Early Friday morning, I received a visit from an excited friend who wanted to show off her new van. It was pretty and shiny and we traded gushes about our vans. Later, Brian and I went to kiddie class while Kevin and Max went to Lowe’s and Wegman’s. Then we all met up for lunch at Logan’s (mmm, steak), where we brainstormed about Max’s blog, and then went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate the end of school. (Max is now a second grader and Brian is taking kiddie classes. Wheee.) \$10 and two hours later, Kevin and the boys headed to AOL to pick up a coding book for Max’s blog and I headed to Target. My objective was to return a broken watch and get Brian a toddler-sized backpack. Did either of these two things happen? Noooo. But I did buy a really cute pair of capris, some adult-sized earrings, awesome flip flops for \$2.99, and a pool toy for the boys. The flip flops were such a deal that I bought 3 different colors. (For my birthday, my mother-in-law bought me gold hoops in the tiny size I prefer. I haven’t been able to get them in though, that is how small they are. Since then, I have been trying to wear more adult-sized earrings. I guess it’s time.) Not to leave Kevin out from the Target haul, I bought him some deodorant and floss. Oh yea, he made out big time!\
Saturday morning was supposed to be spent on Max’s blog and weeding the backyard. That so didn’t happen either. Kevin took the boys to breakfast while I slept in. He then drove down to Centerville in search of his favorite used CD store but it is long gone. He went to Trader Joe’s and JoAnne’s (in search of a birthday present) instead. Hours later I was still sleeping. YAY for me! I was having the worst dreams ever though, so it wasn’t really restful. I felt like I was stuck in Deliverance. Not fun. When I finally dragged my cute-pajamed butt out of bed, Kevin put together our new weed whacker and showed me how to use it. By this time though, the backyard was too sunny for me to attempt any weeding. I decided to rehang the dining room curtains, using drywalls anchors so that they would be more secure and would stop cracking the drywall around the rod holders. Eight holes and a few tears later, Kevin stepped in to finish the last two holes. What should have taken 15 minutes and six holes took 45 minutes and ten holes. And I really mean holes. Like, a three inch by two inch hole in the drywall that is now another job on our handyman “to do” list. After this, I frantically cleaned the main floor, except the kitchen (but four out five rooms isn’t bad, eh?) in preparation for Babba’s visit later. I told Max that we clean before Babba comes as a sign of respect. I wasn’t trying to nag him into cleaning; I was just trying to explain why I was in cleaning frenzy now. When Brian balked at picking up his toys, Max said, “Do you like Babba? Then you need to clean up!” Ha, unintentional guilt. Kevin recently started getting US Weekly for free. After cleaning up the living room, I artfully arranged them on our Ikea coffee table, like the fancy-pants decorators do. Cuz yea, that is how classy we are. Kevin and I dropped off the kids at the in-laws house and then we went out for Mexican food (yummy), floor shopping (educational), another visit to JoAnne’s (unsuccessful), a trip to Target (to finally return the watch and buy Brian’s backpack) and a movie ( Knocked Up ). We went to some mom-n-pop flooring place (actually a brother-n-sister operation, but we don’t judge) and they were very helpful and informative. We’ve decided on oak, with a micro-bevel for all three floors, with carpet on the stairs. I think I am going to get the wide planks for the main floor and the regular skinny planks for the others. We then went to Abbey Carpet, in front of the Sterling Costco, just to check prices. They were extremely unhelpful! I know Kevin is happy to never set foot inside there again. And their prices weren’t that good! The backpack I found for Brian is awesome. It’s Diego, Dora’s cousin, with a bright yellow school bus on the front- two of Brian’s favorite things. I am sure he will love it. It even has wheels and an extendable handle like Max’s. Knocked Up was funny and thought-provoking. The review I read told of the scene where Paul Rudd’s character mentions how bat shit crazy the kids were for bubbles. He said, “I wish I were that crazy about anything.” So true. Being an adult sucks sometimes. I’ve noticed that Max, now almost 8, doesn’t giggle as carelessly and easily as he used to. I am not ready for this change. He is a happy child, but doesn’t have the toddler-glee anymore. Sob. We came home around 10:15 which is the latest we’ve stayed out this year, I think. Kind of pathetic. Poor Grandpa was in the basement watching some show he didn’t really want to be because he didn’t have the password to watch real tv (sorry, Larry). I found a cute gold metallic purse waiting for me at home (thanks, Anne). Long day. Bed was a welcoming thought. But instead of going to bed, I stayed up until 2 am looking on the internet for engagement rings with a friend. Internet shopping is a blast!\
Today is Sunday and I only got five hours sleep. Totally my fault and totally worth it. Kevin wants to hit the Farmers’ Market, if he wakes up in time, then tackle Max’s blog finally. I need to weed the backyard, but won’t be attempting that until late afternoon when the sun slips in front of the house. The kids probably want to go to the pool, but I am not sure that is on the agenda for today. Oh, there is also supposed to be some toilet-fixing going on too. Wish Kevin luck with that!\
What did you do this weekend?
Playing With Ficlets
Ficlets has been around for a few months now, and while it was a blast to build and launch, I honestly haven’t had a ton of time since it launched to actually enjoy my own product. I’ve been busy fixing bugs, responding to feedback or working on other projects (the nerve, people making me work). Building things is fun, but I forgot to actually use it.\
For the past few weeks, I’ve been taking time out to play with ficlets: write stories, play with inspiration, and explore other peoples’ ficlets. It’s been a nice surprise to find out that the experience I envisioned when we started building it is actually fun. I’m having a great time working on stories, getting feedback, and finding stories to continue. Here are some of my favorites:
- I’ve been working on writing dialogue recently, something I’ve always sucked at, and today’s ficlet is all dialogue about freakshow performers tired of performing.
- I wrote When It Ends For One, It Ends For Both to work through some emotional stuff late one night after hearing about some friends’ marital problems.
- The Butler’s Secret is my most popular ficlet yet – a mystery about a butler with some evil plan – written just because I saw a photo of an evil-lookin’ butler on the inspiration page.
- A Hero’s Burial is a sequel to Twelve Inch High Underdog – which is my all-time favorite ficlet.
- The Falling Men in Their Fancy Suits is a story I wrote as part of our poverty challenge as part of International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day.
- “Death and Sausages”… only because I wanted to use “death and sausages” in a story.
- I wrote Security Blanket because Mr. Scalzi wrote a blog post about steampunk zap guns.\
I’ve written more, but they’re either crappy or not worth pointing out (although I still think my story about Moses is funny as hell).\
There’s a lesson in here somewhere about eating dog food… but I’m just glad it’s still fun to play with ficlets.
Home Improvements
The estimates on the various house projects are about the same. So, how do I pick someone? The people themselves all kind of seem the same too. They all speak English and work for local companies. They were all men, who wore pants and shoes and shirts and wrote with pens on pads of paper. One guy was an hour late (he called ahead of time to reschedule) and another guy postponed the meeting by a day. Those are the only negatives that I know of. Kevin met two of the guys. I kind of feel like going with one of those guys, just because Kevin seconded my opinion that they were ok. Shrugs.
Separating the man from the myth.
I have the quirkiest husband ever. True story.
Songs That Kick Ass
I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I was starting to drag after lunch, so I created a new playlist of songs to keep me awake. So far, so good. Here are some highlights:
- Working Full-Time by The Constantines: The band kicks all kinds of rough garage booty. Their bass player is a god, the lyrics are fantastic, and this song rules. Works great in headphones or in the car turned all the way up.
- Cuidado by Slo-Mo: I heard this on Channel Frederator, and it’s a great song (although it’s full of the f-word). Good thumpy Latin hip hop (but not reggaeton)
- Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Rza (from the Kill Bill soundtrack): The horns, percussion… you can’t help but want to go kill some Crazy 88 after hearing it. Honest.
- Back in Black covered by Living Colour: Better than the original, and that’s saying something. Vernon Reid + Corey Glover = major can of whuppass
- Saturday Morning by Eels: I love this song more than I can say. Every time I hear it, I think of waking up early on Saturday morning with my brother, dump trucking sugar on our cereal and playing non-stop all day (all seen in a sort of Royal Tenenbaums montage).
- I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim mix) by Groove Armada: While it’s hard to kick it while shaking it, it’s still a great song.\
There are others, but I have to get back to work… enjoy.
Brian update
Brian had his 3 year check up today. He is in the 100% for height and weight, 41 inches and 40 pounds, respectively. The doctor is a little concerned that he isn’t as verbal as he should be. She suggested I have him evaluated by the county speech therapists again, but also said that starting preschool in the fall would probably help him improve. And apparently he should be able to put on his own pants. I think that makes me officially off of pants duty, except for my own pantsing needs. She also suggested that he watch no more than an hour of tv a day. Which, HA! For the first time ever, she also asked if Kevin or I had high cholesterol. I thought that was odd. She always asked about smoking, pool, guns, well water, pets, etc. But this was the first time she inquired about our health. Hmm. Brian received a shot today, but is in good health. YAY!
Someone gimme lots of money, ok?
I have some estimates scheduled for fixing up the house and finishing off the bathroom in the basement (my dad refuses to visit until this is done). Wish me luck and keep your fingers and toes crossed that this will be affordable (cuz I love my dad lots and really miss him). Thanks!!!
The Sopranos
LOVED the ending!\
What did you think?\
The TWoP episode thread is at 67 pages in less than 12 hours. I’m not even going to attempt to trudge through that.
This will bump Paris post off the page :(
Edwin, the jolliest fellow I know, gave Kevin some Weinhard’s root beer. So Much Love. For Edwin, and the root beer, and Kevin for sharing it with me. It’s so good and one of the few food items I miss about Arizona. Woot for root beer!\
Kristen sent Kevin cookies. Woot for cookies! A great way to start the weekend.\
Now I have to explain to Max why Mommy doesn’t go swimming roughly once a month. Pooo. Maybe he’ll get distracted by a cookie?
Reelin’ in the Years in iTunes: The Year 2000
I recently created a bunch of Smart Playlists in iTunes to segment my music by year. I have the following lists so far: before 1990, 1990-1995, 1996-1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Today is Year 2000 day – full of techno, Eels, Phish and Lemon Jelly.\
Here are my favorite songs from 2000 (not in any order, and probably not the “best”, just my faves):
- Name of the Game by The Crystal Method – This song kicks so much ass, I think it was on repeat in the car for at least three months. The rest of the album it came from doesn’t measure up to the standard set by Vegas, but it’s still pretty good.
- Get Your Snack On by Amon Tobin – Another frequent repeat. Kicks almost as much posterior as the the first song in this list. Amon Tobin creates atmospheric industrial stuff that’s not for everyone, but I dig most of it.
- Bewilderbeast by Badly Drawn Boy – The album this song comes from is spectacular, and this is my favorite song from it. One of his few instrumentals, it’s sweet, lovely and has a wonderful beat.
- Daisies of the Galaxy and I Like Birds by Eels – I love Eels and am sad I didn’t discover them until recently. The whole album is great, but these two songs make me insanely happy. You won’t be able to listen to I Like Birds without giggling and singing along.
- Dirt by Phish – From Farmhouse, what I consider to be the last great album by the band, this song is heartbreaking and one of their rare slow numbers. It’s gorgeous and unlike 99% of their other stuff.
- Everything in its Right Place by Radiohead – This song and album were my first real exposure to the bad, and I was blown away. Painful and brilliant.
- Diamond from the Snatch soundtrack – You’ve heard this song even if you haven’t seen the movie. Like Massive Attack‘s Teardrop, this one makes the rounds in commercials, sporting events, other movies, and even a few TV shows. Bouncy rockin’ techno.
- Gravel Road Requiem by Walkingbirds – I don’t remember how I found out about Scott Andrew LePera and the Walkingbirds, but this song is an acoustic folky masterpiece. You can download it (and hopefully buy it) on his music page. It’s funny. I met him at SxSW a couple years ago and it took me three days to remember where I’d heard his voice before.\
Next week, it’s on to 2001: Cake, Zero 7‘s first album, Constantines, David Byrne and Gotan Project.\
Oh, and I’m going to be on The Biblio File tomorrow night. Details on their blog for how you can join in the fun.