Joyeux Noel

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday. I'm in Reno now, with my family, but away from the Hubband. I'll see him tomorrow, which is good because I miss him! Lots has happened in the past week, but I haven't had much time or desire to blog about much of it.

My cousin passed away earlier this month, but her memorial was planned for a little later, so I was able to fly out for it. It was truly lovely, but very sad because she was honestly an angel on earth. Because of that unexpected trip out to CA, our Christmas plans were changed. As it turns out, it really worked out for the best. Had we gone with our original plan, we would have been driving (or not) on the day the blizzard hit Denver. As it is, both of us were able to make it out of Colorado days before we would have otherwise, and with relatively little difficulty.

I've been busier than I expected, but I've been able to sneak in some "vacation" time. I had a bunch of papers I had to finish while we were in CA for the memorial, so I basically worked, cried, visited or was otherwise occupied for the first four days of my "break." It's gotten a little better now, but I still have a huge paper hanging over my head that I must finish before the end of winter break. That's the "mixed" part of the mixed blessing that is taking an incomplete. You don't have to finish it in time for the end of the semester, but you do have to finish it!

And the picture at the beginning of the post is from the night my brother PJ when expressed his need to give me the college experience I never had (because I was lame and never went to a party, but instead read the dictionary for fun. Seriously.). Beer pong at Sig Ep with a bunch of his old friends (many of whom are mine too), then we headed over to the Wal to close the bad boy down (where this pic was taken of one of PJ's brothers, I think), then a cold walk back to the Sig Ep house, which was enough to complete my sobering up. It was a lovely night and very fun. We managed to get over 20 people in PJ's room, which is so big that we still definitely could have fit at least 5-10 more if the stood in the closet and the bathroom. Fun times!

Best mail day ever

Last night was very nice. I was working when I normally don't, in order to make up some hours I'm going to have to miss next week (I'll write about that later), and Peter got out of class early, so we got to walk home together. We never get to do this because our schedules are so different, and it just felt really nice. He was also in a good mood because his semester ended yesterday and I think it went really well.

We got the mail on the way home, and O! what a mail day! I have been doing some fun online shopping lately (mostly for Christmas, with a few presents for us included), and have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my purchases (the downside to online shopping). First, my Moo cards came! I had gotten ten free ones a while ago and realized they would make a great thing to give to friends and family (ideally in an upcoming Christmas or New Year's card, coming soon to a mailbox near you!). I have my email, my Flickr
, and another (secret to strangers!) photo site, as well as this blog address, all on the back of a cute little card with one of my wonderful pictures. I even had some made that have me and the Hubband on them, since I know there are some family members who are infinitely more likely to keep a picture of us (taken by someone else, obv.) than a weird-o picture I took of someone's feet. But I have to say, I kind of love the card with the feet. Heck, I love them all! Leave me a comment if you want one!

Not only did I get my Moo cards, but I also got a Christmas present I ordered from Etsy. I had it gift wrapped, so I don't even know what it'll look like, but I'm excited! I kind of wanted to open it myself to see what it looked like, esp. since we are now flying to Christmas and TSA drones will likely open it anyway. Why should they get the fun? But Peter restrained me, thinking they wouldn't open such a tiny package (I think they will, but there's always a chance!).

I so love getting good mail!

Video to make you happy

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

If time is a finite resource, and things we "save" with the 3 R's (see post title) are also finite resources, why can't we reduce our use of time like we reduce use of plastic bags? Reuse our hours like we can reuse tin cans? Recycle crappy days into better ones, like plastic soda bottles into warm fuzzy fleece?

I just made out my schedule for this week. Holy nut. I honestly barely have time to breathe. I was working from 7 AM to 7 PM for three different jobs with only an hour between about 5 and 6 to eat a little dinner. At least I was making money! But still. And the rest of the week goes similarly. When, O when will I have time to write all of my papers? And I'm definitely bringin' back the solo "O!" It's hard core. I'm going to sleep now, even though I should write a few more pages of one of my papers, but I'm just too tired. I hope I'm awake and inspired enough to bang out at least two pages before I go to class at 11. Yeah, that'll be my goal. 2-3 pages. And then I'll only have... a lot more to go!

Nuh-nigh, everyone...

The Real Reason I Blog

I blog because I like to read other people's blogs. Huh? Yeah, I read through my subscription list on Google Reader, notice that there's no new updates for various blogs I love, get sad, wish they would post something, anything, then get inspired to write an entry. Because maybe there's someone out there wishing that I would post something too! Even if I have nothing to say. Which is exactly why you are getting this post right now!

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

So here are some pictures of my arm a week after The Fall. The big, purply bruise didn't show up until about Tuesday or Wednesday, while the one that's more yellow showed up earlier. The best part of these bruises is that the doctor couldn't really explain why they were there, since her diagnosis was that I strained the muscles in my forearm. Apparently, bruising can "track" to related areas, even if they weren't the affected part. An alternate explanation, offered by some of the football players I tutor who have been through the same thing, is that I had my arm hyperextended when I fell, which would explain the elbow bruising a bit more. Either way, I'm getting more mobility back, though my elbow is still pretty sore and there are still certain movements I can't make without a lot of pain. I can type better than before, though I still don't have the stamina to do it for very long. I hope you all think these bruises are as pretty as I do. Now that I can move my arm more, I like to check out Big Blue in the mirror (it's on the underside of my elbow). I hope you all are proud of me for taking such fine self portraits as well. It was pretty tricky, considering I had to take the pics with my left hand and hold the camera at an awkward angle. PS I think "awkward" is the most perfect word because it looks and sounds exactly like what it is, without being iconic (for any Lingies hanging around). OK, I'm past rambling now, so I need to harness this rambling energy for something productive, like one of my many, many papers.

Joy oh joy oh!

I went to the doc for my arm, I'm not broken, but I did strain it, so I just need to take it easy for the next few weeks. Of course, this is perfect timing, since I have all my papers due in the next few weeks, so I'm not really sure how much I'll be able to get done. I think I'll be able to complete my two 10 pagers, but I might have to take an incomplete in order to get my huge 20 page original research paper done over the break. Only crappy part about that is that I won't really have much of a break then, but If I am miraculously much better, maybe I can get it done really quick before I'm out of school mode again.

The best part is that since I now know it's not as serious as the first doc had feared, I don't need to be so overly careful. I'll still be careful, but man, I was being SUPER careful because if it had been fractured, I really didn't want to make it worse.

Other good news: last night, Peter and I did some Christmas/personal shopping online at Threadless and got some very cool stuff! They are having a sale now (and for 5 more days, I think) where all the shirts are only $10! Here are the ones we got:

For The Hubband:
"Nothing Rhymes with Orange"

For my Brudda (he'll like it, though I would never wear it in public):
"The Morning After"



















And for me:
"B.F.F. (Best Friends Forever)"




















"Get Some Fresh Air"














I am so excited! I think mine are the cutest, but there were so many others I wanted too. They have such fun, funny and cool designs! Eeek! I can't wait f0r them to come :-)

Typing is hard

Therefore, I've been doing more surfing than writing. In addition to Etsy, I found another fun new site: Threadless. They have awesome, reader-designed, limited quantity shirts, and they are having a sale! $10 each. Amazing. I think I'm going to get me one. Maybe this one:



Or maybe this one:

Posting Freeze

I may have fractured my arm over the weekend (stupid ice), so this will be a very abbreviated post. I likely will not post much for a while, though I may put up some pictures, since those are easier to do with one hand. It had to be the right arm, didn't it? Yeah, def. gonna have to get an extension on some papers. It'll take me eons to write even a page at this rate.

See ya later! Post some comments if you like to keep me entertained in my convalescence (words too long! Left hand... failing!)

New Obsession

So this is completely the wrong time of the semester to find a new website to explore for hours and hours, but I've found one. Etsy. I'd visited this site before, but I wasn't in Christmas shopping mode then or something because I glanced, thought it was cute and moved on. But now! Oh, but now I keep exploring, keep finding more new and adorable (and affordable) stuff that I simply must have! Or give!

For those who are completely lost right now, Etsy is like an online marketplace for people who make handmade crafts and items to sell to other people. It's super cool because it's like eBay in that you get a much wider audience than you could ever have on your own, but yet you still get to sell individual things. But WAY better than eBay because all the stuff is handmade, not Chanel knockoff stuff. So even though your cute little purse only cost $18, it's still a one-of-a-kind! Or at least, one-of-a-very-few! Plus, thought I haven't decided if I like all these features, Etsy has some very high-tech ways for you to "surf" other people's favorites, find products that are certain colors, "handpicked" things, and many others. Those search functions are fun, and yield some unexpected coolness, but probably won't help you if you are really looking for something specific. Luckily, they have regular search functions too, which aren't as fun, but find you pretty much what you want.

Enough talk, go over there now! (PS You'll probably like this better if you are a girl, though there are a few things for boys. Just not much.)

Daily Photo(s)

Taken November 29, 2006

Music, music, music!

I am utterly obsessed with Regina Spektor, whose music video I posted last. I've found as many of her songs as I could for legal free download (bless those amazing music blogs) and I've been listening to them constantly for the past week. I definitely need to buy "Begin to Hope." I'm thinking I might download it from iTunes, since it looks like you can get 6-7 more songs there than you get on the regular CD, but I think my dad might like her too. He likes "real" CDs with covers and artwork and everything, so if I wanted to give him her CD too, he would want the full package.

In other music news, the Hubband woke up at 5 AM to go wait in the snow and single digit temps to get the new KBCO Studio C CD. Studio C is a thing KBCO (a local radio station) does where they invite musicians in town for concerts to their studio and they do a live session of some of their music. Over the years, KBCO has gotten some amazing musicians in for this (Melissa Etheridge was the one who started it in the late '80s, I think), and each year, in late November or early December, they release a CD with some of the best of the best. Since there are limited quantites and it's become quite popular, people camp out overnight or get there extremely early to get one.

We are listening to it now, and I think some of my favorites are Seal's version of "Crazy," BNL's "One Week" (I think it's much better and way funnier than the original) and KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree." It's fun at least to be more of a part of the local culture now :-)

Casino Royale

Go see this movie. It's fabu. I don't think I was ever really into Bond movies before, but this one was amazing. Daniel Craig's 007 is such a bad-ass, it's crazy. Plus, you get to see him pretty much naked (which is not a bad thing).

Still snowing

It's probably been snowing for the last 18 hours or more. I haven't been outside since I came to work, but I'm guessing we have at least 6-8" and it's COLD. The busses are all way behind schedule, everyone is late, roads are messy and yet, school is still wide open. Apparently, they've only closed the university twice in the last 20 years. Does not bode well for us :-(

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

Vineyards in Sonoma I
Originally uploaded by shanbrite2.

So last week, this is what I was enjoying. Sunny, clear days, a balmy 70 degrees, nights dipping almost to a frigid 40. Ah, California. There's a reason why so fricking many people move there (thus destroying the wonderful quality of life they came for).

Today, however, Colorado wanted to remind us that we were back and definitely NOT in California. We're supposed to have a high of 17 and there's at least 6 inches of snow on the ground now, with more falling and snow to continue through the day. The best part is that this is probably the fourth or fifth decent snow storm we've had this fall already. It's pretty, but I hate having to go outside in it. I would have been very happy to stay at home this morning, snuggled under the down comforter with Peter, waking up to some hot chocolate and the prospect of a warm, sleepy day interrupted only by the occasional peek out the window to see how high the drifts had grown. That would have been nice. Oh well!

Turkey Time!

I know what you're thinking, "Wasn't that last week? Does this mean we are going to get a juicy, blow-by-blow of the trip now?" Sadly, no. And I'm realizing that may never happen, given my schoolwork schedule for the next few weeks, by which time it will be Christmas.

No, last night, Peter and I made our first turkey. Costco had fresh turkeys for $.49 a pound, and since my baby loves turkey (and traveling for Thanksgiving means no leftovers), we decided to get one.

After shopping for all the ingredients needed, getting home from school and pulling the bird out of the fridge, we realized none of our pans would be suitable for roasting this bad boy (we got the smallest one Costco had--20 pounds). So, off to Bed Bath & Beyond and Marshall's to see what we could get. After much deliberation, we got a very nice, heavy duty pan for $25 (after rebate and our many coo-pins).

Finally, we got the 20-pound beast (we named him Freddie) into the browning bag, into the pan and into the oven at about 6 PM. For those of you who are math and turkey wizards, you realize that this means that our turkey would not be done until 9 or 10 PM. Right you are! But when it was done, the stuffing baked and the mashed potatoes made, oh, the deliciousness! We also had gravy and corn, and for dinner tonight, we'll have it all again with the addition of cranberry sauce (from a can) and crescent rolls.

And with a 20-pound turkey, we will be eating it for a LONG time! I'm also going to make turkey frame soup, probably tomorrow for dinner. That should also give us some nice leftovers. All this is fabulous because we are going to be poor December and January, so cheap food is great!

Requiem

One of my newfound heroes passed away last week. I discovered Robert Altman when I watched Gosford Park sometime earlier this summer. I was in love with the subtle plot, the beautiful and intricate characters and how deftly he was able to weave together so many storylines so beautifully. After that one, I went on to watch Nashville and The Player and I have several others on my queue. I also realized one of my favorite weird little movies, Cookie's Fortune, was directed by him as well. Losing him is truly a loss to the art of filmmaking. I can't think of many other directors who are so beloved by so many actors that their films can be made into a parlor game of name-that-actor with multiple cameos by actors of every strata.

I think I'm especially sad because I had just fallen in love. It's not like my love for Hitchcock or Orson Wells. They were long dead and safely ensconced as geniuses by the time I came around to them, and the new directors I love (Sofia Coppola, Zach Braff) are still so young and untested that their careers can't be judged yet. But Altman was such a force, was still working, and yet was somewhat proven as an artist. It's just not fair he was taken from us at the tender age of 81. I wasn't ready :-(

For a lovely eulogy, see this Slate article.

Jiggety-Jig

Home again, home again. We went to Reno and California for Thanksgiving, but since I am paranoid about posting things on the all-knowing Internet, I didn't want to write about it until we were home again so we could protect our enormously valuable personal belongings from any wandering marauders. 'Cuz even though I only have three readers, I'm still weird like that.

Anyway, we got to see lots of friends and family, have some amazing experiences and ate a lot at Thanksgiving. Only problem, I pretty much got zero homework done. Last year, we stayed here for Thanksgiving because we had such a short break and I wasn't sure how overwhelmed I would be with my first year of school. Now, I'm medium-worried about catching up, but I'm also not overly concerned, which might be a byproduct of my lovely week of relaxation.

I took a ton of pictures, some of which I'm rather pleased with, though I'm not done going through all of them yet. I'll try to get them uploaded to my Flickr page and to my Shutterfly page. Here's a sneak peek for those who might be interested (taken in Sonoma, where my uncle lives):

I need to take more pictures

I haven't been taking as many pictures as I would like to, since school and work are stealing time from my precious hobbies. Also, my iMac is almost 3 years old now and it's rebelling against the 15,000 pictures I already have on there, so it makes me reluctant to take even more. I was able to take a lot over the summer and so I got a lot more practice then, and I feel like those pictures were much better than the ones I'm taking now. I don't know if I just need some distance, some more inspiration, or simply more time to really compose and seek out good shots, but I'm just not satisfied with the few pictures I have been able to take. It's also hard when every day is so routine and I rarely ever go someplace out of the ordinary during the semester, so it's hard to see unique perspectives when I walk by the same creek ten times a week. I think I also feel like I'm hitting the limits of what my camera will do, since many of the shots I would like to take require a different set up than what I have now. I think I could probably achieve some of the effects I want in Photoshop, but that requires even more time post processing, and I'm not very skilled with that yet anyway. *sigh* Maybe winter break will allow me a little freedom to play. Something to look forward to!

Method Deliciousness

I just bought some stuff in Method's new holdiay "flavors." Spiced pear, frosted cranberry, and (my favorite so far) peppermint vanilla. Oh, the deliciousness! I got the first two in dishsoap (in fun little bottles that look like old-fashioned christmas light bulbs) and the last in a countertop spray. Our counters are going to be so clean!