A Happy All Hallows Eve To You!

G's Eyes Are Bigger Than His Tummy

For some reason, Blogger wouldn't let me post more than one picture yesterday, so I was unable to include the pic of G trying to eat the prize-winning pumpkin. So I include it as today's post for your viewing pleasure.

Orangey Goodness

On Saturday, G & I took a drive down the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway to Half Moon Bay, famous for its devotion to all things pumpkin. Unfortunately, the festival was a couple of weeks ago and I am, therefore, still trying to get my pumpkin ice cream fix, but we did get a couple of kick-@ss punkins. We also got to see this year's pumpkin weigh-off winner, which (for reasons unclear) G tried to eat. And, most importantly, I got to chase a chicken around the maze of gourds. Because guess what? Chicken butt! Hello, I am Lucy and I am 12.

National Blog Posting Month

I am told by the internets that November is National Blog Posting Month. And if it's on the internet, it must be true. The challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to post every day of the month. Without cheating and backdating posts. I'm going to give it a shot. I already post 5 days a week and it doesn't seem like an extra 2 days would be much of a stretch. Although I usually rely on weekend activities to provide fodder for Monday's post. Expect a lot of pictures.

Better Living Through Chemistry

As most of you know, I have chronic problems involving my right shoulder, a pinched nerve, and pain pain ohmigawd the pain! It got so bad a couple of days ago that I broke down and took an illicit muscle relaxer. Worked like a charm, although I had to go to bed at 7:00pm because I couldn't keep my eyes open (remember that scene in Sixteen Candles?). It worked so well, in fact, that Naproxin is now my new favorite drug, bypassing 800mg doses of Ibuprofen (honorable mention, of course, to Demerol). And that's saying something because I'm still fairly convinced that 800mg doses of Ibuprofen could cure cancer. And AIDS. And athlete's foot. Unfortunately, I can't be that sleepy at work and I'm therefore forced to resort to my beloved Ibuprofen. Which would be fine if only I had cancer and not the sensation of someone shoving a red hot poker up my shoulder blade and down to my elbow.

War Is Heck

Generally, I don't do violence. I don't care for it in my television shows, my movies, even my video games (Ratchet turning enemies into sheep and then whacking them into cotton fluff doesn't count [Ooooh, I just read that in the new Ratchet game, out soon, there is a weapon that turns enemies into penguins, which you can then force to dance under a disco ball--I can't wait!]). And absolutely, positively, I boycott all shows about war (and those starring Cher, but that's another blog entry).

Of course, there is the occasional exception for a show so well reviewed it might be worth while. The latest of these exceptions was "The War," the critically acclaimed Ken Burns documentary about WWII. G & I just finished watching all 14 grueling hours. The mini-series focuses on 4 small war-towns (cities that had been industrialized to produce goods for the war effort), along with the men from those towns who went off to fight the battles. I saw in an interview with Ken Burns that after the initial screening, a WWII veteran came up to him and thanked him for representing the war the way he remembered it--the veteran had been waiting all his life for someone to talk about what individual soldiers had to go through.

It was exhausting to watch. I was physically tired after every episode--and we only watched an hour at a time (each episode is 2 hours)! And after all of that, what I walked away with was that war sucks. I mean, I know it sucks, but I don't think I really appreciated just how much. I think the sheer length of the documentary helps convey just how horrible is really was. There was a statistic given that 1 in 4 men developed shell shock and I just can't believe it wasn't a greater percentage. I can't believe anyone made it out without ending up in a padded cell, rocking back and forth.

I think watching that has changed my position when evaluating presidential candidates. I used to attribute the touting of a candidate's military service as right-wing/middle America claptrap. But I'm starting to see the wisdom of having a Commander-in-Chief who understands just exactly what he's asking of the people (s)he's sending off to fight, understands the way only someone who's been there can.

If you have the time (and the space on your Tivo), I recommend checking it out. Because it's PBS, it's repeating 15 times a day, so it shouldn't be hard to find.

Oh, and to explain the title of this entry: Some PBS stations are so wary of being fined by the FCC, they've edited out the soldier's swearing. Because showing people literally being shot to death (actual footage--no Hollywood reenactments here) and body parts littering beaches all over the Pacific is fine, but explaining the meaning of FUBAR will cost you $5 Million. I hate the FCC.

Holiday Knits Postage

Look what the USPS is coming out with this year for holiday stamps!!!!! I'm so excited I might have to learn fair isle.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

First, the good: I got my dress swatch! I'm so excited! This is (supposedly) a swatch from the actual fabric they are using to make the dress. It seems awfully ivory to me, though. I ordered it in diamond white and that's what the label says, but it just seems very ivory. No matter. I first tried it on in ivory and loved that color, too, so I'm not overly worried.

Now, the bad: I'm about 7 pounds heavier now than when I tried the dress on. I really, really, need to get back into the diet groove. I've got plenty of time, I know, but I'm worried that if I don't start soon, I'll let it go too long.

Finally, the ugly: The Bears lost again. To UCLA. And that pretty much dashes any Rose Bowl hopes. At this point, we're fighting just to get back to the Holiday Bowl. I hate freakin' San Diego. Grrrrr....rah.

I realize there was no warning on this post, but I figured the picture would give it away.

Stole This From Tonya's Blog

:HISTORY of :
Raised in: Folsom.
Planned baby : Surprise!
Birth date: 8/31.
Any siblings: 3 brothers (1 deceased).
Are you the oldest or youngest: Baby.
Hair color: Brown.
Hair length: Mid-shoulder.
First school: Theodore Judah.
Eye color: Green.
Shoe size: 9. Stop laughing.
Mood: Anxious (to go home).
Height: 5' 4"
Lefty/righty: Lefty Lucy.

:THIS OR THAT:
Love or fling: Love.
Hard liquor or beer: Beer.
One night stands or relationship: See #1.
Pepsi or Coke: Coke.
Fun night out or romantic: Fun night out with my romantic Sweetie.
Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla.
Phone or in person: In person.
Aim or myspace: Myspace.

:HAVE YOU EVER:
Have you ever been caught sneaking out? No.
Have you ever done something you regret? At least once per day.
Have you ever been on a house boat? No.
Have you ever finished a novel in a day? Not since elementary school when the books were never more than 100 pages.
Have you ever been streaking? No.
Have you ever been drunk? With a spot of luck, I'll be drunk this weekend.
Have you ever fallen in public? Once or twice.
Have you ever fallen asleep in class? No, although I did fall asleep at work when I accidentally doubled my dosage of cold medication.

ARE YOU:
Are you missing someone right now? My Sweetie and some members of my family. But I'm not telling which ones.
Are you talking to anyone right now? No.
Are you German? Nein.
Are you Italian? No.
Are you French? Non.
Are you Russian? Nyet.
Are you Norwegian? No.
Are you Irish? Beer.
Are you a silly person? No.
Are your parents still married? Not exactly.
Do you have a low self esteem? Sometimes.
Do you get depressed about things easily? No.
Do you live life to the fullest? I don't know what that means.
How do you dress? One pantleg at a time.
Are you scared of growing up old and alone? Old, yes; Alone, no.
Favorite season? Winter rocks.
Favorite colors? Navy blue.
Are you a vegetarian? Meat is murder. Tasty, tasty murder.
Current song your listening to? "Clicking of the Keys" by The Coworkers.

Mean People Suck

A couple of days ago, Feminist SAHM posted to her blog a litany of things that were irritating her about her son's school. Someone (anonymously) posted a comment essentially berating her for her views. And now I'm p*ssed. And not just because FSAHM has one more reader than I do.

A blog is a public outlet and we're naive to think otherwise. We have links to each other, links from our online groups (Ravelry, The Knot, etc.), and links from places we probably don't even know about. We are voluntarily putting our thoughts out there for other people (people we don't know) to read. And we should know that there are people who will read our blogs that disagree with us.

None of this I have a problem with. I don't think Anonymous should have to agree with everything s(he) reads. Or, as is often said, refrain from reading blogs offering dissenting views. Or even refrain from commenting to blogs that s(he) disagrees with. All of that is great. But could s(he) please show just a smidgen of civility? This is not FoxNews.

Retreat Pictures

So here we are (minus Robbyn & Jeff) in all our hatted glory. Back row: Knitty Nay, Me; Front row: Katie, Cynthia. I believe it was Knitty Nay who decided my hat made me look like Blossom. Shout out to Mayim! And many thanks to Katie for crocheting the border and the flower!

This picture just pretty much sums up the entire weekend.

And on our way home there were pumpkins! Lots and lots of pumpkins.

Happy National Boss Day!

According to my desk calendar, it is National Boss Day, to which I can only reply--isn't every day National Boss Day? And now that I think about it, my desk calendar was provided by my boss. Hmmmm....

Stitchin' & Bitchin'

First, the Stitchin': I'm back (mostly unscathed) from the knitting retreat. I'll post a couple of pictures tomorrow (I'm far too lame to have uploaded them yesterday), but the weekend was a great time where the following may or may not have happened:

• Screenings of Heathers, Top Gun, Steel Magnolias, Eddie Izzard, and a host of other movies that I slept through.
• Katie made out with a fawn.
• My bra was frozen.
• 2.1 metric tons of pizza, brownies, rice crispy treats, Doritos, Kit Kats, and Keebler fudge stripe cookies were consumed...mostly by me.
• Knitty Nay inappropriately spooned Katie.
• Cynthia & I figured out that she used to know my brother Ken back in their high school/Job's Daughters/Demolay days.
• Oh, and hats were made.

And now, the Bitchin': As predicted (and not woofed, as Sera insists), the Bears fell to the Beavers. But they didn't just lose, they lost in the stupidest way imaginable. Down by 3 with 11 seconds and no time outs left, the Bears decided to take one more shot at the end zone before sending on the field goal unit to tie the game. Unfortunately, Riley (backup quarterback and heretofore redshirt freshman) failed to do the one thing he absolutely had to do--throw the ball. Instead, he scrambled for 2 yards and watched helplessly as time ran out. As Tedford quickly pointed out, there were a lot more contributing factors to that loss than the last play, but I'm sure Riley's going to have a tough time on campus this week. Bonus Bitchin': The previously undefeated Cowboys lost to the Cheatin' Patriots yesterday. I'm not completely shocked by that loss, either, but it made for a miserable week of football.

What I'm Reading

A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two Afghan women and how their lives are affected by the circumstances of their culture and the wars of their homeland. It's an incredibly ambitious idea and an amazing novel, but I'm not sure how well Hosseini keys into Womanhood, as it were. Although I'm not sure how qualified I am to judge what is Muslim Womanhood, so take that for what it's worth.

In case you haven't been following the saga, Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner, has been made into a movie but there is drama surrounding the release. The book is about (among other things) the friendship between two boys--one a (ethnic majority) Pushtun and one a (minority) Hazara. They are very close friends for their entire lives, until one day when the Pushtun boy watches a gang of other Pushtun boys rape the Hazara boy without coming to his friend's aid. The incident has obvious consequences for the friendship, but also makes a profound statement about the depth of the ethnic divide in Afghanistan. Although the scene in the movie does not actually simulate the rape, it does make it clear what has happened and apparently this is so taboo in Afghanistan that the movie company has offered to relocate the actor (a Muslim living in Afghanistan) and his family, out of concerns for their safety.

Even Webpolls Call Me Loyal

What Your Pizza Reveals

Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either. You aren't particularly picky about pizza. It's so good... how could you be? You fit in best in the Western part of the US. You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods. You are dependable, loyal, and conservative with your choices. You are cultured and intellectual. You should consider traveling to Vienna. The stereotype that best fits you is emo. You think you're special... and you kind of are.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

**Wedding Warning**

Because I'm an obsessed dork, I frequent a couple of wedding chat boards. Most of the chatter centers around ideas people have seen and how they want to incorporate these ideas into their own weddings. There's also talk about how to deal with problems that inevitably arise when planning such an event.

Some of these ladies, however, need to get a grip.

Like the bride who complained that that her friends and family had given her too many place settings of her china and what a horrible inconvenience it will be to have to return the extras and how all of those gifts mean thank you cards and she really hates writing them and she'd rather not get a gift at all than have to write a thank you card. I'm sure if she showed that post to her friends, it could be arranged.

Today someone was complaining that she hasn't had heard from her bridesmaid in weeks and she can't believe that she has to plan this entire wedding by herself and her bridesmaid should really be helping and if she doesn't hear from her bridesmaid tonight, then she's going to fire her. Yes, fire her. Since when did being a bridesmaid become a job? And if it is a job, why aren't they getting paid? With something besides crappy lipgloss and a monogrammed totebag?

Ode to Coffee: A Haiku

Black nectar of life

What would I do without you

Thank heaven for Peets

Tales of a Homicidal Barber

Saturday night G & I trucked out to A.C.T. to see Sweeney Todd. The production had gotten a standing up clapping man from the Chronicle, so I was excited. The gimmick of the show is that the actors (who were all on stage for the entire performance) also play the score. As I read in the show's program, the producer said he had an easier time casting the show in the U.S. than he'd had in Britain because of the marching band tradition in high schools here and the general proliferation of school music programs in America. So support your local school music program and buy that wrapping paper!!

Unfortunately, G didn't have such a good time. He said that he thought it was really well done and he did like a couple of the songs, but there were too many "lullabies" and at some point he almost fell asleep. I'd held out some hope he'd like it, but (like most of the Y-chromosome contingent) he just doesn't really like musicals. So from now on it's non-musical theatre for the 'Nilla!

Now, a sports update: While we were at the theatre, Stanfurd was apparently busy upsetting #2 U$C and, consequently, lifting idle Cal into the #2 spot. Which is all fun and games until (mark my words) Cal falls to unranked Oregon State this Saturday. Thank goodness I'll be in Yosemite and won't have to watch.

And, finally, the moment you've all (and by all, I mean Jessica) been waiting for: The made-up headline was, of course, Bush and Putin Agree: Rainbows are pretty. A no-brainer really, since in order for that headline to be real, Bush and Putin would have to agree on something. The quiz was inspired by headlines I see sometimes on Yahoo. Throughout the day, I peruse the headlines and every once in a while I'm struck by one. It's usually the conclusion of some absurd study and and what I really want to know is who is writing these grant proposals?! Reincarnated snake oil salesmen? And what idiot is in charge of funding a (real, I swear to g*d) study to determine why prisoners want to break out of jail?!

If you need me I'll be off writing a proposal to study the effect of chocolate cake and cabernet on the waistline of the average 34-year-old knitter.

A Friday Quiz

Check back Monday for the answer!

It's like an 8 minute power nap.

I love the snooze alarm. To G, however, it seems like water torture. He simply cannot fathom why I would want to be repeatedly woken up when waking up is clearly so hard on me.

I set it for a solid half hour before I really have to get up so I can bask in the warmth of the bed and the knowledge that I have 30 glorious minutes of laying there doing nothing. Of course, at 5:30am there's a distinct probability that I will fall back asleep, so I hit the snooze to wake me back up. This is even better. I wake up again and still don't have to get up. Repeat twice more and this is my idea of a fine weekday morning.

Besides, if I wait long enough, G will already be up and have made coffee.

That is one fu**ed up game.

There is nothing about this website that doesn't disturb me.

Presents!

Because G would rather scuba dive in a tank full of piranha than step foot in a mall (can't blame him, really), Feminist SAHM came with me on Saturday to help register for wedding gifts. You would think that an entire afternoon of picking out stuff for other people to buy me would be very fine fun, indeed. But there you go, thinking again. G and I don't just have everything we need--we have two of everything we need. Two sets of Henkels, two Kitchenaid stand mixers, two of everything people are generally excited to register for. So most of the afternoon was spent wandering through the stores making fun of all the stuff we weren't scanning. Like a $135 crystal dreidel (shouldn't it be clay?). Or the ceramic cow creamer that barfs half & half into your coffee (you know the one I'm talking about).

In the end, I think we found enough stuff (lets hear it for small weddings!). But I may have finally reached that point in life where just spending this great day with my friends and family will be the only gift I need. Just in case, though, I think I'll go add some towels to the registry.

I Love Me a Geek!

G set it up so that I can download shows off of the Tivo and onto the PSP! I spent the entire BART ride to work this morning watching "Kitchen Nightmares." And on the way home I get to watch "ER."