The Week(e)nd
I hope all of you in CA will remain safe. <3
Let's see: destructive fires, massive earthquakes, devastating hurricanes, mass shootings, trash talking with nuclear-weapon-wielding despots ... did I miss anything? >_<
Fairly nondescript weekend, although I did kick my legs out from under myself on Saturday at tkd class, trying to do a kick that my PA tkd school didn't like so I'd never done it until 2 weeks ago. Landed flat on my back, essentially unhurt, but I had minor whiplash pain in my neck Sun-Mon. MiniPlu volunteered at a color run (where they throw colored chalk at you as you pass by) - she did this last year and had a great time, but this year they stuck her and her friend on bounce-house-minding duty, instead of chalk duty. The region where the race was has a reputation for rich brats and, sure enough, MiniPlu came home in a towering rage at the horrible children she'd had to deal with for several hours, while their moms stood around, noses in phones, and did nothing. Our church had their first-ever doggie-themed picnic/bbq thing - low-key and casual, but it was nice to take Jade on a field trip, so to speak, and the animals were all blessed by our priest. (We told Jade this means we expect her to be positively angelic from now on.)
Also on Saturday, I was pulled over by a cop and politely informed that my car was just barely out of registration. And - crap - he was right. I'm too used to thinking of my car as having April registration from PA, and not the Sept registration it has now in NJ. The thing was - neither Will nor I ever saw any registration renewals, which are supposed to come in the mail 2-3 months ahead of time. So, of course, we didn't remember at all - and now all three of our vehicles (each of our cars, plus Will's beat-up pickup truck) were legally unusable. I was thankful the cop was friendly and polite and didn't bitch me out or give me a ticket, but I wasn't keen on risking a less-patient cop. Which meant I was stuck with driving Rob's beat-up VW Jetta wagon until noon today. Don't get me wrong - I was incredibly thankful to HAVE a car to use, for free, but still - it's an old diesel, very rumbly, reverse and 1st gear sometimes stick, the a/c doesn't work, the passenger side mirror is missing (the wing part is there - just no glass) the windshield needs cleaning on the inside and just ... not really my favorite thing to drive, you know?
So, it was with relief that Will and I were able to traipse out today after lunch to get the issue resolved. (For you non-US folks, yesterday was a government holiday in honor of Columbus indigenous people shop sales needing a day off, dammit who knows? - but this meant we couldn't re-register the cars until today.) DMV lines can be nasty, but we were pretty lucky, getting in and out in about 20 mins.
Otherwise, yes, weekend was fine. Ran a bunch of errands, kids and I got our flu shots, slogged through exhaustion yesterday (Mon) morning - I was awake from 7:40a-9a, went back to bed in lieu of running, got up again at 10:30a, dragged my feet until finally going to the kitchen to make caramel for the apple pie I'd baked the night before, and pumpkin chocolate-chip bread to take to school today. And only around 12:15p did I finally get around to the treadmill.
Will and I seem to be taking turns being mopey and depressed. I suppose it's better than both struggling at the same time, but it means not a lot of joy going around, you know?
So here, have a smile: how to put peanut butter on bread in five easy steps, none of which involve just using a knife. :P
Yuletide assignments are out! I am cautiously optimistic about my assignment. It definitely bears a lot of further thought, but I really hope I can have fun with it. Anyone else on my flist participating in Yuletide this year?
Speaking of fandoms, here's the rest of the 'shipping meme, gacked from thesmallhobbit:
21. Is there a ship you just don't get, but have nothing against?
Hermione or Ron with Draco. Maria/Sam (MCU - like, have those two ever even spoken? But I see people put them together as side ships all the time).
22. Which of your ships have the best chemistry?
Uh, all of them? I wouldn't like them if I didn't feel they had good chemistry. Maybe Steve/Bucky and Whyborne/Griffin?
23. Which of your ships deserve better writing?
Some ships deserve more attention, period.
24. Do you mostly ship canon pairings?
I like a lot of canon pairings, but most of the time I'm not interested in reading fanfic for them. There are a few exceptions, like Mori/Nathanial (Watchmaker), Simon/Bram (Simon vs…), Adam/Ronan (Raven Cycle) and Whyborne/Griffin.
25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?
I saw a John/Sherlock vid from S1 before I'd had a chance to see it, but that was more about John being put upon than proper shippiness. Still, it very much intrigued me.
26. Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you're more drawn to?
M/M slash, for sure. Imperfect people figuring themselves out. Equal relationships. H/C.
27. Is there a ship you've shipped for most of your life?
I was nearly 30 before I shipped anybody, lol, so, no.
28. Does shipping come easily to you?
It depends on the characters.
29. Do you need to ship something to really enjoy a movie/book/tv show/comic?
Nope. I mean, I read all the way through GoF with only a mild interest in the obvious teen-appropriate UST between Ron/Hermione, because it hadn't even dawned on me I could age the characters up for shipping, lol. I suppose now that I'm in the habit of thinking of 'ships I'm more likely to do it for new canon (regardless of media) but it's not a given.
30. Name a couple of fandoms in which you have no ships.
I tend not to 'ship much for LotR/Hobbit. Which I realize is not "a couple" but it's what's immediately coming to mind.
31. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love.
Bucky loved Steve long before he had the serum.
32. Share five must-read fics.
Click on the "Fic recs" tag - I have recs for Harry/Draco, John/Sherlock, Steve/Bucky (and Steve/Bucky/Tony), plus a whole pile of small fandoms via various Yuletide explorations - RoL, Discworld, Fiddler on the Roof, Gentleman Bastards, Emperor's New Groove, Frasier, etc etc.
33. Name your favorite fanartist(s).
Currently it's petite_madam for Captain America-verse (also Supernatural, although I'm not in that fandom). There are a number of favorite artists who have retired or dropped off the face of the earth over the years, too.
34. Share your favorite fanmix for your OTP.
Is that like a playlist you envision as representing your OTP? Never heard one or made one.
35. Recommend 1-5 shipper blogs.
Steve/Bucky: "The Life of Bucky Barnes" on both Tumblr and Instagram - it's not a traditional "shipper blog" - none of which I follow - but it sort of is one.
36. Do you create fanmixes/gif sets/fanart/fic/fanvids and so on for you ships?
Fic, almost solely, although I've done a little art here and there, too.
37. Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP?
For the most part I'm not crazy about AUs in general, except in the case of "EWE" for Harry Potter. (That being said, there's a number of AUs I've enjoyed despite myself, but no particular trope that draws me in.) Tropes … h/C for some fics, "accidentally locked in a closet/room/basement/etc together" hand-touching, first kisses, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers (I have more than one OTP, okay?).
38. Do you like and use ship names?
The only one I ever adopted was "Stucky". I either am blandly neutral about others, or completely against them. "Drarry"? *blech* *shudder*
39. Is there a fictional relationship you'd really want for yourself?
When I was younger, I wanted a relationship like in Elfquest, with or without Recognition, but with *sending*. I think one of the things I like about Steve/Bucky is the lifelong history. Well, ok, there's nearly 70 years of nothing in the middle, but they have their friendship as kids, then as young men, and now as modern adults. Childhood sweethearts, as it were, whether they actually got together as younglings or not. I think it would be neat to have THAT much history with someone you loved.
40. If you could change one thing about your OTP, what would that be?
In terms of the way people tend to portray it, you mean? For people who write AUs, don't lose sight of the characters' core personalities. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading original fic that has canon names randomly attached to otherwise could-be-anybody characters.
And, as usual, I need to go fall on my face now.
Let's see: destructive fires, massive earthquakes, devastating hurricanes, mass shootings, trash talking with nuclear-weapon-wielding despots ... did I miss anything? >_<
Fairly nondescript weekend, although I did kick my legs out from under myself on Saturday at tkd class, trying to do a kick that my PA tkd school didn't like so I'd never done it until 2 weeks ago. Landed flat on my back, essentially unhurt, but I had minor whiplash pain in my neck Sun-Mon. MiniPlu volunteered at a color run (where they throw colored chalk at you as you pass by) - she did this last year and had a great time, but this year they stuck her and her friend on bounce-house-minding duty, instead of chalk duty. The region where the race was has a reputation for rich brats and, sure enough, MiniPlu came home in a towering rage at the horrible children she'd had to deal with for several hours, while their moms stood around, noses in phones, and did nothing. Our church had their first-ever doggie-themed picnic/bbq thing - low-key and casual, but it was nice to take Jade on a field trip, so to speak, and the animals were all blessed by our priest. (We told Jade this means we expect her to be positively angelic from now on.)
Also on Saturday, I was pulled over by a cop and politely informed that my car was just barely out of registration. And - crap - he was right. I'm too used to thinking of my car as having April registration from PA, and not the Sept registration it has now in NJ. The thing was - neither Will nor I ever saw any registration renewals, which are supposed to come in the mail 2-3 months ahead of time. So, of course, we didn't remember at all - and now all three of our vehicles (each of our cars, plus Will's beat-up pickup truck) were legally unusable. I was thankful the cop was friendly and polite and didn't bitch me out or give me a ticket, but I wasn't keen on risking a less-patient cop. Which meant I was stuck with driving Rob's beat-up VW Jetta wagon until noon today. Don't get me wrong - I was incredibly thankful to HAVE a car to use, for free, but still - it's an old diesel, very rumbly, reverse and 1st gear sometimes stick, the a/c doesn't work, the passenger side mirror is missing (the wing part is there - just no glass) the windshield needs cleaning on the inside and just ... not really my favorite thing to drive, you know?
So, it was with relief that Will and I were able to traipse out today after lunch to get the issue resolved. (For you non-US folks, yesterday was a government holiday in honor of Columbus indigenous people shop sales needing a day off, dammit who knows? - but this meant we couldn't re-register the cars until today.) DMV lines can be nasty, but we were pretty lucky, getting in and out in about 20 mins.
Otherwise, yes, weekend was fine. Ran a bunch of errands, kids and I got our flu shots, slogged through exhaustion yesterday (Mon) morning - I was awake from 7:40a-9a, went back to bed in lieu of running, got up again at 10:30a, dragged my feet until finally going to the kitchen to make caramel for the apple pie I'd baked the night before, and pumpkin chocolate-chip bread to take to school today. And only around 12:15p did I finally get around to the treadmill.
Will and I seem to be taking turns being mopey and depressed. I suppose it's better than both struggling at the same time, but it means not a lot of joy going around, you know?
So here, have a smile: how to put peanut butter on bread in five easy steps, none of which involve just using a knife. :P
Yuletide assignments are out! I am cautiously optimistic about my assignment. It definitely bears a lot of further thought, but I really hope I can have fun with it. Anyone else on my flist participating in Yuletide this year?
Speaking of fandoms, here's the rest of the 'shipping meme, gacked from thesmallhobbit:
21. Is there a ship you just don't get, but have nothing against?
Hermione or Ron with Draco. Maria/Sam (MCU - like, have those two ever even spoken? But I see people put them together as side ships all the time).
22. Which of your ships have the best chemistry?
Uh, all of them? I wouldn't like them if I didn't feel they had good chemistry. Maybe Steve/Bucky and Whyborne/Griffin?
23. Which of your ships deserve better writing?
Some ships deserve more attention, period.
24. Do you mostly ship canon pairings?
I like a lot of canon pairings, but most of the time I'm not interested in reading fanfic for them. There are a few exceptions, like Mori/Nathanial (Watchmaker), Simon/Bram (Simon vs…), Adam/Ronan (Raven Cycle) and Whyborne/Griffin.
25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?
I saw a John/Sherlock vid from S1 before I'd had a chance to see it, but that was more about John being put upon than proper shippiness. Still, it very much intrigued me.
26. Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you're more drawn to?
M/M slash, for sure. Imperfect people figuring themselves out. Equal relationships. H/C.
27. Is there a ship you've shipped for most of your life?
I was nearly 30 before I shipped anybody, lol, so, no.
28. Does shipping come easily to you?
It depends on the characters.
29. Do you need to ship something to really enjoy a movie/book/tv show/comic?
Nope. I mean, I read all the way through GoF with only a mild interest in the obvious teen-appropriate UST between Ron/Hermione, because it hadn't even dawned on me I could age the characters up for shipping, lol. I suppose now that I'm in the habit of thinking of 'ships I'm more likely to do it for new canon (regardless of media) but it's not a given.
30. Name a couple of fandoms in which you have no ships.
I tend not to 'ship much for LotR/Hobbit. Which I realize is not "a couple" but it's what's immediately coming to mind.
31. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love.
Bucky loved Steve long before he had the serum.
32. Share five must-read fics.
Click on the "Fic recs" tag - I have recs for Harry/Draco, John/Sherlock, Steve/Bucky (and Steve/Bucky/Tony), plus a whole pile of small fandoms via various Yuletide explorations - RoL, Discworld, Fiddler on the Roof, Gentleman Bastards, Emperor's New Groove, Frasier, etc etc.
33. Name your favorite fanartist(s).
Currently it's petite_madam for Captain America-verse (also Supernatural, although I'm not in that fandom). There are a number of favorite artists who have retired or dropped off the face of the earth over the years, too.
34. Share your favorite fanmix for your OTP.
Is that like a playlist you envision as representing your OTP? Never heard one or made one.
35. Recommend 1-5 shipper blogs.
Steve/Bucky: "The Life of Bucky Barnes" on both Tumblr and Instagram - it's not a traditional "shipper blog" - none of which I follow - but it sort of is one.
36. Do you create fanmixes/gif sets/fanart/fic/fanvids and so on for you ships?
Fic, almost solely, although I've done a little art here and there, too.
37. Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP?
For the most part I'm not crazy about AUs in general, except in the case of "EWE" for Harry Potter. (That being said, there's a number of AUs I've enjoyed despite myself, but no particular trope that draws me in.) Tropes … h/C for some fics, "accidentally locked in a closet/room/basement/etc together" hand-touching, first kisses, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers (I have more than one OTP, okay?).
38. Do you like and use ship names?
The only one I ever adopted was "Stucky". I either am blandly neutral about others, or completely against them. "Drarry"? *blech* *shudder*
39. Is there a fictional relationship you'd really want for yourself?
When I was younger, I wanted a relationship like in Elfquest, with or without Recognition, but with *sending*. I think one of the things I like about Steve/Bucky is the lifelong history. Well, ok, there's nearly 70 years of nothing in the middle, but they have their friendship as kids, then as young men, and now as modern adults. Childhood sweethearts, as it were, whether they actually got together as younglings or not. I think it would be neat to have THAT much history with someone you loved.
40. If you could change one thing about your OTP, what would that be?
In terms of the way people tend to portray it, you mean? For people who write AUs, don't lose sight of the characters' core personalities. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading original fic that has canon names randomly attached to otherwise could-be-anybody characters.
And, as usual, I need to go fall on my face now.