Update: Month 2

It's March already and time for an update on my resolutions.  So here it is, my update for the month of February, summed up in one word. Bad.

But a new month brings a strengthening of my resolve (hey! resolve and resolution sound similar... spooky...).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

To those I love (in no particular order): Mom-best momma ever! Daddy-always supportive of me Ryan-the love of my life Amy-encourager, understanding, entertains me at work! Liz-my favorite roomie Steven-always reads my blog Joe-sometimes reads my blog Renee-my sweet cousin Shani-I think of you often. I miss you. The rest of my family-I truly love you all

There are tons more of you that I love, but I know you don't read my blog, so you don't get a shout out!

Too bad you won't even know you didn't get a shout out cuz you don't read my blog.

Update: Month 1

It's February, and not only does that mean an upsurge in my intake of chocolate, but it also means I'm looking at one month into my New Year's Resolutions.  So I'm going to take a moment to go through them, explain how I'm doing, and how I need to improve. 1. Lose some weight.  I go up and down with this one, which is to be expected, however I am happy to say that I am down approx. 6 pounds!  In order to continue, here's what I need to work on: I'm pretty good during the week with my diet and exercise, but I fall apart on the weekends.  I need to learn how to indulge in moderation.  Is that an oxymoron?

2. Couples devotions daily. Again, this one has gone in waves.  We do them several days in a row, then miss several days in a row.  Recently, we've been in a missing stage.  We need to pick this up again.

3. Listening to Bible on CD. Waves. Again. However, I did finish the first CD (most of Matthew) and I'm on the second.  I must admit though, that my mind tends to wander a lot while on my way home from work, so I'm hoping that I'm absorbing the Words through osmosis. 

4. Be a better mom. Let's see.  This is a tricky one.  I have been making more of an effort to keep the apartment clean and tidy.  I've been good about planning dinners.  But that's it.  I haven't been reading more.  I haven't cut down on my TV watching. 

So that about wraps it up.  I'm hoping that if I continue updating every month, I will continue to keep trying.  And what more can I do than try?

I'm an adult and can do as I want! (Not really)

February is a special time of the year for me.  I'll give you a couple seconds to guess why. Did you guess?  Well, you're wrong!  February is the month when grocery stores and drug stores all over America begin selling Cadbury Cream Eggs.  These lucious cream-filled chocolage eggs are only sold in this country several months out of the year, and unless your boyfriend is visiting London and sends you a huge box full of them in mid-summer (true story!), then you're out of luck if you try to find them.

 Before college, my intake of these devilish delights was exteremely limited (ironically this should have been when I was gorging on them, as my metabolism was still fast enough to burn them off!).  However, when I got to college, and February came along, and I discovered a close friend had a similar taste for the eggs, we were buying them every chance we had. 

One year, however, I discovered that it was much better to wait until after Easter to purchase the heavenly things.  So that Monday, off I went to Target, and found them costing around 5 cents per egg!  This was a 400% mark down!  Well, I didn't want to leave a one behind, so I grabbed the entire carton and trotted to the cashier.  As I walked, I found that children were staring at me, lust in their eyes.  One little boy in particular was almost drooling with desire.  I stopped and said, "Yes, I can do this because I'm an adult, and I can do what I want."

OK, I didn't actually say that, but it's what I was thinking.  But unfortunately, I was only half true.  Because I'm an adult, I do have the ability and the power to go and purchase as many Cadbury Cream Eggs as I want.  But sadly, also because I'm an adult, I have to severely restrict my daily consumption of them.

But make no mistake, the Monday after Easter, I will be there again, with a carton full of my favorite sweet treat, inviting all the young eyes to stare and be jealous of the joys of adulthood.

Feeling the Pressure

I have been feeling like it's time for another blog post since it feels like forever since I've written.  But upon visiting my own site, it's only been a couple weeks!  I figure I can wait until February to post again (not counting this one).  So check back then!  Believe me, I've got some good ideas up my sleeves... I will be continuing my "What makes a good..." series.

I will be starting a new book review series, whenever I finish a book (now I've just got to finish a book...). 

I will be evaluating my resolution progress.

Not to mention posting some good new (and old) poetry.

And as always, the humorous stories from my day to day (boring) life.

Stay tuned!

Another Purpose for a Useful Machine

"Where am I?" I thought to myself.  Something was wrong, the room was familiar and yet not.  And suddenly it came to me in a panic: I was in the men's room!  How had I come in here?  I've worked in this building for nearly three years, and yet somehow, when lost in thought, I had gone into the wrong bathroom!  And were those large, men's feet I saw in the first stall?  Spinning around, I grabbed for the door and peeked outside.  Empty.  I tried to look non-chalant as I exited the men's room and walked towards the bathroom I thought I knew so well.    After all this time, going to the ladies' room should be nearly instinctive.  Apparently not.   Now I find myself wondering, every time I'm seated on the toilet, if I'm in the right place.   I peek through the crack in the door, looking for anything that indicates where I am, but the two rooms look exactly the same!  And then I see it and know I'm in the right place.  Smiling to myself , I gaze fondly on the tampon machine. 

Hot blog posts from 2007!

My title is a bit misleading, as this is only going to be a listing of my favorite of my own blog posts of 2007, in case you missed them!  Plus, it's just another excuse for me to make a list... 1. Short story - Title pretty much sums it up, but I thought the story was sweet.  If I do say so myself!

2. Help! My Roommate's a Werewolf! - I just find this funny... 

3. My Fear List - Also, funny... is it bad that I crack myself up?

4. Squeaking, Squealing, Yelling - This just proves that once in a while in my marriage, I'm right!

5. True Beauty - About my beautiful mother...

6. Grace, A Children's Story - Still hoping to get this in book form someday.  Still working on the illustrations to go along with it... maybe someday I will actually finish.

Resolutions version 2008

As has become my tradition, I would like to officially record my resolutions for this new year. I am proud of myself for being "ahead of schedule" as compared to last year, when I didn't write this post until January 23rd. This year, I've decided to examine why my resolutions from last year did not work, and what I can amend for this year. So first, I will reiterate last year's: 1. Lose 40 pounds. If you've seen me recently, you know this did not happen. And I think it's obvious why not. I was overly ambitious and even unrealistic. I am not a teenager anymore, so every pound will be a battle. I don't have it in me to fight 40 battles over the course of one year.

2. Get up in the morning to have daily devotions. This one is almost laughable. Not only did I NOT get up in the mornings, I was not faithful in my daily devotions either. I have come to the conclusion that saying "get up early in the morning" is not something I should promise anymore.

3. Post on this blog every week. Now, while I did not do this, I actually did manage to keep this blog alive, which is more than some people I could point out. In fact, many people...

So, onto my new resolutions. Ones that I hope are more plausible and manageable.

1. Lose some weight. The way I plan to do this is by eating around 1800 calories per day and trying to get in even the littlest bit of exercise daily, as well. I also am planning on giving up chocolate for big chunks of time. Now if these goals seem ambitious all over again, I feel I should disclose I have several people working with me on these and will help me keep accountable. In that regard, I count myself very lucky.

2. Couples devotions daily. Ryan and I have been good about this already and have come up with ways of trying to make sure when get this in during the day.

3. Listening to the Bible on CD. I figure this is a great way to incorporate Bible reading into my commute. Maybe it will help my driving too??

4. Be a better mom... This one may sound odd, as I don't have any children, but I do hope to in the coming years. That said, I feel I should start preparing to be the kind of mom I want to be. I want to take care of my home, plan good dinners, try to stay healthy, cut down on the TV, read more, try to be healthy. Talk about not being ambitious, right? However, I am just hoping with motherhood on the horizon, I will really take this resolution seriously.

Look for an update to these resolutions in one month's time.

As Promised... "What Makes A Great Sitcom"

I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of good television. I grew up on the classics (thank you, Nick@Nite) like "I Love Lucy" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and have now progressed to watching current primetime. I do, however, have some guilty pleasures like Survivor, and have even succumbed to watching several seasons of The Bachelor. But my heart still belongs to the sitcom. I love a good sitcom, and you will know I consider it good because I can watch rerun after rerun (and my husband hates me for it). And that brings me to my first point about What Makes A Great Sitcom.

Rewatchability. Now, if I remember correctly, this term was first coined by a once great Nick@Nite (a time when "classic television" meant classic television, and not Growing Pains and Home Improvement reruns). In order for a sitcom to be great, it must have the rewatchability factor. If you don't understand what I mean, start watching Arrested Development. This show has rewatchability written all over it. I have seen each episode several times and pick up new jokes and meanings every time.

I am a big believer in "inside jokes" in a sitcom. These are phrases or character flaws that are repeated throughout the seasons and only dedicated viewers pick them up and realize they are funny. This is necessary in rewatchability. Again, in my opinion, Arrested Development was the master at this. The inside joke factor is a reason that I watch reruns of the show, and as I said, continue to pick up more and more inside jokes.

Another huge factor in a great sitcom is chemistry among the characters/actors. I think this is why Friends made it for so long. It didn't offer anything new or something we hadn't seen before. Indeed, the biggest criticism of the show is that all they do is sit around, talking and drinking coffee. But I believe that is why the show worked. These characters had such great chemistry that we loved to watch them, and almost feel like a part of it. A new show that I started watching (and continue to watch only because I love Kelsey Grammer) is Back To You. I honestly think this show could be funny, but cannot pull it off due to a lack of chemistry among the characters. I am just not buying the Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton love story.

Friends also had another factor going for it. Each of the characters had an equal and valuable role. And because of this, none of the sub-plots ever seemed boring. A major flaw with many sitcoms is when the non-main characters get their own plot lines and viewers must endure them while waiting to get to the real meat of the show. Again, (I'm sorry, Kelsey!) Back To You struggles to keep my attention through the sub-plots and I find myself even fast-forwarding at times (insert shameless Tivo plug here).

And finally, a great sitcom must have an overarching love story. Now please understand me here. Having an overarching love story does not a great sitcom make. It is the opposite. An overarching love story is the icing on the cake. It makes me full and satisfied. I can laugh and laugh, but the love story makes it complete. Frasier did it so well with Niles and Daphne (aren't they the reason we watched this show after its fifth season?). And who doesn't know about the Ross and Rachel love connection? The Office has done it superbly with Jim and Pam. Even Arrested Development had an unusual one, but nonetheless satisfying.

Rewatchability. Inside Jokes. Chemistry. Love Story. The factors that make a great sitcom. If you find yourself daring to disagree, I challenge you to leave a comment and we can discuss it further. But in the end, time will tell, as it has done with the good old classics of yesteryear.

short story

Once upon a time there was a young woman who was beautiful, but very shy.  She lived in a small house outside of a very small town.  She lived there alone, but never felt lonely because she had many pretend friends and even a pretend brother.  The house had belonged to her parents, who had left it to her in their will.  For you see, her family had died several years earlier in a car crash, leaving her the house and a rather large fortune.  She did not have knowledge of this, however.  She simply came and went as she pleased, spending money where she needed to, never thinking of where it came from, or how much was left.Some of the people in the town knew of the girl and her predicament.  They knew her not only for her beauty and her simplicity, but the sadness in her eyes and on her face.  She didn't come into town often, but when she did, the people who came in contact with her were left heartbroken.  There were some people who tried to help her at first, but it never seemed to do any good.  She would not open the door to any visitors, nor speak to anyone in town who approached her.  Eventually, she was left alone, even though her sadness continued, and spread through the hearts of the people in the town. One day, a young man was passing through the small town.  He was very fair and pleasing to see and had laughter in his eyes.  He had no money, but was such a flatterer that he could talk his way into anything.  And he knew he had that talent and took full advantage.  People loved to be around him and women longed to be close to him, but he never opened up to them.  He entertained, laughed, played, and teased, but no one ever knew more about him.  He stayed in that town for a while, on everyone else's dime, but eventually took his leave.  He said goodbye to no one as he drove away. As luck (or some higher power) would have it, he hit a nail in the road and his tire deflated on the spot.  He knew if he walked back to town, he could convince someone there to change it for him.  But before he headed back, he noticed a small house that he hadn't seen before.  Something about it beckoned to him and he could not refuse to obey.  As he approached he heard laughter and singing and then someone calling to him.  It was a beautiful voice and his heart lifted to hear it call his name, but he did not dare answer for fear of breaking the spell it had on him. Suddenly an angel, no, it appeared to be an angel at first, but then he realized it was a young woman, looked through the side window.  When she saw him, her face changed and he was afraid he had startled her.  But then she smiled and called to him again.  With that, he knew he was welcome and he soon found himself in her kitchen.  She was talking to him as if she knew him and had been waiting for him.  And when he looked in her eyes, he did not see sadness, but saw laughter and cheer. She knew he was out there and had indeed been waiting for him, and when she looked in his eyes, she saw depth and a very familiar sadness. And at that moment, he knew.

New Series

Beginning soon, look for a new series of posts called "What Makes A Great....". These posts will be strictly my opinions on what makes something (or someone) great. However, they will be backed up with such hard facts and concrete reasoning that you will not dare to disagree. There will be a whole range of topics, from the trivial to the crucial. I imagine that this series will capture the minds of America, and before you know it, these posts (along with my profound reasoning) will be the topic of many a political debate.Come back soon for post number one of the series: What Makes a Great Sitcom!

I don't know anything about the color printer!

So don't ask me! I don't know where your pages are. I don't know why its lights are flashing. I didn't use up the entire color cartridge. No, I didn't take any printouts that weren't mine. I don't know if it has a personal vendetta against you, but I will say that everyone else handles it just fine! Just because I sit right next to the thing, doesn't mean I care about what all comes out of it. Unless it starts spewing lava and I have to run for my life for fear of turning into a molten statue, stop bothering me about it!

Help! My roommate's a werewolf!

Have you ever thought your roommate was a werewolf?  Well, I have.  And not because she was particularly hairy at certain points, although that may have added to my suspicions.  No, it was because one night, my junior year of college, she crept out of bed (I know, because I was sleeping beneath her) and quietly left the apartment.  Now, this may not sound like unusual behavior for many students, but it was for her!  And for me, that was enough to conclude that she was, in fact, a werewolf.  As I lay there, it began to occur to me that she probably knew the moon was coming out from behind a cloud.  She would have had to get out of there or after her transformation, she would have bitten and even killed the rest of us in the room.  My poor friend, I thought, having to live with this all her life.  Worrying that she'd do harm to those around her, never breathing a word of her terrible secret. 

However, I did have some doubts.  Could I possibly have jumped to a conclusion without checking all the facts?  To ease my mind, I knew I had to confirm my suspicions.  I crawled out of bed and went to my computer.  I searched for moon phases; I needed to know if that night was a full moon!  Looking back, I realize I could have just as easily peered out the window, but I didn't seem to have much common sense that night.  Finally, I found what I was looking for and breathed a sigh of relief.  She couldn't possibly be a werewolf because it was only the quarter moon.  I went back to bed and peacefully fell asleep in the knowledge that I wouldn't be bitten and have to live out the rest of my own life as a werewolf.

(To be fair, I had just finished HP book three... Harry learns Remus Lupin is a werewolf.  Although, is that really enough reason to make me think that my friend was too?)

This is it, I promise

As promised, I'd like to share my thoughts on the final book in the Harry Potter series. Just to warn those of you who have not read/finished the book yet, there will be spoilers ahead, so (if you care) you should probably stop reading now. Again, there will be Harry Potter spoilers ahead, for those of you who have not read the book. Some of you reading this will be thinking, "Uhm, you already said that." But those of you who are true fans will understand how important it is to stay uncorrupted by the spoilers I am about to give.

Now for some general comments.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. This really came as no surprise. I picked it up around 1:30am on Saturday (after waiting in a surprisingly long line for my area) and read through the night, stopping only for a couple hours sleep. Some books could not keep me awake as long as this one did, so I think that should show how engrossing the book was. I found the ending to be very sweet and actually much happier than even I suspected (and I didn't expect Harry to die). Fred's death was sad, but I think he died how he would have wanted to. I felt bad that Tonks and Lupin died, especially leaving their new baby.

I appreciated the epilogue and felt that just enough information was given to keep me satisfied, and enough left out to keep me wondering. What does Harry end up doing with his life? He doesn't work at Hogwarts, or he would have either been on the train, or already there. Does he work at the ministry? I'm sure he could easily have been Ministry of Magic? At first I thought this was improbable, given his dislike of the Ministry. But then I realized that he could change things and make a good difference. Plus, Dumbledore implied that while he felt he could never have dealt with that kind of power, Harry was man enough for the job.

I also found the name "Albus Severus" very poignant. What a sweet uniting of Gryffindor and Slytherin names, as well as two very great men.

OK, on to my predictions. I could kick myself for not including my "Snape was in love with Lily" prediction. I really did think that, but for some reason forgot to include it.

As to my prediction from "HP Part I", I honestly think the book would have been better if that's how it had ended. Obviously, Pettigrew's debt came into play a little bit, but not to the extent I thought it would. I found the "deathly hallows" to be superfluous and, as my friend pointed out, the end came down to "Harry being rubber and He Who Must Not be Named (screw it, Voldemort...that's right, they'll never get me) being glue so that the spell Voldemort cast merely bounced off of Harry and stuck to himself." Basically, it came down to luck. What if Harry hadn't defeated Malfoy to get his wand?

So that's it. The book would have been better if my prediction had been right, and the deathly hallows had not even been a part of it, but overall an excellent book.

Whose house is this?

Last weekend I had the privilege of spending Saturday with one of my best friends.  But it wasn't just any Saturday.  It was the day before her wedding.  Besides the normal pre-marital jitters, she was doing quite well and seemed very on top of things.  We had a couple hours before the rehearsal and dinner, so we decided to check into the house her family had rented for that night.  We arrived at the Inn and they directed us to the house across the street.  It was not available yet, as the cleaning crew was still inside, but we were welcome to sit on the porch and wait.  While we waited, my friend finished up some last minute notes and her fiance, her sister, and I sat around chatting.  It was a beautiful day and we were content to just sit and wait for the house to be available.  I, being curious and just a tad nosy, pressed my face to the windows and peeked into the interior of the house and commented on the lovely furnishings and its size. 

Suddenly the phone rang and my friend jumped to get it.  "Where are you?" her mom questioned on the other end.  "We're waiting at the house!" my friend answered.  "But I'm at the house and I don't see you!"

We looked around to see her mom, and finally noticed her at the house next door!  I thought, she's at the wrong house!  But then I noticed the cleaning crew coming out of that house's doors, and the shoes and jackets hanging up inside the house whose porch we were lounging.  And then it dawned on us. 

HP Book Review... coming

I would like to comment on book 7, as it is probably the last time I will comment on Harry, except in passing reference.   (Did I just hear a cheer?)  But I am going to hold off, because I am sure there are still just a few people out there who have not yet read the book and I do not want to spoil it.  Plus, I am still digesting it myself.  Look for it in the next week or so!

A Tip for Other Bloggers

Ever wonder why you're not getting much traffic to your site?  Well, here is the secret:  Spend most of your time discussing the most popular topic of the time.  And what is bigger at this point than Harry Potter?  So if you want to get tons of traffic: Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

That should do it...

HP Predictions, Part II

These are just some other random thoughts, because I probably won't have time between now and tomorrow night to get all this down into specific theories. Why all the phoenix imagery around Dumbledore? Like when his tomb bursting into flames? Does that mean he's coming back to life?  I doubt it because he always made a point to say that Voldemort's greatest flaw was that he didn't realize that there are things that are worse than death and it's not a horrible thing to be mortal.  My general thoughts on this: We will see Dumbledore coming back to life through Harry.  In other words, Harry will become the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared, etc.  This is how Dumbledore will "rise from his ashes".

Why did D. finally gave Snape the defense against the dark arts job if he knew it was jinxed?  Perhaps, JKR simply overlooked this, or maybe it was a clue.  Did Dumbledore suspect Snape had gone bad and wanted him out?  Or did he know that things were drawing to a close?  And along those same lines, why did Snape want the job in the first place?  He must have known it was jinxed.

I kinda feel like Snape must be good, and Dumbledore had asked him to kill him to keep his unbreakable vow, if that's what it came down to.  (Remember the fight that was overheard between Dumbledore and Snape?)  I'm also thinking Draco might come around as well.  Often in the books we hear things like "once you are on the dark side, no one else matters to you." Well, Draco was trying to kill Dumbledore because Voldemort threatened to kill his parents.  Obviously he still has love in his heart.

My last thought is about Voldemort's end.  If my prediction in part I does not come true (and that's a big IF), I think that Voldemort will somehow have his soul sucked out by a dementor.  Remember that his greatest weakness is that he never realized there are things worse than death.  We are also told many times that living without a soul, due to a dementor's kiss, is worse than death.  Coincidence?