Big for my britches

Yes, I'm feeling mighty cool, as I'm sitting in the airport, on my laptop, updating this blog via my spiffy new wireless card (thanks, hon!). I feel like I'm in that commercial, where the guy's running his hands all around the side and back of the computer, looking for the wires.
...so anyway, I just thought I'd share that.

Also, I'm trying to contain my excitement at the thought that I'm gonna be in PARIS soon!!! It's not easy, but I do have technology to distract me.

...More soon, maybe when I reach my stopover in Atlanta. ;-)

Turkey Coma

Model Mom
Originally uploaded by Epiphany.

Well, we've done it now. The presents have been unwrapped, the turkey consumed, and now we're all sitting around, lethargically reading, watching tv, or blogging.

Sorry I haven't posted in the last few days, but I was kidnapped by my family and forced to shop and have fun with them. A cruel fate, but I'm prepared to endure it for another day or two. I will be strong.

(Click photo to see the rest of 'em.)

Historic Wilmington's OTHER Parade of Homes

Dec04 lights
Originally uploaded by Epiphany.

More pics in the album.

The Boyfriend and I went out driving last night to see the pretty, oh the pretty lights of the city. ( Click the photo to see more lovelies) By far, the top prize goes to this row of houses, a mere half a block from the ABC store. ...coincidence?

More finds as I, well,...find them.

The Lost Weekend

When most people refer to their 'lost weekend,' they mean that crazy weekend they went south of the border, drank way more than they'd ever thought possible, and wound up in some Alaskan hotel room with a meerkat for a bedfellow.

But not me, ohh-ho, not me, baby! My lost weekend was spent hacking up lungs and snot and talking all froggy-like, whining that I couldn't sleep, and trying to explain to my kitty why mommy wouldn't be getting up to feed her this hour, either. Oh, and I also had to work Saturday and Sunday night up in a lighting booth in a church gymnatorium.

The good news is the church show went pretty well, and I now have some more spending money for my trip to France. Yay! *cough* *whine*

Help Wanted

As I type this, FOUR DIFFERENT PLATES of sweets are within 3 feet of me. And they are all yummy. I've got brownie bites and 3 kinds of cookies left over from our office Holiday party (can't say "Christmas" - v.un-PC. for a Work Function) , Chocolate chip cookies in a lovely big mug (gift from friends), and a Rum Cake from another friend that requires me to check the ID's of anyone who wants a slice. That rum cake doesn't kid around.
Now, these are just the things that are in front of me here at work. At home, there is a full tin and another plate full of various cookies, numerous chocolate bars and hot chocolate/cider mixes. Plus, there are the traditional goodies that Momma makes and will bring with her when she and Dad and my brother come to visit. All of these are sooo goooood! And I don't get to eat them just every day. And, they were made with love by friends and family - it's bad Karma not to eat them, right?

I'm just wondering if it would be a good idea for me to book an additional seat for my flights to France.

Somebody come and help me eat these things!!!

Always the last to hear

In case you hadn't heard about these either, may I present:
The Very Secret Diaries of those crazy characters from LOTR.
...gave me a good laugh this morning.
warning: parody.

new links

I posted some new links to other blogs today. Only a couple, as I don't want to overwhelm. But I wanted to point out that at Uniquely Alike , you can listen to one of my favorite songs by the Pogues. Now THAT's cool.

"...it was Christmas eeeve, baaaabe/ iiin the drunk tannnk..." ...genius.

"Finding my Voice"

...will I ever know what that means, until I've already found it? It's like "be yourself." If you're on the other side, looking back, it makes perfect sense. And from this side, it makes sense in the abstract, but when it comes down to knowing what that means in my specific case, ...i got nuthin'.

...but, my parents are coming for the holidays, so it's all good.

'bout time.

Okay, now why didn't I think of this?


explanation: they're little handouts that you can give to people who are being offensively loud on their cel phones in public places. Thanks to Chris Wood (for pointing this out) and Coudal Partners (for thinking it up).

confession

I know I should do some sort of "about me" post, so that anyone who stumbles upon this site will have some idea of who I am, to see if they want to keep reading. But to tell you the truth, I don't really know who I am. No wait, that didn't sound right. I know who I am, but I don't know how to tell it to you. I don't know how to put it into words. On one hand, I'm a complicated person, with varied interests and talents. On the other hand, so is everyone else. I'm unique, but so is everyone else. So I've been trying to think of things to say that will be interesting and honest, but not too self-centered.

So I'm telling you now, I'm working on that-trying to compose a lil' sump'n about me, in case you were wondering just who the heck I am.

okay, remember?

...when I said it was really warm here? Well, it's not anymore. Tonight it's supposed to get down to 26 degrees (-3 deg C.). And of course, being in the south, we can't take the cold, so the temp inside the building is a balmy 72 degrees. No lie, I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt as I type this. But I go outside and get insta-freeze on any skin that's not covered.

I know, I know,....others have it much worse. I'm just sayin'...

Leeeavinnnn, onnn a Jet Plaaane!

Woohoooo!! I got me a ticket, and this time I'm really gonna go. For months...andmonthsandmonths I've been trying to get together enough scratch to get myself to France, to visit my former roommate from college who's just married a Frenchman and moved there to live with him, and to visit the new (not so new anymore) son of another American friend from College who also married a Frenchman and moved there.
...musta been something in the water at college...maybe I'll meet a Frenchman of my own while I'm there! heh - naaaah, I'm happy with my Handsome, American, installs-my-showerheads studmuffin.
Aaaanyway, I'm going Dec 30-Jan13, and in the meantime, I'll be trying to figure out how to post messages to here from there, and how to upload my vacation pics so that you can see what I see. We've come a long way from a simple postcard, huh? BTW, I will be sending postcards, so don't you worry your pretty little heads about that, mmm'kayy?
If anyone has any thoughts on where to eat in Paris, where to go that's not too far from the planned Paris - Troyes - Chaumont route/area that I'll be sticking to, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Woohooo! Gonna be in Paris for New Year's Eve!! *blows streamers*

so much cuteness

There's a kids' show performing where I work, and that means lots and lots of kids, most under 3 feet tall. They're all on their best behavior, or there'll be no more field trips. Here are some snippets I've seen and heard this morning, in no particular order:

*A Teacher escorted a pee-pee-dancing kid all the way across the lobby. The best part is that neither of their faces showed that there was anything unusual going on here.

Performer [pretty lady fairy]: What was your favorite part?
Kid: YOOOOOUUUU! [proceeded by the grin of the suck-up.]

Teacher: Timmy, where's your partner? You've gotta keep up with your partner.
[in later years, tracking one's partner's every move is frowned upon]

*Most of the classes are wearing something to identify them as part of their group. Some of them have made holiday t-shirts with green and red wreaths or trees on them, but some of them are wearing on their heads laminated strips of color-coded construction paper with their names on them, held on with staples and rubber bands. And no, they didn't forget the glitter.
[I love the fact that none of the kids are at all self-conscious about their laminated paper headbands. with the glitter on them.]

Kid: I wanna be a puppet when I grow up!
[you play your cards right, kid...]


...more as I see it...

siiiingin' in the raaaain

I just have to say, I have the Best Shower Ever. This was not always the case, but since my boyfriend took me out for my birthday to find a Spiffy New Showerhead with Hose
tadaaaa:

to replace my cruddy (and I do mean cruddy) came-with-the-place showerhead, and installed it himself, I can't wait to get home to take another shower. Okay, I haven't even had it installed for twenty-four hours, but already I've taken two wonderful showers and gotten a new lease on life. And hopefully I smell a little better too.

So just what's so great about this showerhead? Funny you should ask. Six settings allow me to change the water pressure to fit my mood. It features a 6 foot extra long no-kink metal hose, and a beautiful white finish. Limited lifetime warranty. How do I love thee, showerhead? Let me count the ways. I love the for thy fine spray, thy thicker spouts, and thy mixture of both. I love the for thy super strong jets and thy I'm-not-messing-around reeeeally strong jets. And truly, I love the for thy supahfine feels-like-a-rainforest mist. I could grow orchids in that shower with the mist thingy.
And I just might.

dang fine weather

Not to rub it in or anything, but it's a sunny 70 degrees (21 deg. C, for you metric people) here in Wilmington. In December. I had to work to convince myself that wearing shorts to work would be a bad idea. I want to go outside and play frisbee, or go to the beach, or ride my bike. Instead I'm here, at work, waiting for the server to get fixed.

Did I mention Seventy degrees??

...another year older

...but it's okay.

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a good one. How I feel about getting older varies from year to year. For instance, I didn't think that 30 would be a big deal for me, but as it got closer, I started feeling panicky about how little I've done with my life. I called some friends to ask if they'd let me come over to their house and order pizza and watch movies or something so that I just wouldn't have to be alone on my 30th. Not only did they let me come over, they threw me the coolest surprise party ever. They reminded me that I do have lots of friends, and that I have done some good stuff with my life.

Flash forward to yesterday - the 32nd birthday. As it approached, I found that it really wasn't nearly as important to me as birthdays usually are. I even kept forgetting that it was coming up. Usually, somewhere around Thanksgiving, I begin planning what I'll be doing on my birthday, what I'll shop for with the birthday money I'll get from my family, etc. In my head, I think of it the way my father jokingly refers to his own natal celebration: " The Birthday Month." But this time, I was okay with whatever happened or didn't happen. Does this mean that I'm more secure in myself/my aging than last year(s)? Who the heck knows.

So what did happen, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.
It started the night before, when a local theatre company that I'm involved with threw its end-of-year party. I got to see some theatre friends, sip Cosmos, and stay out late. I had several "Happy Birthday" wishes and even an early birthday present. Then on the day itself, I got lots of phone calls (2 international!) , birthday cards and emails, and wishes from friends, family, and coworkers. My boyfriend took me out to dinner, and gave me some really cool presents. All in all, I'm a pretty happy old gal. I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for me!

Fingering the Desserts

I'm heading soon to the party to which I am required to bring a "Finger Dessert." I still snicker at that phrase. For more background on that, go here. I made one batch of the "cocoons," and they all fit into a very tiny tin. Thinking that might not be enough for our party, I made another batch. Same recipe. Same anounts of everything. So why did the second batch have about two thirds as many cookies as the first??

I live in a world with tiny, yet constant cruelties.

...but at least there are cookies.

a little perspective

A young friend of mine recently fell for a really nice guy. Trouble is, he's in the military, and about a week after they realized they were mutually soft on each other, he was shipped away to someplace hot and dry and none too friendly. As is usual with situations like his, he never knows when he'll have email or phone access. And she never knows when he is safe and when he isn't. Even when they can get messages through to each other, they must be brief, and they don't know when they'll be able to make contact again.

I think about that, and then about my own situation. Things may not always be perfect with the relationship I'm in, but ... well, they could be a lot tougher than they are.

trippy

ever wonder what it would be like if the world was one big Möbius strip? This may provide your answer.

some day I'll have to work

...or they're gonna stop paying me. I suppose I could argue that I'm learning (through trial and error) stuff that could pay off for my employer, but come on. Who would I be kidding?

I played around with the template for this site - changing colors, making some links to sites I check out with some frequency, etc. - with the primary aim of making true my claim of "...now with more curry."

Variety is not, in fact, the spice of life. din't know dat, didja?

but I've got proof

They're gonna take over the world. I'm not kidding. I was at Dooce's site, and she mentioned a "Boobah" with miraculous powers of taming small children. Not sure what a Boobah was, I googled it, like any normal person would (it's not gonna be in a dictionary, now is it??). From there, it was a quick click to possibly the weirdest site I have ever seen.

This... ...is a boobah.

Perhaps you've seen them in WalMart's kids' section. What? You never go to the kids' section??? But that's where the best toys are!

Okay, so the boobah sings and dances, or rather, coos and bobs. It's strange, but I find myself drawn to it. I am suspicious of the boobah.

And now, the weirdest site confirms my suspicions. Check it out, but first make sure you have someone nearby who can jolt you out of your boobah trance, 'cuz you're gonna need it.

I'm too young for 'Senior Moments'

So I go to log into this blog I signed up for yesterday and already I've forgotten my username. How stupid am I? don't answer that.

I went to lunch today at a Mongolian Grill. For the uninitiated, it's a place where you get a bowl, go down a salad-bar-esque line choosing ingredients and sauces, and at then give your bowl full o' goodies to the chef, who cooks it on this great slab of metal with fire underneath. Some pretty fancy stir-fry, if you ask me. But it's yummy, because you get to choose exactly what you want in your lunch, and how much. You don't have to go all Meg-Ryan-in-When-Harry-Met-Sally and ask for everything 'on the side' in order to get it to taste just the way you want it. On the other hand, if your meal sucks, you have no one to blame but yourself. I'm okay with that.

Apparently, the tradition of the Mongolian grill dates back to Genghis Khan and his posse. Roving warriors have to eat too, right? According to the story on the menu (I love it when they give me reading material while I wait), the warriors would hunt and/or gather their food, and then cook it in their metal shields over an open fire, using their swords as cooking utensils. Alas, no swords this time. I guess I'll have to head on over to the Japanese steak house for some true culinary knife-play. 'Cuz I dig that stuff.

In other news, I have created what I hope is a masthead for this site. I have no idea what size it's actually supposed to be, or how to make it go where it's supposed to, but I have begun the process of putting it online so that I can link to it. Any suggestions/assistance will be appreciated.

[update: found image hoster, but since I've redesigned the site and changed the colors - the motif, if you will - my masthead ... ...doesn't really look right.]

Nesting

Thanks to the inspiration from a movie I've watched oh,..thousands of times over the last weekend, I've decided to redecorate my apartment. I've had a sort of sage/celadon green thang going for the past year and a half, but now I'm thinking something more along the lines of spice, cinnamon, and burnt orange. There's something about naming colors, and using their 'fabulous' names that helps to conjure the image of that color. For instance, 'Curry Spice' gives a much better idea of the color concept than 'Marooney-orange."
Perhaps it's the recent upsurge of wanderlust, but I feel my living space should have a more international feel. So far I've only rearranged/updated one wall, and made a flower arrangement (silks, dahling - they never need watering), but I'm feeeling all inspired and who knows, maybe I'll clean a little too, while I'm at it!

In other news, I have an event to go to on Sunday evening and I'm required to bring a "finger dessert." eww. Since Halloween is over, I'll just assume they mean a dessert that may be picked up and eaten with the fingers, and not something more gruesome. I've decided on my mother's recipe for cocoons, which are little crispy cookie things coated in confectioner's sugar. If I can get my stuff together, I'll even show ya'll a picture and post the recipe, so everyone can partake of the yummy holiday goodness.

Birth

Kicking and screaming into this crazy blogging world.

Truth be told, blogspot, you're not my first. But as I've matured, so should my blog. That's why I chose you. You are the blog spot of grownups, witty personages, and at least one 'real life' friend of mine. Cheers to the start of what I hope will become a beautiful friendship.

And the first entry - should it contain a little something about me? something about what's going on in my world today? Musings on my world in general?

Nah. Gotta save something for tomorrow.