Things I Wrote

This is something my sister sent me. Since I don't like forwarding e-mails of any kind, even ones with a positive message, I thought I'd repost it here. If you're having a hard time, or know someone who is, post a copy to your LJ or forward it to your friend in need. I have no idea who wrote this, but I hope you find it encouraging.

( Inspirational Poem )

Have a great week.

That's fit to print. :-/

( Read more... )

I'm so glad it's the weekend. :-D Hubby and son are going to a concert tonight, which means it's a girls' night at our place, so yay!!

For better or worse, I wrote a Mad Men fanfic. It features Peggy/Pete and has about 750 words. Other details, and the fic, are behind the cut. Enjoy!

( The Accusation )

Thanks for reading.

The 2009 D/G Fic Exchange has ended, and here is my entry.

( Of Friends and Enemies )

Reviews appreciated.

But surprisingly common.

We've been calling our little kitten Joanie, but we recently learned that he is actually a boy. (I watched a video done by a vet and he said it's hard to tell the sex of a kitten and explained how you could tell. Very tricky.) So you could say our 4-month-old cat has had a sex change. ;-)

We renamed him Tuco (the 'Ugly' in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). He is a little bandit, so we thought it fit his personality. A couple of days ago, he ripped off all the toilet paper on the roll. I rolled it back up as neatly as I could, only to have it all on the floor again less than 10 minutes later...and he loves people food. Anything you are eating must be good, so he wants to at least sniff at it, possibly touch it with his paw. He even likes the dog's food. Amazingly, the dog just lets him eat it. Weird. But if anything falls from the table, the dog makes sure that Tuco is not getting away with it.

For those who are not familiar with the Spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone, here is a moment of Tuco played by Eli Wallach.



Now go and watch the rest of it. So worth it - one of my top movies of all time. Ever. :-)

( Learn to deal! )

We dealt with the heat by leaving it for a day. We went to Sedona last Saturday. It was still in the mid-90s there, but we enjoyed one of their parks where there is an ice-cold creek that's perfect for wading, floating, and trying to stand up on the very slick rocks. We told our kids they could each bring one friend, and my daughter brought her boyfriend. It went well. It gave my husband a chance to get to know him a little better, so I was happy we all went. Not sure if hubby got much out of it, but I think he feels a little more comfortable around him now and a little less worried. I mean, he really is a nice guy.

On a completely different subject, I am enjoying the D/G Fic Exchange. This is just an alert to any of my LJ friends who are not following it this time. As always, some very good stories have been posted. If you want my personal recommendations, let me know and I'll e-mail them to you.

Speaking of things from the HP world, I am TOTALLY wound up about seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! It's my favorite of the books because I actually can be a canon shipper, if needed. I have a very open mind about ships. There aren't that many that make me absolutely cringe or even roll my eyes. Anyway, we will be going tomorrow evening. Wouldn't miss it. :-D

Your mission is simple: See this movie. Get your butt down to the video store, rent or buy it, and see it. An absolutely wonderful story beautifully portrayed. I give it a 10. One of the best films to come out in years.

That is all.

 

The 22nd and final chapter of "Mala Fide" is now online!
 
www.fanfiction.net/s/1968392/23/Mala_Fide_In_Bad_Faith

It will be posted at Fictionalley and Adult Fanfiction shortly. Thanks to all who read and to those who cheered me on to finish it. It is greatly appreciated! :-)

ETA: Now at AFFN.  

http://hp.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=544174468&chapter=23

 

And this should be the last chapter. I don't think it needs an epilogue, but I'll mull that over for a bit.

*huge sigh of relief*

Now back to my entry for the D/G Fic Exchange! :-D

And loved it! I thought they did a great job. It's an amazing movie that tells an interesting, complex story about what might have happened before James Kirk became captain of the Enterprise. There were excellent performances by the lead actors and some surprises and twists that made me just sit there a bit googly-eyed as I watched it. I was quite often mesmerized, and I didn't even think of leaving to take a bathroom break! The story never dragged; the pacing felt just right. It has something for everyone: action, drama, comedy, a dash of romance, and an intelligent, multi-layered plot...all the elements that made the original Star Trek series great.

Speaking of that, there were lots of references to the old series ("Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor not a physicist!") and from some of the older films:

( Spoiler-ish...click at your own risk )

Not to mention, this new Kirk is definitely easy on the eyes, and Simon Pegg had me in stitches, as he usually does. ^_^

If you've liked any of the Star Trek series or movies, get out and see it!! It'll knock your socks off.

Funny stuff.

I'd had the old one for too long. And since I'm not creative enough to make my own, I just used one of the standard LJ backgrounds. I like this one. It's called Make My Way. Very pretty.

The guys picked up our truck from one shop and took it to another mechanic - one that we know and trust. Surprisingly, it was able to drive the 15 or so miles to the new shop, so maybe it's not as bad as we thought. My husband said it ran fine and didn't even sound messed up. We still might trade it in for something slightly newer with a bigger engine. Luckily, trucks are not exactly moving off the lot, so we may be able to get a pretty fair deal. I just can't wait to get my own vehicle back. My husband and son have been holding it 'hostage' to go on their landscape jobs for the past 10 days. Sucks.

I don't think I've mentioned that I saw "Observe and Report" last weekend. It was okay, but...

( it just didn't work for me )

Having spent almost 30 years in the Oklahoma City area, I became very familiar with some things that are uniquely Oklahoman: the hyper weatherman on Channel 9, Gary England, who made tornado season even more exciting than it already was; Mary Hart performing in "Godspell" at the Oklahoma Theatre Center before she made it to the big time; and Tall Paul of Paul Meade Insurance.

After watching dozens of lame Tall Paul commercials over the years, I was surprised and delighted when he finally produced one that really struck my funny bone. Years later, thanks to YouTube, I was able to watch it again and share it with my kids.

Enjoy. :-D

( Lyrics and a little history ) 
And there's your bit of Oklahoma history.

Why is it when you reach the last 3 or 4 chapters of anything by him, you cry, stop, and then cry again? I'm finishing up "The Woodlanders." It's really good; I can see why it was his favorite. The story is a little more complex than some of his others. It has his usual observations about relationships, human frailty, and the pressures of the society he lived in, as well as his expressive, beautiful prose. His work has some of the best I've ever read, which is why I'm willing to put up with all the angst. ;-) Here are two examples from this book:

Nothing ever had brought home to her with such force as this death how little acquirements and culture weigh beside sterling personal character.

And this:

...I think I would almost rather have you hate me a little than not think of me at all.

There's also a lot written about the trees and the woods themselves, as if they are a character too. For me, that adds instead of detracts. They are what holds the village together, as they give the people their livelihood.

I can't help it - it's just so flawless. *sniff* In a way, I don't really want it to end.

My daughter is in California for a choir competition (they got a Superior, so they couldn't have done any better - YAY!!!) and a day at Disneyland. We pick her up at school early tomorrow morning, but hopefully not before dawn. O_o

I finished reading "Eclipse", and it was better than I expected. For anyone who hasn't read it and wants to, I'll put my thoughts behind a cut.

( In general, a very good read )

Okay, done with that. I've heard "Breaking Dawn" is not the best, but I know I have to read it. I've come this far - I feel I just have to give it a try.
 
On Thursday, we saw the funniest movie I've seen in a while.

( Mini-review: I Love You, Man )</div> 

I may go see the local theatre's production of "Godspell" tonight. I've got to bring tissues - I always cry when I see it! *sniff* It's showing this weekend and next.

P.S. I backed up my data, so I'm a good computer geek. :-P

They build their very own 'man cave'. It's still a work in progress. The blue padding is just that: unused exercise mats. We got them for our daughter to practice gymnastics, which she has since quit due to a problem with her knee. Rather than sell the mats, give them away, or throw them out, we are putting them to what we hope is good use: muffling the sound of his homemade music studio.

Pics behind the cut.

( I think I'm gonna build a wall )

It's spring break, which means no getting up super-early for 10 days! (I like to make sure my girl gets out the door on time, so I get up by 6:00 to help her get going.) I slept until 8:30 when the dog decided he had to go outside. A little early, but it did give me a while to work on my fic. This is either going to be the last chapter or the next to last one, and it's coming together nicely. I've been kind of dreading the close of this (yet quite eager for it, so I can move on to something else), because I wasn't sure how I wanted it to end. It's been kind of just writing itself for a while now.

We were planning to go the Renaissance Festival today, but the friend we were to take along backed out at almost the last minute. So since it wouldn't be the same without her, and we all went the last two years in a row, we did something closer to home and much less expensive. We had fun anyway. 

I'm still reading "Eclipse" Stephenie Meyer and "The Woodlanders" by Thomas Hardy. I know, night and day, huh? ;-) Go figure. I have eclectic tastes. And I am totally jazzed about the upcoming production of Godspell at our local mini-theatre. I really want someone to go with me; hope I can convince one of my friends that they should at least give it a try. :-) In other 'artsy' news, I got The Grapes of Wrath and 3:10 to Yuma from the library. I've seen the first one and thought my family would like one or both of them. I also checked out "The Brontes", a biography of the sisters by Juliet Barker. It's only 1,000 pages, including the notes at the back. I'll be cross-eyed by the time I'm done-!  *_*

And as to those odd people who live in my house: 

( Read more... )

Okay, I'm getting a little ticked off here. You know how it says you can show a post to everyone, friends, or just yourself? The last two times I've tried to use 'Friends', it doesn't show up on any of my friends' friends pages. But when I switched it to Everyone, then I can see it on my friends' friends pages. (Confusing, huh?)

What the heck? Am I doing something wrong, or is this a new LJ bug? Help!

And I am seriously excited, because I just learned who is in the show. Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp will perform the roles they originated in 1996 and played (brilliantly) in the recent film version. I also saved $40 - there was a $10 discount per ticket on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we're not even in the nosebleed section.  ;-)  Talk about being completely stoked-! Oh yeah, and my sister and niece will be here then.


( Read more... )

I decided to finish reading "Eclipse" (I see you rolling your eyes at me, fallenwitch</lj>). :-P I'm going on a weekend getaway with some friends of mine who are huge fans on the series, and I want to be able to discuss it with them. I'm also reading Thomas Hardy's "The Woodlanders" when I have time to concentrate. Nineteenth century authors deserve - no, demand - our entire attention.  ^_^ Stephenie Meyers, I can read while I'm on the treadmill; not so with Hardy.