math Team and possibly a Quiz Bowl Team. Who would've guessed.

Netflix review: Bend It Like Beckham Again, so late in seeing this. It came out in 2002. All about girls playing football. Fooooootball, aka soccer. I love British movies and this one threw in a little Bollywood too as the main character is Indian. Very cute movie, the wedding stuff is beautiful with all the vibrant colors. Macaroni liked the soccer bits and Jboy even turned around from the computer a few times to watch. I wouldn't run out and buy it, but I wouldn't change the channel if it came on either. Favorite quote: "Why doesn't that spicy girl do something about his hair?"

The best part: a DVD extra has an Indian cooking lesson from director Gurinder Chadha. She's adorable and her mom and aunt are like little elderly back seat cooks commenting on her style. Very funny!