The love of Terminator. And cuddly werewolves.

Alright. So, yesterday I was cranky. So very cranky that I couldn't wait to get out of work. I think what started the crankiness (Other than dealing with crappy internet services in the UK.. don't ask) was when the person who is my backup strolls in (late mind you) and immediately tells me how to do my job. I'm sorry, I was on break, I hadn't even logged back into my computer before he asked me to work a certain case. Which by the freaking way, I would have seen as soon as I logged in. But it was the fact that he told me to take care of it, just urked me. And he has done this with others, I frankly wanted to tell him to frak off and do his own job. (Which by the way, there was no reason he couldn't have taken care of the ticket himself. It took a total of 30 seconds to type 2 sentences and send it back to where it came from.)
That was about 9 am, and it put me into a foul mood till I got out of work at 12:30, which was 30 minutes later than my normal Fridays thanks to Monday having been a holiday.
I decided that it was going to be a day where if I stayed in the house, it would be a bad thing. Grabbed Mother of Mine and headed over to the mall to see a movie. Now, we normally do not go to the mall for movies, but I technically had errands on that side of town. (mostly, gas had been cheaper over there for the last few weeks. Of course because I was finally going to that station, it was now the same price as everwhere else.)
Mother of Mine and I puttered around the mall, and got ourselves some pretzels. Dealt with noisy kids, and a pain in my neck from walking around the mall. I was reminded why I don't like to go to that theater. (Granted, I hadn't been to that particular theater in quite possibly.. 10 years, but it hasn't changed)

Then we saw it.
Yes, we saw Terminator Salvation.


Now, those who don't know me, won't know my feelings when it comes to all that is The Terminator.
I love the movies. I grew up watching them. I personally feel that the first one is a romance chick flick. Yes, yes I did just say that.
Why do I think this?
Mostly, I can give you 1 reason.
Kyle Reese.
"I came across time for you Sarah."
Makes me melt every time.

Hmmm between Jareth from The Labyrinth, Kyle Reese from Terminator, James Bond, and James Fraser (Outlander books) it might explain why I have such a high standard for men lol.

Being a youngin' that I was, I remember actively making the decision to watch T1 and T2 on the special Judgment day. Which, for those who don't know, was August 1997.
Skynet came online August 4th, and Judgment day was actually August 29th.

I dislike the 3rd Terminator movie, because.. well it just didn't feel right.
I have grouped it into the batch of movies I pretend don't exist. Though, this one I will actually own, as I will have to have all the T movies.. most likely on Blue Ray someday. (Yes, technically my copies of T1 and T2 are still on VHS, and I'm not going to upgrade till after the move. - Hunny.. hint hint but wait till all 4 come out in whatever spiffy boxed set they're going to do.. as you know they will. )

Now, moving on to Salvation.
Once again, I love Kyle Reese. This time he was not played by Michael Biehn, but instead is played by Anton Yelchin. (You'll know him from many things, but most notably the new Star Trek Enterprise movie) Who I have recently gotten an extreme crush on. He is so adorable.
Marcus, played by Sam Worthington is a hot Aussie, and I kept catching his accent, when I'm sure not too many other people would. But yeah.. He's hot. He did a good job in the role he had. I won't go into details as that will spoil things.
Christian Bale played John Connor all grown up. Though he was limited by the existing lore of the character, and the actors who have played him previously.. I think he did an excellent job.

One thing that annoyed me in the movie, was the tapes that Sarah Connor made for John. I was sitting there in the theater thinking "how could they get someone else to do the tapes? Why didn't they just use the recording of the original tapes from the first movie?? They got the freaking photo of her, why couldn't they get the tapes?"
Well, my annoyance was that it didn't sound like Linda Hamilton.
To my chagrin, it was Linda doing the tapes. She went uncredited in the part, but yes, it was in fact her. In my defense, it really sounds nothing like her. And Mother of Mine also did not think it was her. Linda has a very distinct voice to me, as I grew up listening to her in Terminator, Beauty and the Beast, and everything else she's done. I always know it's her. So I was completely shocked when her voice sounded so different.
Mayhaps I'll just mentally chock it up to the tapes having been distorted in the 30 years since they had been made and thats why it didn't sound like her. - That might be plausible enough lol.

There were many little homages in the movie that made me squee in geekdom. (For those who haven't seen it... keep an eye out for a scene later in the movie involving John, a metal walk way, and a Terminator... it is very.. reminiscent of a very good scene from T2)
Arnie was in the movie, not as an actor, but just his likeness. And I think they did an AMAZING job.

On a different note, there was a scene that amused me. I couldn't help but think of a scene from The Princess Bride, and the entire time I watched this scene I had Vizzini's voice in my head saying "Those are the shrieking eels". Again, for those who have not seen it, you'll know which scene I'm talking about.

The movie made me jump many times. Which is slightly hard for a movie to do to me anymore, so this was quite fun.

All in all, GO SEE IT. It is very worth seeing on the big screen. I laughed, I cried, I jumped out of my seat.

Now moving along.

Yesterday I also received my 2nd package from the Vampire Club.
Whoohoo more Lucien yarn.

This month also included a cute little stitch marker.
I love the pattern by Gherkin, that is called Fangtasm. Unfortunately, it is 1) a sock, and 2) a toe up sock. Which until I get over my aversion to socks, this one is going to not get touched. And also I do not yet know how to do toe up socks- which is not nearly as simple as doing a regular sock. I did wish to learn how to do a toe up sock, but then my aversion happened.

Here are photos, and I apologize for the lack of photos previously (I can't recall if I had posted them or not) as I didn't get good photos last time.
Today, the light outside was gorgeous.





And now for an action shot with my lovely new swift. Ignore the chaos behind it, we are rearranging the house-mostly the front room, so it's a mess.

I absolutely LOVE the swift. It took me 10 minutes to cake up a skein of yarn with it instead of the hour it had taken previously, and that was if I was lucky enough to not have it tangle into a horrible mess like Lucien did previously. (Seriously 8 hours minimum spent untangling it)




Oh, and on a completely random note... I just watched a cute movie. "The Student Prince" It was enjoyable. It had Rupert Penry-Jones (Known from Spooks, and Casanova) when he was verra young.

Okay, I guess I'm done rambling.

Bugs and Hisses.

A tease of an idea...

Just something that amuses me greatly.

And no. I'm not gonna talk about it.

And if you don't know where it's from, then shame on you.

My "Ah ha!" moment from last night.

Last night, I was actually writing.

Woohoo!

Then I hit a wall.
I was trying to describe clothing.

And then I told myself "I will need to research the clothing of the 1890's. Darnit. Can't write anymore tonight."

I started researching a bit. And then it hit me.

It doesn't matter.
I am not writing about London that was.
I am writing about London that never was. Thus, I can play with the clothing a bit. No drastic changes, but I am no longer held to the rules of "this is what they wore in that time period."

I then started zooming when it came to writing again.

So I have a feeling that when it comes to this particular novel, I will have to constantly remind myself "This is my world. Not theirs. My world, my rules."

Moving along. Yesterday Mother of Mine needed new sneakers.
So we hit the shoe stores.
I shouldn't have gone in. I should have just had my mom meet me at Whole Foods next door.

But I went in.

Now, shoe shopping for me has always been a PITA. I mean serious pain.

I've worn a size 7 and up since the 5th grade. I now wear a 10, and have worn a 10 for the last like... Oh well.. since high school.

Finding a pair of shoes that 1)fit, 2)I like, and 3) don't kill my knees is nigh on impossible.

Boots even more so.
I found a pair of sexy sexy black boots.
I made the mistake of trying them on.

I could actually zip them up over my massively large calves (thank you Track when I was a kid)
I didn't wobble. I could walk. they didn't pinch.

And they were 40% off. Sigh. I was suckered in as soon as I saw them.

Next pair of boots.
Not quite as sexy, not a color I would normally buy.

Again, knee high boots. Suede.. Cowboy style heel.
My mind went "Ren Faire?"

For years now, I generally have to leave mid day because the only boots I have, are not good Faire Boots, and my back generally is in too much pain to allow me to continue. Having a low heel is better for our rocky terrain.
These were more expensive.. but they were also 40%
So, for two pairs of boots, I spent 120$
Not bad... If the Ren Faire boots last me even 1 season, and make it possible for me to enjoy myself, then they will have been money well spent. (Not to mention, I can use them while mucking about the field in England.)
(Only in Black) And yes, I am SOoooo wearing those to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.



I guess thats all my rambling for now... My body and mind, really do not want to be here at work today.

Ramblings of the insane, and a few reviews.

Last night Mother of Mine and I watched Australia.

I must admit, that when I originally saw the trailers for it... I thought "hmmm looks like something I want to see.. but it looks like something I'd need to be in the mood for"

Which is why it hadn't been watched until now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE fan of Baz Luhrman. I do in fact own the Red Curtain Collection, and Strictly Ballroom has been one of my all time favorite movies.
I'm also a huge fan of Hugh Jackman. I mean, heck... I once recorded a PBS showing of Oklahoma! because he was in it. (I managed to somehow not watch it before I accidentally recorded over it, but you still get the point.)

Now, one of the reasons I was meh about watching it, was because I just have to be in a mood to watch one of her movies. I'm not saying she's a bad actress... I'm just saying I tend to have to be in a mood.

But Australia finally came in last night at the library.

Now, the first thing I will say... is if the trailers had actually shown what most of the movie was about... I would have watched it a LONG time ago.

The trailers made it seem that the movie was ONLY about War coming to Australia.
And also, that it was because of the war that Lady Ashely (Nicole Kidman's character) goes to Australia for.

Without giving away the movie.. I'll say, that only about the last half to last quarter of the movie has anything to actually do with the war.

Ironically, I'm glad that I've watched McLeod's Daughters a bit prior to watching Australia, because if I hadn't... I think all the Droving, would have just made me think of City Slickers (you know... Billy Crystal). Which, though there were a few times I snorted thinking about that movie... I was glad my mind was flicking more back and forth between what was on the screen and the droving of McLeod's Daughters. (Mostly, I was just thinking about the "Station House" and how something can in fact have been around for over 100 years, and doing the exact same thing as it was built for originally.)

The movie, very much had Baz's signature flair. OR at least, the very beginning did. There was no doubt in my mind watching the first 30 minutes of the movie that this was in fact a Baz Luhrman film.

The music was very gorgeous, and of course I ended up going to bed having "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in my head. Which, if you see the movie, you'll understand.

The cinematography was absolutely without a doubt breath takingly gorgeous. And they did such a great job with the Green Screen, that you can only tell it was employed in very few scenes. I don't know how many it was actually used in, but there are some where you could tell. Which, there were obvious reasons for it.

Wicked's vote: I'll own this someday. (And thats saying something!)

Moving along...
I quickly read over the weekend, the latest book by Joanne Fluke.
Cream Puff Murder.



I have to admit, though this book was slightly annoying in the aspect that it was mostly centered around Hannah's waistline and the need to loose a few pounds.
The person who died in this one... I, like others am very glad to see dead.
Mike, one of Hannah's two boyfriends... I have decided I do not like. Originally, I used to be more Team Mike rather than Team Norman. I mean.. who wouldn't want the hot police detective as opposed to the slightly normal looking dentist. Dentists have the highest rate of suicidal tendencies per year. Perhaps I'm the only who thinks about that in the grand scheme of things when it comes to choosing a partner.
Yes, Mike has more danger when it comes to his profession, but is less likely to kill himself when it comes down to it.

Right now, I'm definitely more in the Team Norman camp. I'd kill for his house. lol.

Almost through with Sandman Volume 3 by Neil Gaiman.
Started reading Summer Knight again by Jim Butcher. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it this time before it's due back at the library or one of my other "gotta read this now because there is a waiting list a mile long" books comes in.
That means Sookie has been put down for the moment.


Oh, on completely random news. I got something really cool, and I don't recall if I had talked about it yet or not.

Leslie over at Dv'yne Writes, has a contest every month for those who subscribe to her news letter. As I have known Leslie for years thanks to the Colorado Ren Faire... and I've owned at least one of her notebooks, and have lusted over many more of them.. I of course would be a subscriber to her latest news. I mean, I never would have known about her awesome leather covers for say.. Harry Potter, or the other books she has.. I mean amazing work.
Well, I happened to win this months free journal give away.
It arrived quickly, as well.. she lives only about 70 miles away from me. Ironically, the journal via the post office, would have traveled more than that, because though she lives in Littleton, I'm willing to bet it had to go to Denver (north), then back south to me.
I opened up the box, and was BLOWN away. I mean absolutely blown away by what I found.
I was expecting one of the little soft sided refillable notebooks.. (like the one I have) I mean, it's one of the less expensive books she sells (which is why I have it. I mean I bought mine at least 10 years ago, and I could never afford any of the more expensive ones), and one generally figures that for a free give away, it would not be an expensive one.

Well, the journal I got was a 60$ slightly hardsided non refillable journal.


Sad news is that Leslie will not be at CRF anymore. She officially sold her booth, and is moving on to other things. I wish her luck though, and I don't blame her for wanting to move along. CRF was not a money maker for her in the recent years (I know this due to having a friend who worked her booth for a few seasons) I'm sure she also has other reasons for moving along. She will be missed.

Moving along...

Yesterday.. or was it the day before? I got an idea into my head. This is always dangerous. As I should have been writing or knitting. Not painstakingly editing a photo so that I can maybe make it work in a chart, and then attempt to knit it up.

If this works, it will be FREAKING AWESOME.
If it doesn't work... I will be once again reminded why I do not like socks. lol.

I won't really say what I'm working on yet... but I will say this.. "Wuv... True Wuv"

Hmmm I wonder if this can count as part of my Read/Knit Along? I'll have to see.

Alright. I guess I'm done rambling for now. I guess I should try to write.
Oh, and I must say.. .even though I put down Alex and her world of vamps... they are still talking in my head. Constantly.

Which recently has come up a lot it seems. Marissa commented on her blog, how writing is an acceptable form of schizophrenia. I agree with that statement. (Mind you, I was paraphrasing) It reminded me of the introduction in the first volume of "Comedity", where Garth talks about his friend's experience when it came to being a writer.
His friend had a high paying job (he delivered payroll in his own car, through nasty parts of town.. so he was really really well paid due to the danger involved). He quit his job to become a writer and work on his novel. Well, of course when Tax time came around, he went from reporting a lot of income to reporting 0 income for the year. He of course was audited. He went in sweating and freaking out, and having everything he could possibly have ready to explain his expenses for the last year, and when the taxman asked "so... why did you go from reporting _____ much, to reporting nothing"
Friend: "Well sir. I quit my job to write"
Taxman: "Oh." *scribble and rubber stamp* "We're done."
Friend: "What?"
Taxman: "You are crazy. And this crazy is explainable. Have a good day."

Apparently, per the IRS, writers are insane, as we will willingly go from having high paid careers (ha i wish) to having zero income for a year or more.

(Again, paraphrasing.. but the words crazy, and insane were actually used, and the convo was that short. I'm not willing to dig out my copy of Comedity right now as it is upstairs)

So not only are we schizophrenic, but we per the taxman are also insane.
This makes sense to me. As I remember sitting in my 2nd period class my Sophomore year of highschool working on a play I was writing.. my first one "Just an ordinary day... like no other", and my friend Nikki (not the crazy Irish one, but slightly Hispanic one) asked me how I could write what I was writing. I mean, 70 pages of dialogue? She wanted to know where it came from. I couldn't explain it other than "I just hear them talking." And it's true. It's also the reason I only wrote plays for the longest time.. Because I could hear the voices, but I sucked at the "The color of the mountains at dawn reminded me of a glass of sherry held up to the light coming in from the window." That kind of stuff.. I sucked at it back then. I wrote poems and plays. That was me.
I'm partly still sucky at it, I have to force myself to do description, and thats partly why I end up putting down somethings I'm working on. Actually, that is one of the reasons I had to put Alex down, Denver and it's descriptions were kicking my ass lol. I digress..

Is it insanity, when I clearly hear entire conversations of people who do not exist? If I never put my pen to paper, and I only just spoke of the convos... would I have been forced to undergo meeting with psychiatrists? No, I don't think so. Mostly because I come from a family where we tend to embrace our creativity in all it's forms. (or at least we do now)
I was never a child who had "imaginary friends" or at least none that I remember. I don't consider the voices I've always heard my imaginary friends. Though, these voices in my head tend to be best friends. So, I guess in fact they are the epitome of what one would call an imaginary friend.

Well.. I'm rambling.. so I guess I'll leave it here. But yes, I guess I just confirmed what all of you have thought of me for years. I'm absolutely bonkers. ;-)

I think the only thing that really drives me crazy, is not only do I have Alex, Daniel and Kit talking in my head right now, but I've got my people from my new novel chattering as well. It can get confusing at times lol.

Oh and the final note. My gods... homemade chocolate chip cream cheese rolls.. are just still so wonderful.. no matter how many times I make them.

The Lunatics have taken over the Aslyum

Alright, I splurged yesterday.

Collide is a band that I enjoy, but have never been able to justify spending the money to 1)buy a physical cd, and 2) I haven't been able to justify spending money on any of their cool merchandise.
When I say merchandise, I mean the shop Saints and Sinners, which is run by KaRin who is a member of Collide, so thus, the merchandise in the shop helps support the band.

I got an email, my usual monthly email from Collide. And in that email, they announced a sale that was happening till the end of May. If you order from Saints and Sinners before the end of May, you'll get a free Collide cd of your choice.

Hells yeah.

So, I decided to get meself one of the belt buckles I was wanting, and opted for the Vortex CD, which I realized after I placed the order, that Vortex is a 2 disc set. Woohoo. They didn't say that Vortex wasn't an option for the free cd, and it is the only cd that has my favorite song.

The song in question... "The lunatics have taken over the Asylum" (I think it might be on the live cd, but i'm not fond of live cds)

So for 34$ (after shipping) I got a spiffy belt buckle, and a 2 disc cd. Woot.




Saints And Sinners

I also splurged when I got home, as I mentioned that Knit Picks has a wooden Swift on sale for 50$ (normally like 89$)

So mom and I decided to split the cost, as I really don't want to spend another 8 hours untangling a skein of yarn.

I know when the move happens, we'll have to decide who gets to keep it... But perhaps, I'll be able to have bought a new one by then. If it stays the same price, in a few months, we'll both pitch in for another one and that way we'll both have one and it didn't dent our bank accounts too much.


Knit Picks Yarn Swift

I also bought a new set of needle tips, in size 6, slowly I'll have all the ones I need.
I also got myself one ball of the Knit Picks Comfy so that I can start doing some gauge and figure out how much I'll need for my Av's sweater.

Yummy Non Woolly Stuff.

So I am totally BLOWN away. Today after spending too much money at the Evilmart, I came home and had a little package waiting for me.



Faux Cashmere, Milk Protein, Tussah Silk, Carbonized Bamboo
(Photo is not mine, it is stolen from Gherkin)

Gherkin over at Gherkin's Bucket did an amazing thing for me.

What did she do?
She not only battled with the evil mail delivery service not once, but twice.

The first package of non woolly fiber got stolen when they "delivered" it.

So, she finally got a new delivery of non woolly goodness, and spun some up.

Some of it, was a bitch apparently. I believe it was the Milk Protein that was the bitch.

I don't know what I'll knit these up into yet, as I need to test how my body reacts to them.

I have to say, at first impression, I am loving the Carbonized Bamboo.
The Milk yarn is just gorgeous looking.
The Tussah Silk is... oh my god.. .as beautiful as I imagined it. It really makes me want to buy some hanks of it when I start my whole dyeing thing.

The Faux Cashmere is cute... and quite... i don't know how to describe it. Very soft to say the least.

Now, you can find her over at her ETSY shop, and I hope that you all talk with her. (She can also be found on Ravelry for those of you who are on there)
Pretty much she is the most awesomest person ever right now in my book.

Gherkin's Bucket

Poll is closed

Well, I had forgotten about the poll lol. No not really, it just wasn't at the top of my mind for the past few days.

So it looks like 7 people voted

6 For the name Mathais Davenport and 1 saying "Find something else"

So, I'm curious... Who voted for the Find something else? And why?

The curiosity kitten is strong in me, so if your brave enough.. let me know.

I truly do value the comments.

Twice cursed

Okay, lets just say that if I think of something to post, and don't post it that day... I for the life of me cannot recall what I wanted to post. So yes, you all are missing out on some witty quips because I'm too exhausted when I get home to post them.

This one I remembered.

Yesterday Mother of Mine and I were twice cursed by the same curse.

Mother of Mine made Lemon Bars as a little while ago we mentioned them and then went "Ooooh that'd be really good right now, and we have all those lemons"

Well, as Mother of Mine puts it "The bottom was cooked too much and the middle lemony part was not cooked enough." (We forgot to adjust anything for altitude, and I honestly don't believe we've made Lemon bars while living in Colorado. Having a daughter who is allergic to citrus like that tends to not make them high on the list.)

They were still quite yummy, they just require a fork to eat them. And my craving for lemony goodness has now been sated for another 10 years. The remainder of the bars will go with Mother of Mine to her quilt guild thingie today so that they are out of the house.

Also yesterday when I got home, I had been craving cream cheese filling/frosting. Don't ask why.. I just was. This was before I knew mom was making Lemon Bars.
But so I started whipping up a batch. It didn't taste right. I didn't do anything different than I ever do. (Mayhaps it was that I didn't measure the powdered sugar??)
No.. it was the curse.

For those who don't know... I am cursed. If I have a craving for something, it will inevitably taste... wrong. It does not matter if I make it, or go out and buy it. Or heck.. have it at a restaurant. If it's something that I'm craving (and yes, it has to be a craving.. you know... the kind that just stay with you until you give in.. that kind of craving).. it will just not be right.
This is highly annoying for obvious reasons.

The frosting, I have decided I will make the other part of it's original purpose, and that will be to make my chocolate chip cream cheese rolls. The frosting/filling, on my tongue tasted odd, will be just fine paired with the rolls it is originally meant for. Perhaps it was just my tastebuds being funny.

So this weekend, I shall dust off the bread machine and whip up some of the dough.

This week at work, (and yes I realize it's only Wednesday) has been... well not off to a good start. Thanks to the pesky earthquake in California on Monday, over 700 email servers went down. That meant.. I was busy. Everyone whining that they don't have their email.
We have finally caught up, but thats only because I worked my ass off and have already worked 241 billable tickets. Lets put this in perspective... Normally, I try to make sure I have 80 tickets... for the entire week. Anything above that is just gravy. So yes... I am exhausted.

At home:
I've been reading Absolute Sandman vol 3- don't know how I feel about this one yet. It's good.. but I don't know about the story.. Delirium is not my favorite character... Neither is Despair.

Also been rereading Dead Until Dark. It's amazing to remember how much I liked Bill at first.

Haven't been knitting the last few nights because I'm just too tired to deal with it mentally.

Been watching some of McLeod's Daughters (season 3) I really do need to go back and watch the earlier seasons, as I never ended up seeing them whilst my mom had them from the library. The show is good, and now I'm hooked. So back to the beginning it is for me. And by the way.. Season 3 is like... Sigh.. they were evil.

The heat is becoming an increasing issue. I can tell already that it will be a brutal summer, and my sleep is already becoming sporadic.

Okay, I guess I've rambled enough for now.

Bugs and Kisses people.

Sandman... bring me a dream...

So last night, as I was crawling into bed...

I got a thought about a colorway I'd love to do when I start dyeing.

It was quiet appropriate as I dreamed it up in bed, as the colorway involves Sandman himself.

I won't go into details about it, because well.. I don't want people to steal my idea before I get the chance to dye him up. But if he turns out how I thought of him... it'll be gorgeous.

Unfortunately, it means I will definitely need to buy the Absolute Sandman, as my reference images are no where to be found online.

Hmm... perhaps if I actually wait till after I start my business, I can do it as a tax write off? Sigh.. I'll keep those thoughts at bay till I actually move. I will definitely need to consult a tax person over there, as I know nothing when it comes to the taxes of the UK.

I have decided that I will in fact be signing up for the Dyeing class at my local yarn shop, as I really do want to make sure I've got some talent for this- and I'm a visual person.. I can only glean so much from tutorials etc, I need to get my hands dirty so to speak. So, for 30$ I can get class instruction and dye up a skein or two. I think I have some ideas for what colors I want to play with in the class. Well, thats if they let me. I don't know if they'll let me do the stripey style in the class or if they will be having us do non variegation yarn.

Well, if I don't stop yapping now, I'll end up babbling, and I'll most likely end up babbling about the colorway.

So... Bugs and Hisses everyone.

Angels and Demons, Bones, and a moment of panic.

So, I cast on and started my special project.
Some how, I messed up, and either cut an extra bit, or I split a bit, and I have to figure out what I did.

Figuring out that I messed up was actually only found out after I finished my second row, and 3 parts came off. It left me with a WTF? moment.

So after giving up last night due to frustration and sleepyness, I have not picked it back up again. I don't know if I will pick it up tonight or not, as my back is hurting, and I do not want to transfer any of the back pain vibes into the knitting. Which happens. And as this is a gift... I have to make sure it doesn't happen.


Yesterday I nearly had a heartastroke as, well mom and I went to see Angels and Demons.
We went to Whole Foods to buy a bit of lunch, and I must say that I feel as if I am cheating on my Whole Foods every time I go to the WF over on that side of town. It is a smaller one, and not nearly as good on top of the whole "I'm cheating" feeling.
After eating lunch, mom and I went to Coldstone next to the theater and got some ice cream.

Then we went into the theater. Of course we were the first ones there.

I sat down, got up, went to the loo, got us napkins, sat down, chilled, got comfy. So on and so forth.

I reached for my chapstick in my right pocket, and realized there were only 2 items in my pocket. My chapstick and my Orajel (the tooth I had a root canal on, and has been damaged etc has been bugging me, so I started keeping numb stuff with me again... you'd think that after 3 years (or more) of sucking that stuff down I'd be immune to it... nope. still works.. well for the most part. The problem I have can't be fully numbed, but I'll do my darndest.).

What was missing from my pocket was my flash drive.
I had distinctly remembered putting it in my right pocket when I left work.
Que me panicking.
I search under my seat.
I trace my steps back to the loo.
I come up with nothing.
Mom said she remembered seeing it poking out of my pocket while we were in the car eating.
I did technically have time to go out and check the car, but there was a reason I didn't. The reason was this: If I simply clung to the hope that it was in the car, I'd be able to possibly enjoy the movie. If I went out to the car and it wasn't there. I'd cry, and thus not really enjoy the movie. So, the fear of not knowing helped me in this case.

Fast forward, yes. It was in the car. Thank gods.
Seriously, I'd rather loose my wallet then loose my flash drive.
Not because the stuff isn't replaceable (at most I'd loose a few reference images, that I had just added, because I'm a smart girl and saved a copy of everything on my computer.) but because that would mean a copy of both my unpublished novels, my resumes, documents on the whole "starting my own business" thing. (Including a list of all my colorways.)
a wallet would be, though expensive (just the fees of replacing my cards etc) would be less frightening to replace then the creative content that would then be floating into the world without my control.

Now, on to the movie.

Angels and Demons

I absolutely LOVED the movie.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
The music was fantastic.
The changes they made, for the most part were completely understandable, and did not affect the overall story too much.

The only gripe I had, was the "Illuminati Diamond"
I will not give spoilers as there are people who haven't seen it yet.

I have to say also, that it is amazing, how just 1 scene.. an innocent scene, can cause the entire audience to collectively gasp. And no, it's not a scene any of you prolly think it is.

I'll wait at least 2 weeks, then I'll chat about it.

One thing I can say without spoiling anything.. .because I doubt anyone other then myself would have noticed it...

But the writers created a paradox.
That, is amusing to me.

They created a paradox because, the story of Angels and Demons is supposed to be set prior to the events in The Da Vinci Code. This, was also established in the DaVinci Code, because of Robert Langdon saying "I've met the pope" or whatever the line actually was. It implied the story that we didn't see. The story of Angels and Demons.

Well, in Angels and Demons, they set those events AFTER the events of The DaVinci Code, and makes a point of setting it AFTER.

Which means they created a paradox. Considering the subject matter... the fact that they created a paradox just highly, highly amuses me.

After the movie, mother of mine and I went to Hobby Lobby, as she needed to pick up some more paint. Why is it, you can have over 50 bottles of paint in the house, but not have the exact color you need?? I swear it's a giant conspiracy.
I picked up two rubber stamps, as I couldn't not get them.

One is of a crooked witches hat, and the other says "Bugs and Hisses"

I had to.. I just absolutely had to.

Caught up with Moonlighting season 3, man that show was good. And oh my gods, Mark Harmon was a hottie in it. Yes, the show immediately started to jump the shark after the whole "hook up" moment, but I'll still continue to watch the seasons as they come out on dvd.

Right now, I'm starting Season 4 of Silk Stalkings. Again I love that show.

I finished reading Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs. The 2nd book of the Bones books.

I know I've commented on this already, but it was highly enjoyable, and I honestly can't wait to read the next one. Got to actually see more of Detective Ryan, which was enjoyable.. I very much am starting to imagine David Boreanaz when I see Detective Andrew Ryan.

Next book up, I'll be finally actually starting The Princess Bride, and I'll also quickly reread Dead Until Dark.

Today mother and I went out to Panera for breakfast to use our last free sammich certificate before it expires. After that we hit up Evilmart, and I bought myself a new pair of jeans. Mother of mine found a pair for me, that actually fit, and when we rung them up, 3$ oh yeah, nothing like finding a pair of jeans that fit and paying less than 5$ for them.
Wait, no that still bothers me. I hate shopping at Evilmart, but I just can't justify spending 40$ on a pair of jeans right now when ever penny is trying to be saved.
My last pair of Evilmart jeans lasted me nearly a year, and that was a year of tough wear, so these should at least last me till the move if I'm good at rotating all my jeans out.

Alright, I think I've rambled on enough. I gotta go check on my dinner.

Bugs and Hisses everyone.

The Things One Sees in the Graveyard....

This morning I woke up with time on my mind.

Specifically the passage of time.

All week long I've been complaining each day how I wanted the week to be over.
Then last night, I realized "tomorrow is Friday? wow."

I was once again reminded how The Day it's self goes slow, but the weeks go by quickly.
I mean, it's already the 15th of May.
I find this time warp situation most interesting. Am I the only one who experiences it?

This has been on my mind because I've been doing a lot of math.
Not my favorite subject.
But I realized I have less than 2400 work hours left in this country.
It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't broken up into 8 hour groups with 48 hours of nothingingness in between.

Man I can't wait to get out of here. but yes, I did the math. 2400 work hours. Less than that, as that was on a 60 week time line. Which, this week is nearly over and it is also including the holidays.

Nope, I'm not counting down at all... *innocent whistle*

But yes this morning when I woke up, this was on my mind. It's been on my mind a lot recently, but I'm sure it was compounded by having watched the season 3 finale of NCIS last night. Where, not to give things away for those who haven't seen it... Gibbs ponders everything that has taken place in the last 15 years of his life. Well, that is a way to sum it up, but not the full and correct way. But to say anything further on it would give things away.

This being fresh in my mind, it really made me look this morning at the last 10 years of my life. Well, not so much all those ten years, but what I was doing 10 years ago.

This time 10 years ago... I was finishing up my very first year at High School. Yup, 9th grade. 1998-1999 was my Freshman year.

We had just moved to Colorado right before the start of school..

Columbine Highschool, as of this day.. would have been only a few weeks ago.
You know whats funny about that day....
I remember it rather clearly. It was "Senior Ditch Day" and I remember this one senior.. who was one of the "smokers", he always wore this black leather trench coat. He was one of the many at my school who did. But this day, he didn't. Infact he was quite... normal looking. He was wearing a white tshirt and a pair of blue jeans. Now, this might be normal to you.. but for him, it was odd. He always wore dark pants, a dark shirt, and his trench. He didn't have his trench. We laughed about how odd it was. I don't remember his reason for not wearing it.
I remember being in the office talking with my friend Amy. I was sitting no more than 10 feet from the principles office. She knew I was there, it was a study period and I often had free license to roam the school. They knew I was responsible, and so I never got in trouble. Lets see, that particular semester... I was actually the assistant to the Swim Coach, and the pool area had been particularly muggy that day which is why I was hanging out in the office.
I remember watching everyone in the office go on alert.
They didn't say what was going on, but I remember Mrs Bailey come out of her office with her walkie talkie and listened to her as she gave the order to 'quietly' lock down the school.
The bell rang, and I went to my 7th period class. Which also was with my Swim Coach, as I was in Life Guard Training.
I was one of the few lower class men to be in the class.
I was sitting next to my other friend Amy, and we got the announcement.
We then of course put on the tv and watched the travesty unfold.
I remember sitting there and when they panned across the parking lot of the school.. I remember seeing a Yellow VW Bug. I remember giving a half hearted laugh and said "Yellow Bug" (as I don't know if you ever played that game, but there was a game involving the Bugs and if you spotted one.. I don't remember the rules)
I remember Amy looking at me and saying something about "how could I say that, with whats going on." Then she paused and realized "oh. you need to laugh" (mind you, I'm paraphrasing right now)
She understood why I needed to laugh about something so silly as seeing a yellow VW Bug.

It did help lighten the mood in the room. (there were only like 7 of us in there)

School was then over. I don't recall how I got home. Whether it was via a ride from my 1)Mom, 2)friend, or 3) the bus.. I honestly can't recall.

Mom had not yet been diagnosed with cancer.
I was still a very good student. Participating in school plays, and the swim team, and a few other things.
I think my best friends were Jen(Diz) and Nix (Jess??) and of course Gabe.

10 years ago, Mom and I were living in a town house in Denver. I most likely had a mountain of laundry (it was a common occurrence that I quite literally wore every single piece of clean clothing I had before doing laundry, simply because we had to pay to use the washer and dryer, and it was always such a hassle.)
I didn't know how to drive. I had absolutely no desire to learn. (Ironically, I wouldn't actually learn for at least 5 years)

I saw my very first Hockey game that year I believe. Watched it on the Telly of course. It might have been the year after. I mean my memory is slightly fuzzy.


Alright.. enough of a trek down memory lane.

Last night, I cast on a new project. A project I had been putting off, as I was missing 2 skeins of yarn (well, I had bought enough for the project, but I got 4 skeins of 1 color, instead of 2 of one and 2 of another.)
I have decided to say screw it, and use the yarn I have.
I will not post pictures yet, as it is for someone.
I've never started a project like this, and it's taking a bit to wrap my head about it. I'm sure I'll do fine, it's just... odd. I'm actually really liking the colors. I might have to make one for myself. I mean, I had saved the pattern for myself as well before I ever decided to make it for someone else.

Review:
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
I did enjoy this one. Though, I have to say I am annoyed that it was a different actress that played Sonja. Yes, I realize the original actress was.. not an actress. She was Miss Turkey '03 if I remember correctly. (The country, not the bird..)
I can understand then why they didn't use her. I mean all she did was writhe while chained up. Not much acting involved.
But I remember Sonja in the #1 (and #2) as being blond. The actress they used for Rise of the Lycans, was very much not blond. And it kind of bugged me.
Michael Sheen of course was fabulous as Lucien.
Bill Nighey of course is brilliant as always. No one could ever play Viktor like him.
It was nice to see everything from the Lycans point of view.
I will of course own it.

Having just watched the trilogy, I have to say I'm very glad I did. I forgot how much I love the movies... and it brought an interesting perspective to my own writing. Mostly the "rules" of the Vamps.
These vamps are not "dead". They are immortal, and need blood to sustain them.
They can bear children, as they are not dead. They can in fact age... (look at Viktor)
I like the reasoning behind why they are what they are. It's a genetic defect, but they didn't go too much into the science. (Well, they did a bit, but not going so far as to claim "it's nano technology, and we are from Atlantis!" (ahem.. looking at you Lynsay Sands) )

If I continue, I'll start rambling.

Yesterday, I was reading the blog of one of my Boys..
Alan Doyle from Great Big Sea. Now you all know I am a huge fan. His most recent blog amused me. It was talking about his experience while filming the new Robin Hood movie.
Yup,Ridley Scott is directing... Russell Crowe is Robin... Cate Blanchette is Marion .. and a little musician from Nova Scotia is playing Allan A'Dayle. We know him better as Alan Doyle from GBS.
I'm very happy that he got a role in it.
But so he was musing on his recent adventures in regards to his horse Arthur. Arthur is a screen veteran, and has been in many many recent horse involved movies.

For those interested in reading the quite amusing musing, here is the link:

Alan From The Road

Today is Friday, and I shall be going to see Angels and Demons today. Woohoo. I can't wait.

In other knitting news... I have discovered the pattern I will use for my Avalanche Hockey sweater.
Oh yes, I had forgotten to mention that.
I cannot stand the team sweaters (jerseys) that are out there. They are made of material that.. I can't stand to have near my skin.
Not to mention, they are never flattering for the female form.
So, I'm going to knit myself one. A little reminder of home as it were.
Now, I'm a huge fan of the 3rd Jersey, when it comes to the Av's.

This one: And ignore the "Your name" part, it's from a website that will do custom jerseys.


I have found the pattern I'm going to use for the base sweater. The only thing I will have to change, will be the neck line, as I do in fact want it to lace up.

There is no good way to link to the pattern I'm gonna use, as most of my readers are not Ravelry peeps.
I will be buying my yarn from KnitPicks, as they have the right colors, and it's cotton. Woohoo for cotton!

I haven't decided if I'm going to put "Wicked" on the back, and my number, or if I'm going to put my last name. Which... with how long this sweater will take me... My last name by then will be Grandison, so I still haven't decided what I shall do. Either way, I'm not going to put a real player on the back, because.. that would be like picking your favorite children. I've just got too many.
I think, in a pinch.. I might pick Roy... but meh... I don't know.
I think I'll put up a vote when it comes time.

Still reading Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs. It is quite enjoyable, and I'm zooming through it. Though, I think I understand why some people have problems reading the books. There are times I laugh because the description to me at least seems a bit.. Technical. I don't know if it's just me or not, but there was a scene, the only "romantic" scene in the entire book thus far (and i'm nearly finished the book), and it was very "His hands were here.. then they moved here counter clockwise" I don't know.. it just felt... a little like a text book lol.

But it's still enjoyable. I'm still so early in the series that I quasi try to put faces to characters. Like, I'm thinking that the Booth character in the show is the Detctive Ryan character in the books. So, for me.. I see Detective Ryan as David B. Not bad at all lol, but I don't know if that is supposed to be the closest book character to the tv character.

Does that make sense?


Alright, I guess I've yammered enough. I'll certainly let you know what I think about Angels and Demons.


Oh, and today's blog title, is not as profound as you might have suspected. I was just listening to the Repo Soundtrack before coming into work.

Pondering the Animalia of my life..

For those who have known me, know that I have had this plan for "Apartment Sized Sheep"

Yes, a Mini Sheep about the size of a MinPin. Think about the lawn maintenance you could do with just 1 sheep!

As of recent and my ever growing allergy to wool... I have let go of this genetic dream. Not to mention, I really don't want to deal with the maggots and tar that go along with Sheep herding.

For my indy dyeing business, I will be more than happy to buy my yarn already off the sheep.

Guy and I have discussed the menagerie we might someday have. Bunnies... Kittahs... a tortoise... a Hedgie.... these are all critters I'd like to have. Including mayhaps a dog.

we have now added... a Wallaby.

Yuppers.

It all stemmed from a BBC news article.

Wallabies in the UK

So... when we have a well fenced yard... I foresee a wallaby in our future.

It rather amuses me.

And obviously, I'm in a much better mood today. Work was crazy. Not as crazy as yesterday.. but still crazy.

Tonight I'll get to watch Rise of the Lycans.
I can't wait.

Dislike of Clubs

Note: I am bitchy right now. I've had a super long day at work, a day where I frankly do not know how I will survive 13 months, if every day is like this.
And then my "hunny" decided to do the classic male thing of not paying attention. This, makes me pissy. So if you don't wanna read it.. frak off.


I hate "sock" clubs.

Let me clarify. I dislike clubs that I really want to be a part of, but they do not give any even hint as to what the yarns will be.

I am very picky when it comes to yarn I buy.
I will never join a blind club. If I don't get to choose what I'm getting, well then you don't get my money. Last thing I want is to be saddled with some puke green colorway or heaven forbid.. pink.

Most yarns I find out there, just don't do it for me. I'm all about the jewel tones, and all about the darker colors. And for some reason, most yarn companies (or dyers) like.. .yellow... and reds, and those two combined.

I also dislike clubs because of the exclusive nature of them. The whole "buy it now, or buy it never" mentality doesn't work for me. I'm a person who if only given that choice, will say no. Well.... thats unless it's something i really really want. Not knowing what I'm buying? I'll say no.
Pushy sales people hate me, because I'll push right back and they won't get what they want.

Sorry Bob, I'll take the car I see in front of me, not the Mystery Box.
No, I do not want to change my answer for what could be behind Door #2.
Yes, that is my final answer.

If and when I do my own yarn dyeing shop.. yeah mayhaps I'll have a club or two. But I'll let people know what they're buying first.

I guess I have too much of an "On Demand" mentality. Thus, I try to give that option to the people around me.

I'm ranting, sorry. Like I said it's been a long day, and I honestly don't know how I can survive 59 more Mondays.

Yes, I have approximately 59 Mondays left in this country. And if they are all like today, I'll not survive it. I most certainly will not survive if every day is like this. My back is spasaming, my neck is tweaking, I'm cranky, and there are many things I want to say about my job, but can't for fear of the whole "fired for blogging about the company" situation which one hears too often now a days.

Yes, I love my company. I love the job, and I just can't wait till tomorrow morning.

Love does not equal survival. I'm serious. I mean survival of my sanity and body. Quite literally. with how much pain I'm in right now, I'm debating weither or not I can make it into work tomorrow. I guess we'll see how I'm doing in the morning.


I'm going to go get my better mood on by watching NCIS and then Underworld Evolution.

And on the writing front.. .I've got some great ideas going for the novel. Woot.

Vote on a name, Startrek, and knitting.

The eye is twitchy.
The body didn't want to get out of bed.
The mind was having some odd NCIS/Top Gear cross over like dream. I do not recall the details, but lets just say it was odd.

I very much wanted to not acknowledge Monday's existance, but unfortunately the universe and my conscious "adult" mind had other plans.

I have a little project on the needles right now. And I must say I am really not liking the Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn anymore. I absolutely am just being annoyed with the texture of the yarn. I don't know how to describe it other than.. skuzzy. I will still finish the project I am working on though, as well... I want to be done with this yarn. And if I use it all up then I can just make sure I don't buy it again. Well... if I absolutely need yarn and the only option is that, then yes.. I'll buy it.. but I won't necessarily like it.
The project is not for me, and I haven't a clue how it'll turn out. Honestly I'm winging it. Which.. once the project is complete, you'll find that pun amusing.
This little project did though, teach me something quite useful which will allow me to go forth and do some other projects, so all in all it's a good thing.

The amazing Cathie, who is a buddy of mine over on Ravelry was totally awesome and sent me one of her spare copies of "Dead Until Dark" woohoo. Now I get to start the entire series all over again without having to wait for the library. Once I'm done, this one will go on the stack of books I need to send to Guy in the next care package. She also sent me a cute little bookmark she made. It was an attempt at some lace, and it is quite pretty! It's pink, but it happens to be the 1 shade of pink I like. All in all, I say this was a WIN. Cathie rocketh most verrily.

Oh.. So Friday Mother of Mine and I went to see StarTrek.
IT. Was. Freaking. Amazing.

Yes, yes it was. I highly enjoyed it. I want to see it again. (But I won't until it's on dvd, because I'm being "responsible")
I won't go into detail because I respect that not all my readers might have seen it yet. But just gotta say.. freaking.. awesome.
They cast the film brilliantly, and if they decide to keep the Star Trek saga alive with the younger cast.. I welcome it.
And Karl Urban was just perfect.. PERFECT as Bones.

Well alright, actually everyone was PERFECT. I would end up just listing the entire cast if I went that way, so I wont.

The rest of the weekend was spent pretty quietly.
I did laundry. Did a few other chores. Knitted.
Started watching:
NCIS season 3.
BattleStar Galactica 2.5
The State Within, Part 1 (well.. not part 1, but disc 1 of 2) - Which was really good. It's a political thriller by the BBC, set here in the US. Specifically in D.C. and it's all about a terrorist attack on the US by a British Muslim and how the British Ambassador in the US has to handle it. (played by Jason Issacs) It's very good. A heck of a cast, and I can't wait to see the second part.

Underworld - man I forgot how much I love that movie. Mom never saw it, and as Rise of the Lycans releases tomorrow on DVD (and netflix is sending it to me today), I gotta have her catch up.

Tonight we'll watch Underworld Evolution

Okay, on to the knitty gritty. I need ya'lls help.

Please vote on this name:
Mathais Davenport

poll can be found on the right hand side.
I will explain the name later, but for now.. just need to know if ya'll like it.

Motivation in all it's forms...

Alright, so right now I'm having odd motivations.

This morning, I was very motivated to sleep in. - I did not follow this motivation though.
Instead at 4:30am when my first (yes, first out of 4) alarm went off. I realized that the cat box very much needs to be done, and if I risked not doing it till I got home from work today, I quite possibly would want to strangle my cat for his.. ahem, misadventures and outright snippish attitude (meaning, I'd once again be cleaning up someplace other than his litter box.) So I hauled my ass out of bed, cleaned his cat box, and then promptly went back to bed. Odd motivation, non?
For the next 15-20 minutes, I was in a quasi state of sleep/awake. I thought about my writing and the motivations of it.
A Hard Day's Bite has been officially put down for now. As I've quietly spoken about in recent posts, it needed to be changed. It just wasn't gelling.
I no longer had motivation to write a story set in Denver.
I have motivation to write about a story set in London. But due to the setting change, a lot of the little things will have to change. This is not a bad thing, but it just means I have to think about things in a different way. I also need to do more research. I am okay with this. Mother of Mine was very supportive of the idea when I was pitching it to her with all my "hows and whys".
When I move, pretty much I'll be stuck with not much to do for the first 6 months. Yes, I have things that I can keep myself busy with. (I write this as if I won't be going to school, because honestly... who knows if we'll be able to afford me to not be working, and also be enrolled in school.)
I will possibly be trying to launch an Indy Dyeing business.
So, I am quite sure that I can and will always be able to find something to keep me occupied.
But, not working for 6 months, will also mean that I can:
1)Wander around London for hours upon hours "discovering / researching"
2)Spend a day with the police force learning their procedures.

This, excites me. This makes me look forward to writing again.

I was not able to really do either of those 2 things right now while living in CO, because it would generally require me to take off of work, which I just can't afford right now.

As I am going to keep the main character (Alex for those who know her), American, it means I can still incorporate Colorado. And I can still have some bit of storyline set in Colorado. I am okay with this compromise. (By the by... she's gonna be from Boulder, cause that just fits her.)

Another thing in my favor right now of switching the city, is that to my direct knowledge... I cannot recall any major Urban Paranormal Fantasy novels currently set in London.
Truth is, it's all set in cities around America, and well... America is gettin' rather full of the Vamps and wolfies. It seems like every city, weither it is a small town, or as large as gotham... they've all got the ones who go nibbly in the night.

So yes, I have currently put AHDB down for right now. I will not drop it entirely because I really feel good about this novel. But, I just am not at a point where I can do it justice. If you know me, I'm not one to really do things half assed. Wait.. let me clairify before Mother of Mine decides to chime in... If I care about something, I don't do it half assed.

But, putting AHDB down, has allowed me to pick up my other novel. The one I refused to start writing on until I had finished AHDB. This one, does not require the same amount of research as it is not set in the modern world, nor is it set in a time period that I have to adhear to specific rules on. This one, allows me to play. Woohoo!

I'm not far into it, only about a paragraph or so. It's a prologue really, and I'm quite happy with it.
Guy has read it, and promptly stated he wanted to read more. Which gives me confidence as always.

So this morning as I was half awake, and half asleep I was thinking on my new little novel. The main character is still nameless as of yet, but that will change. It's just a matter of finding his right name.


Right now I am sitting at work, and I am quite unmotivated to be here.
Yesterday was not a fun day, because certain people have decided to not show respect.
I will not give a person respect if they do not give me respect.
Though, I will for now, keep my mouth shut and simply not speak to them unless absolutely necessary. I need this job for 14 months, and after that, well it will be a moot point. So, I'm determined to just smile on the outside and inwardly squish their heads every time I see them.

I am sleepy. I want to go home. I want to write, I want to knit.

Update on Mother of Mine:
We have determined that her fevers over the weekend were related to a tooth issue. (Well, we are hoping- because it's not like she needs to be sick on top of the tooth issue)
Lets just say there was lots of pain, and just not being happy.
Yesterday we took her to the Er dentist, and shockingly it was not as painful on the wallet as we had been expecting.
For the most part, we figured we would need to just have the tooth pulled.
I've been down this road. The dentist will always try to sell you a root canal first.
But, that is at least 2300$ before even getting the crown put on.
The reason mom was in this much pain, was the crown she had broke off to begin with.

The tooth also we discovered had a big old crack in it. Hence all the pain.
My personal vote is and pretty much always will be right now (until I have money to get my teeth fixed) is to just pull it. You can always save to get an implant later. (or other dental item)
So, Mother of Mine got the tooth pulled.
She is also in the process of trying to get a Case by Case grant for dental work. And the dentist we went to is going to give a comprehensive list of everything she needs to get done (including the cost of getting a denture made.) so hopefully mom will get awarded the grant, and will be able to get her teeth fixed. The grant only goes to people in need, and my mom more than qualifies.

Moving along....
Knitting: I don't have anything on the needles right now. Mayhaps I'll actually finish my Wicked Verdigris... it's just a few sewing stitches, I don't know why I haven't done it yet other than lack of motivation.

Oooh oooh Oooh!
My first batch of Lucien arrived. Woohoo! He is absolutely gorgeous. I cannot wait to start playing with him.
This very much means, that I will need to buy the pattern I plan on using, and then finding out the appropriate guage. I know I wasn't planning on actually knitting up the waistcoat until I moved.. but he's just sooo gorgeous. And the name of the project, has now changed from "Steamy Alexandra" to "Clockwork Lucien"

I have lots of photos that I need to take, and if I don't loose the light today, then I will do that.
Must take photos of the Seaweed Shrug
Must take photos of Lucien
and I think there is something else I need to take a photo of.

I got another person for my Pay It Forward project, which makes me happy. As really I had been bummed that though I got people who thought it was neat, none of them actually paid it forward. And in the rules I said "maybe I'll send you something even if you just comment" but really.. I want people to pay it forward if I'm actually going to make you something.

I guess I am done rambling for now.
Gotta get back to work (gee it only took me an hour on and off typing this while getting work done)

Later peoples!

Buzz kill.

It's amazing how quickly a buzz kill can happen.

Today I was all excited. Riding high off a certain someone commenting on a previous blog. Riding high off finally making a decision that is scarey and new, and will completely make me rethink how I write my novel.

Now, I'm just so... Yeah... makes me almost say "why bother?"

Here.. as it is Star Wars day... (May the 4th be with you) I will just steal a line from it.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Dont want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I cant trace time


Come on, you all know you now have that song stuck in your head.

But, yes it rings true. I think I have finally given myself something serious to think about with the direction of my novel. It's something that a lot of authors end up doing. You get a really great story, but somethings not working.. so gotta change. For some, it means putting the idea on the back burner for 10 years (a la Jacqueline Carey, and her new Santa Olivia), for others it can just be as simple as changing the hair color of a character.

For me, it shall be a bit of a drastic change. But one I'm willing to embrace.
I think part of the reason I hadn't been able to write recently, was things were just feeling a bit off. My own fears about reality were creeping into my world too much.
Not to mention, one of the characters, just kept fading too much from my mind.
And yes, I consider the location a character as Denver, is quite the character unto it's self. Well, Denver and I have not been friends for a while. I have not hung out with Denver for about 4 years, other than the occasional drive through, or quick trip to say hello.
And in my novel, the backdrop of Colorado, and Denver specifically was kind of important.
Certainly it will adjust a future novel. (I mean come on... it makes total sense that there would be werewolves in Boulder.. right?)

But I think the change I'm making will be for the better. I was getting too bogged down trying to remember things. I've been meaning to take a trip to Denver, and it just hasn't happened, and all of this will only get worse after I move.

Then, here is the reality that kept trying to creep in.
If I were staying in the US, then as an author trying to pitch a story set in the city of Denver, wouldn't be a big deal. I can sell internationally even though it's a small US city (yes, Denver isn't that small, but compared to NY.. it is.. see my point?). Look at LKH, and KH, and even the tiny towns like SM, and CH proved.

I won't change my main character, she'll still be who she is. But just the backdrop will change, it opens up more possibilities, and actually tackles a few of the little problems I was having. (just little stuff I doubt any of you would have thought about.)

It'll be tough, because I won't be able to experience some things first hand until things in life settle down. But I think I can make it work. I am a woman who knows how to use her resources, and also who knows how to do her research.

For once, the fact that me being too brain dead to write has been a bonus.

So, I'm hoping that this will be a good change. I'm confident that it will be. And it will allow me to feel more stable in the world I'm creating.

Completely selfish slacking day.

Alright, so today I was finally not suffering from headache or headache echos. Only had a touch of sinus pressure, which as soon as I head to Evil-Mart tomorrow, I'll pick up more daytime sinus meds, and I'll just start half dosing myself every day. It will mean unfortunately having to buy a new pack every time I go to Evil-Mart instead of stocking up, because if I do stock up.. they'll think I'm trying to cook my own meth. Lovely.

But so, pretty much all I did today was do nothing. I chilled on Ravelry and watched Jekyll and Stargate Atlantis season 4.

I did run to drop off the Rent, so as to not get dinged on a late fee and also switch out the Vitamins I bought at Whole Foods. Darnit I had gotten too low a dose of my B12 stuff. So instead of risking the change, I just went back and swapped it out today. Which, I realize now that they were out the other day when I initially did my Whole Foods shopping, which is why I accidentally got the lower dose.
Hopped in the shower, did a load of dishes, but otherwise have done nothing.

I don't feel guilty about it. I mean, I should have been working on my novel since my mom was not puttering around, but I don't know... I just didn't do it. though, I think I found a new inspiration song. Woohoo. More music to get added to the list.

Mom is currently quite sick. No it's not swine related. She was pushing herself too much this past week to get things ready for this weekend and it just caught up with her. She is currently running fevers etc. If she doesn't get better soon, then we'll send her to the doc to make sure it's not swine related or not another West Nile relapse. All I can say, is I am so very glad that I do not have her compromised immune system. So today, I've been making sure she actually eats. And by eats I mean more than just a handful of crackers. Tisk tisk, I know I should have made sure she was eating more throughout the day yesterday... but for most of it she was just asleep. I did make sure she had a very good and healthy dinner.

Jekyll was freaking AMAZING. James Nesbitt did a freaking awesome job. The story was quite a good version of the classic "strange case". And I really just enjoyed how they showed it. In my mind, everything that he did was what I would have done to try to live as normally as possible.
And it was dark, and twisted,and just brilliant. Nothing quite like throwing a lion (dead lion) and then at the top of ones lungs singing "In the Jungle".

Stargate Atlantis season 4 is an enjoyable season thus far. I had no idea how big a role Jewel Staite ended up having. She was great. I am so glad that she was added to the cast and they didn't just shove her in the medical room and never let her do anything. Not to mention, the episode with her and Ronan was a great one!

NCIS: The official Soundtrack- So, I've been waiting for this from the library for a long while now. Though I have to say 2nd disc "Abby's Lab" was acting like it was going to kill my CDROM drive... how annoying. But, the song sung by Cote De Pablo is absolutely amazing. (thats from the first disc) apparently it's from one of the season premiere episodes, but I'm so behind. It's called "Temptation"* and it is absolutely brilliant. Also, Pauley Perrette has a song on the Abby's Lab disc called "Fear" it rocks as well. And I'm glad to see that a band I highly enjoy got a slot on the CD. Collide if your curious.

*This is the song that is going to be added to my Novel Inspiration list.

My Zen who is still nameless is starting to actually be full and like a real music player. Must find my Zen's name soon.

I did do some things today... other than the already mentioned...

I figured out a new project that I think I want to start...

It will be I think in this color:


This sweater:


I will most likely end up making the sweater longer, just because I don't like showing off any bit of my stomach. (Heh, after my 6 months of going to pilates after the move, that might be a different story.. but right now... not so much.)

So that was my big decision of the day.
Which, I won't be able to start the project anytime soon, because the yarn will be expensive. And I don't think I have the right size needles... but it's definitely on the "to do" list.

I guess I'm done rambling. Stargate just finished, so now I have to decide what goes on. Talk to ya later peoples, lets hope work tomorrow doesn't bring on another migraine.

White Witch, Black Curse and Twilight

Alright, I finally finished White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

I gotta say WOW. For once I wasn’t absolutely annoyed to death by Ivy. Rachel was a little whiny for my tastes, but it’s alright.

Trent is being a baby, but that is natural. I missed not seeing Ceri.
Jenks is killing me with how old he is getting, and how much he is pushing the limits with the cold.
I’m really glad I had read both of the short stories prior to reading this one. I have to admit it slightly bothers me when authors use short stories for later major plot points. At least KH didn’t make the mistake CH did and not even mention the short story at all until too many people complained that they were confused.

I still miss Kisten damnit. And I don’t know how I feel about Pierce.

Al once again is a great demon.

And it just might be me, and having read the books to quickly and too long ago now.. but I swear I didn’t know that Glenn was black. o.O (I mean I’m not saying its a big deal that he’s of color, i just didn’t have a clue and didn’t remember reading it in the previous books so it just seemed out of left field. I’m sure it was just me reading the books to quickly and glossing over it, and not that KH messed up like JK Rowling (Blaise was a white Italian boy up until the later books, then suddenly he was black- and it wasn’t just me who noticed it.))

I guess I’m done rambling for now. All in all.. I did rather enjoy this one.

Knitting: Nothing.

Writing: I had planned on spending the day writing, but it just didn't happen. No, the story is NOT dead. I often talk to myself about parts of the story, I just wasn't in a good writing zone, and I was watching "Saving Grace" which wasn't a good background for writing Vampire stuff.


Alright.. time for my review of Twilight as I no longer have a headache.. And this is copied over from what I posted on Ravelry, but instead of being edited so not to hurt the Twisheep, this has the blanks filled in and commentary added.

It’s sad that I was distracted by all the greenery more than the acting. Oooh look at the green. Pretty. I was also distracted by the Cullen house more than what was going on in the house.
Robert P aka Edward looked constantly constipated. Seriously... And I'm sorry, I miss my english school boy from GoF.
Oh My Gods. Not only was it a volvo but it was a hatchback too?! WTF? I'm sorry, I don't care if Volvo calls it a "3rd Door" that is a fucking hatchback. Hatchbacks are not sexy. Volvo's are not sexy. Volvo's are "safe mom cars", or they are cars given to teenagers by their parents when it's a "first car" situation.
I get it. She (the girl who played Bella) and Emma Watson must have gone to the same school of acting. There was only 3 expressions the entire time. And she must have learned that “pensive” eyebrow fluster from Emma.
Jasper looked constipated the entire time as well. Yes, I realize he was supposed to be in pain.. but he just more looked like he was constipated.
He’s freaking Tinkerbell! Did you notice when he went all sparkly in the field (which wasn't a field, so WTF?!) there was a chiming bell. Yup.. he's Tinkerbell.
Awww the geek boy I’ve liked for a long time has grown up… but into a jock? Thats just wrong. (If your wondering whom I'm speaking of, I'm talking about Michael Welch, who has notoriously played scrawny geeks in everything I've seen him in. Now he played Mike the jock, but everything else was like SG1, Joan of Arcadia, The Pretender, X-Files, Birds of Prey.. .the list goes on, but seriously.. all geeky kid.)
It’s already a slow paced.. they HAD to put in a slow motion scene? That was just painful.

So I guess thats all I'll rant about now... eventually I'll have to watch it again, but that is only because Guy has not seen it, and well... we need to heckle it together. He needs to read the books so that he knows what all the hype is about, and also so that when is sister goes on about how great they are, he can actually give a valid rebuttal of information that he got on his own instead of getting it from me.

Reading: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher. Unfortunately as WWBC took 1st dibs, I'm almost out of time on how long I have it from the library, and I don't believe I can renew it. I may or may not get it done in time, as I am just starting it today. So far, it is enjoyable. Nothing like raining toads to kick off a good story.

Watching/Watched: Saving Grace, it's good.. .wouldn't necessarily have watched it if mom hadn't gotten it.
Starship Troopers 2- My gods that was awful and wonderful. I mean honestly for a bug sequel it wasn't bad. It was amusing to see whats her name* in it again only not playing the same character.
*Brenda Strong, who played the Captain of the Skymarshall ship in the first movie. (the one who died)
Bones season 3- MAN this season was a good one! And so much happened, so much changed. Don't want to spoil for those who haven't seen it, but hot damn it was a good season. I really did like the Booth and Bones in London episode, and for the record I do NOT like what happened to Zacheroni. Nor do I like what they did with Angela and Hodgens.

Next up:
Jekyll. Mmm nothing like BBC, James Nesbitt, and a classic horror story with a new twist.
Stargate Atlantis Season 4
Starship Troopers 3
State Within - jason issacs and a political thriller... woot!
Dr. Quinn Season 1 - yeah.. i know... an oldie.. but come on.. it wasn't horrible
George Gently season 1 - another BBC crime show
Tale of Desperaux
Brothers and Sisters season 1- another one my mom picked.. don't know if I'll watch it.

I guess thats all I've got for now, and for the record... 3 days of headaches... NOT fun. I actually crave rainy days right now because that means they won't work on the roof at work. The stench of tar apparently likes to trigger my migraines. The changing weather apparently did not help either.

Another month has finished, which makes me happy. Just have to keep surviving. October will be a changing month... it will decide some things work wise, but they have to give us 90 days notice if they are going to move/ not renew the contract. So, if something is up, we'll start hearing whisperings as of July. I'm optimistic that they won't change what they have, simply because they know they can't rely only on the union desks in house. They need us. Thats why we are still around. And even if the worst does happen, there are other desks that I will be moved to. Okay, I'm done talking about work. All in all, even with the headache.. and how crazy busy we were this week.. for me it was a good week. there was no snapping at anyone. I'm proud of myself for that. (okay, admittedly on Friday there was some slight snapping, but the guy had flat out lied to me, so that always makes me cranky. I was just... "firm" with him from that point forward. But there wasn't snapping.)

Okay. really.. done talking now.. i'm going to go have a brownie. I have a kittah cuddling with me.