SnOMG, and other tales from Bluey-land
About time to check in again, no? I meant to do it sooner, but perhaps that was always a foolish idea in the face of midterm week. *g* In any case, I clearly made it through, and even Valentine's Day was quite lovely. My Dad surprised me with the most massive and glorious rose I've ever seen--white, edged in sort of a vivid lipstick pink, and beautifully fragrant. Dad apologized for not getting me chocolates, but said that he knows how hard I've worked and how much progress I've made, and he wanted to respect that, while still marking the day and making me feel special.
He succeeded brilliantly, of course. I don't say it often enough, but I know I'm lucky to have such wonderful and supportive parents. The rose is still going strong in its bud vase on my desk, and each time I look at it, I feel loved. :-)
In other, less soppy news, Winter Break began on Friday, and life has been... well, surprisingly eventful since then. 98% good, to be honest, which is a trend that I can only hope continues, but a freak blizzard on Sunday night/Monday morning has put a few kinks in the works. Not enough to dent my cheerfulness or my optimism for the week, but still.
Where else to start but at the beginning?
Friday was a day of both great efficiency and many pleasures and ego-boosts. It was unseasonably warm and ridiculously, cheerfully sunny, and as such, nearly all of the snow was gone, gone, gone. This did, of course, lead to the sad and watery deaths of poor Howard and Vince, so I was very glad I got photos of them the previous weekend.
On the other hand, it's probably just as well that Vince melted when he did, because by Friday, I needed those sunglasses back. ;-)
Also--a quick sidebar for those of you who didn't get to hear my ridiculous fangirly flailing on Buzz. (If you've already heard this one, just skip to the next bit, okay?)
There is another story to go with the Booshy snowmen pictures I posted. On the encouragement of gina_r_snape, I tweeted the snowmen pictures at those members of the Boosh who are on Twitter. I didn't expect anything to come of that; I really just wanted to let them know that they'd inspired me to do something silly and fun in tribute, and I hoped it would give them a grin, if indeed they got to see the pictures at all. Celebrities are, after all, inundated with an absurd number of tweets, ranging from the abusive to the pathetic to the simply friendly and supportive, and there was certainly no guarantee they would see mine.
But. Apparently they did see them--and, presumably, liked them. Liked them enough that one of the members of the Boosh (Dave Brown, whom you might know as Bollo... or Extreme Sports Calendar, or Naan Bread, or Jacques Le Cube, or Joey Moose) retweeted the picture and my caption to his followers. Which led to more comments and followers and it showing up on Tumblr and a slight panic attack on my part (out of happiness, yes, but still). I'm having trouble believing that this actually happened in reality, rather than a fannish fantasy. It's a bit surreal. I can't quite get my head around it! But it's lovely, all the more so for being unexpected, and it only reinforces my affection for the Boosh. &hearts
/fangirl flailing sidebar
So, Friday was a sunglasses sort of day. Because it was so warm and devoid of snow, I added my leather jacket and my favorite studded (NOT winter) boots to the mix, and it felt fabulous. That was one of many Fun Things for the day. Other Fun Things included getting a haircut (which went very well, and doubles as a Sensible Thing), a spot of consignment shopping (which yielded a lot of enjoyable treasure-hunting and finding, including a cool safari jacket that I have plans to tart up), and dinner, coffee, and good conversation at the Original Pancake House in Grosse Pointe, which is a source of much warm childhood nostalgia and many happy memories. (Also, the pancakes and egg white garden omelets are amazing. Truth. James Beard loved the Original House of Pancakes, and so do I.) I also managed to fit in such Sensible Things as working out, several beta jobs (for lovely stories, it must be said) and some long-overdue loads of laundry.
The icing on Friday's cake came from an incident on my way home. Post-haircut, I stopped by the corner market in order to pick up a few things, and it just so happened that there was an unusually hot guy in the produce section. Nice hair, nice nose, stylishly dressed--very attractive, and not in a beefcake way.
Now, when I was going through my not-me funk, I probably would have admired the view from afar and not dared to do more than lift my gaze from the sweet peppers. Now I am reclaiming my peacock ways, however, and because I was feeling exceptionally pleased and confident and flirty, I decided to try a little experiment. I casually wandered over to an area strategically located in his line of sight, and I played it cool. If he saw me, great. If not, I hadn't lost anything more than a few minutes more than necessary looking at my lettuce options.
It was exceptionally gratifying to see him actually stop in his tracks, do a double-take, and check me out. And continue checking me out. And still be sneaking glances at me (not in a creeper way, thank goodness) as we walked out to the parking lot.
Inwardly, I was doing a nerdy dance of disbelieving triumph that's more Liz Lemon than Brigitte Bardot. But I managed to hold in the rising squeeflail until I got home, so I'll call that one a win. *g* In any case, it was a great boost to the ego. That's one for the memory box, to be revisited whenever self-doubt rears its head. :D
Saturday was sunny but comparatively less exciting, although very productive--lots of Sensible Things accomplished in the form of running errands and picking up necessary supplies. (Which turned out to be excellent timing; see below.) I also had a ball shopping for Goddaughter and Godson's birthday presents. Anything that involves shopping for cute clothing is automatically going to be enjoyable for me, and the enjoyment is only upped when that clothing is miniature in size. *g* The two of them are each easy to shop for in their own ways, as I know Godson will always be pleased with a) anything involving cars, motorcycles, or superheroes or b) anything orange, and Goddaughter... basically has exactly the same taste in clothing that I do, so if I think it's cool, she will, too. This never fails.
And I miiiiiight have succumbed to temptation and picked up a few treats for myself, too, in the forms of a new zebra-print scarf and a cowboy hat. ~rueful~ I tried to resist, but they were calling my name. Actually, considering how many cute scarves I saw, I think I showed remarkable restraint. But I'm very happy with both purchases, and have already worn the scarf twice, so I guess my poor impulse control was a good thing in this case. *g* And yes, subvers, there will be picspam as soon as I find my camera cable for uploading. I promise.
Sunday began earlier than expected, and COLD. There were predictions of a "wintry mix," sleety sort of storm coming later in the day, so the afternoon/evening birthday party out in Oxford quickly morphed into a as-soon-as-everybody-can-get-here birthday party, in the hopes of getting everybody there and back while the roads were still in good condition. It should be noted that at no point did any of the predictions mention really significant snowfall. The prediction was for perhaps four inches, at most. We all believed that we were just trying to avoid icy driving conditions.
Anyway. We consolidated to a few cars, to make things easier, got to Oxford in good time, and had a lovely, lovely birthday party for Goddaughter and Godson. They're six and four now, respectively, and they're really getting to the stage where they're just... so freaking incredible to know, really. I absolutely adore them, and I adore spending time around them. They're clever and hilarious and sweet, and they have the most incredible imaginations. I love spinning stories and playing games with them. I love just talking with them. I love that they have, for whatever reason, decided that I am a cool person, and that they laugh uproariously at my jokes and then innocently ask "What does that mean?"
I just love them, basically. &hearts
And I was delighted that they liked their presents. Godson's newest obsession has been Darth Vader, ever since he saw that Volkswagen commercial, so he was very pleased with his new Darth Vader costume and insisted on wearing it for the rest of the party, as he ran around and tried to use The Force on everything. *g* Goddaughter, meanwhile, is scripting some massively complicated drama for her new dolls, and couldn't wait to dig into the new art supplies in order to draw costume and set designs.
Did I mention that they're cool? :D
Mini-me is also incredibly cool, for all that she is not quite a year old yet. The Wee Me is going through a phase where she cries at the first sight of people who are not her mom or dad, and even her poor grandmothers can't approach her without her bursting into tears. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, she still adores me and wants me to hold her continuously. Which is absolutely wonderful, if bizarre. I have no clue why I'm the exception. My only theory is that perhaps she really likes the way I dress, since she's always trying to grab my hair/scarves/necklaces, touch my face and lips, and so on. Perhaps she will grow up to have a wicked sense of style. *g* But in any case, she is a love bug, and it's no hardship to hold her.
The Godkids also proudly presented me with a late (and very unexpected) Christmas present: a Kindle. ~shocked~ This floored me then, and still floors me now, but it is very appreciated, and I can report that I'm already deeply in love. Nothing I had read or heard about them prepared me for the sheer coolness of the thing, and I'm having a very good time exploring my new toy. I thanked them (and their parents) profusely. (And for those of you who are Kindle users: any recommendations regarding e-reader covers? I'm looking for something that will keep it safe, but is still stylish and fun.)
But all good things must come to an end, so we set off for home at the very first sign of snow. Even so, we weren't fast enough, because what was falling wasn't the wintry mix that was predicted--it was a straight-up snowstorm, and a strong one. By the time we made it to the freeway, it was a whiteout. By the time I finally got home, there were several inches of snow on the ground.
The roads were a nightmare, and as slowly and carefully as we were moving, our car still spun out and very nearly sailed over the shoulder and down the embankment. Astonishingly, the driver was able to regain control of the car, and we made it back into the main stream of traffic without a scratch, but I think my heart was pounding for a good hour afterward, and we were all in that shaky, half-hysterical, half-inappropriately joking state. I'd actually had a moment where I thought, "Oh NO, not like this," and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. As we got closer to home, I looked down and realized that I was still clutching my seat belt in a white-knuckled death-grip.
So. Needless to say, in spite of the ten inches of heavy, wet snow, and the still-unplowed, impassable roads, and the fact that I'm still snowed in, and the temps that have once again plunged down near zero... I'm feeling pretty damn happy to be alive. The sun is shining, we're all in the correct amount of pieces, I have heat and ample food and supplies, and if this isn't exactly the way I planned to spend my winter break, well, I'm choosing to look at it as an opportunity to focus on grading and writing, cuddling with warm cats, and enjoying my new Kindle. I have too many things for which to be grateful to waste time feeling exasperated or pouty.
Maybe I'll even find the time to put together a few more fandom snowpeople. After all, I have ample material for it. ;-)
He succeeded brilliantly, of course. I don't say it often enough, but I know I'm lucky to have such wonderful and supportive parents. The rose is still going strong in its bud vase on my desk, and each time I look at it, I feel loved. :-)
In other, less soppy news, Winter Break began on Friday, and life has been... well, surprisingly eventful since then. 98% good, to be honest, which is a trend that I can only hope continues, but a freak blizzard on Sunday night/Monday morning has put a few kinks in the works. Not enough to dent my cheerfulness or my optimism for the week, but still.
Where else to start but at the beginning?
Friday was a day of both great efficiency and many pleasures and ego-boosts. It was unseasonably warm and ridiculously, cheerfully sunny, and as such, nearly all of the snow was gone, gone, gone. This did, of course, lead to the sad and watery deaths of poor Howard and Vince, so I was very glad I got photos of them the previous weekend.
On the other hand, it's probably just as well that Vince melted when he did, because by Friday, I needed those sunglasses back. ;-)
Also--a quick sidebar for those of you who didn't get to hear my ridiculous fangirly flailing on Buzz. (If you've already heard this one, just skip to the next bit, okay?)
There is another story to go with the Booshy snowmen pictures I posted. On the encouragement of gina_r_snape, I tweeted the snowmen pictures at those members of the Boosh who are on Twitter. I didn't expect anything to come of that; I really just wanted to let them know that they'd inspired me to do something silly and fun in tribute, and I hoped it would give them a grin, if indeed they got to see the pictures at all. Celebrities are, after all, inundated with an absurd number of tweets, ranging from the abusive to the pathetic to the simply friendly and supportive, and there was certainly no guarantee they would see mine.
But. Apparently they did see them--and, presumably, liked them. Liked them enough that one of the members of the Boosh (Dave Brown, whom you might know as Bollo... or Extreme Sports Calendar, or Naan Bread, or Jacques Le Cube, or Joey Moose) retweeted the picture and my caption to his followers. Which led to more comments and followers and it showing up on Tumblr and a slight panic attack on my part (out of happiness, yes, but still). I'm having trouble believing that this actually happened in reality, rather than a fannish fantasy. It's a bit surreal. I can't quite get my head around it! But it's lovely, all the more so for being unexpected, and it only reinforces my affection for the Boosh. &hearts
/fangirl flailing sidebar
So, Friday was a sunglasses sort of day. Because it was so warm and devoid of snow, I added my leather jacket and my favorite studded (NOT winter) boots to the mix, and it felt fabulous. That was one of many Fun Things for the day. Other Fun Things included getting a haircut (which went very well, and doubles as a Sensible Thing), a spot of consignment shopping (which yielded a lot of enjoyable treasure-hunting and finding, including a cool safari jacket that I have plans to tart up), and dinner, coffee, and good conversation at the Original Pancake House in Grosse Pointe, which is a source of much warm childhood nostalgia and many happy memories. (Also, the pancakes and egg white garden omelets are amazing. Truth. James Beard loved the Original House of Pancakes, and so do I.) I also managed to fit in such Sensible Things as working out, several beta jobs (for lovely stories, it must be said) and some long-overdue loads of laundry.
The icing on Friday's cake came from an incident on my way home. Post-haircut, I stopped by the corner market in order to pick up a few things, and it just so happened that there was an unusually hot guy in the produce section. Nice hair, nice nose, stylishly dressed--very attractive, and not in a beefcake way.
Now, when I was going through my not-me funk, I probably would have admired the view from afar and not dared to do more than lift my gaze from the sweet peppers. Now I am reclaiming my peacock ways, however, and because I was feeling exceptionally pleased and confident and flirty, I decided to try a little experiment. I casually wandered over to an area strategically located in his line of sight, and I played it cool. If he saw me, great. If not, I hadn't lost anything more than a few minutes more than necessary looking at my lettuce options.
It was exceptionally gratifying to see him actually stop in his tracks, do a double-take, and check me out. And continue checking me out. And still be sneaking glances at me (not in a creeper way, thank goodness) as we walked out to the parking lot.
Inwardly, I was doing a nerdy dance of disbelieving triumph that's more Liz Lemon than Brigitte Bardot. But I managed to hold in the rising squeeflail until I got home, so I'll call that one a win. *g* In any case, it was a great boost to the ego. That's one for the memory box, to be revisited whenever self-doubt rears its head. :D
Saturday was sunny but comparatively less exciting, although very productive--lots of Sensible Things accomplished in the form of running errands and picking up necessary supplies. (Which turned out to be excellent timing; see below.) I also had a ball shopping for Goddaughter and Godson's birthday presents. Anything that involves shopping for cute clothing is automatically going to be enjoyable for me, and the enjoyment is only upped when that clothing is miniature in size. *g* The two of them are each easy to shop for in their own ways, as I know Godson will always be pleased with a) anything involving cars, motorcycles, or superheroes or b) anything orange, and Goddaughter... basically has exactly the same taste in clothing that I do, so if I think it's cool, she will, too. This never fails.
And I miiiiiight have succumbed to temptation and picked up a few treats for myself, too, in the forms of a new zebra-print scarf and a cowboy hat. ~rueful~ I tried to resist, but they were calling my name. Actually, considering how many cute scarves I saw, I think I showed remarkable restraint. But I'm very happy with both purchases, and have already worn the scarf twice, so I guess my poor impulse control was a good thing in this case. *g* And yes, subvers, there will be picspam as soon as I find my camera cable for uploading. I promise.
Sunday began earlier than expected, and COLD. There were predictions of a "wintry mix," sleety sort of storm coming later in the day, so the afternoon/evening birthday party out in Oxford quickly morphed into a as-soon-as-everybody-can-get-here birthday party, in the hopes of getting everybody there and back while the roads were still in good condition. It should be noted that at no point did any of the predictions mention really significant snowfall. The prediction was for perhaps four inches, at most. We all believed that we were just trying to avoid icy driving conditions.
Anyway. We consolidated to a few cars, to make things easier, got to Oxford in good time, and had a lovely, lovely birthday party for Goddaughter and Godson. They're six and four now, respectively, and they're really getting to the stage where they're just... so freaking incredible to know, really. I absolutely adore them, and I adore spending time around them. They're clever and hilarious and sweet, and they have the most incredible imaginations. I love spinning stories and playing games with them. I love just talking with them. I love that they have, for whatever reason, decided that I am a cool person, and that they laugh uproariously at my jokes and then innocently ask "What does that mean?"
I just love them, basically. &hearts
And I was delighted that they liked their presents. Godson's newest obsession has been Darth Vader, ever since he saw that Volkswagen commercial, so he was very pleased with his new Darth Vader costume and insisted on wearing it for the rest of the party, as he ran around and tried to use The Force on everything. *g* Goddaughter, meanwhile, is scripting some massively complicated drama for her new dolls, and couldn't wait to dig into the new art supplies in order to draw costume and set designs.
Did I mention that they're cool? :D
Mini-me is also incredibly cool, for all that she is not quite a year old yet. The Wee Me is going through a phase where she cries at the first sight of people who are not her mom or dad, and even her poor grandmothers can't approach her without her bursting into tears. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, she still adores me and wants me to hold her continuously. Which is absolutely wonderful, if bizarre. I have no clue why I'm the exception. My only theory is that perhaps she really likes the way I dress, since she's always trying to grab my hair/scarves/necklaces, touch my face and lips, and so on. Perhaps she will grow up to have a wicked sense of style. *g* But in any case, she is a love bug, and it's no hardship to hold her.
The Godkids also proudly presented me with a late (and very unexpected) Christmas present: a Kindle. ~shocked~ This floored me then, and still floors me now, but it is very appreciated, and I can report that I'm already deeply in love. Nothing I had read or heard about them prepared me for the sheer coolness of the thing, and I'm having a very good time exploring my new toy. I thanked them (and their parents) profusely. (And for those of you who are Kindle users: any recommendations regarding e-reader covers? I'm looking for something that will keep it safe, but is still stylish and fun.)
But all good things must come to an end, so we set off for home at the very first sign of snow. Even so, we weren't fast enough, because what was falling wasn't the wintry mix that was predicted--it was a straight-up snowstorm, and a strong one. By the time we made it to the freeway, it was a whiteout. By the time I finally got home, there were several inches of snow on the ground.
The roads were a nightmare, and as slowly and carefully as we were moving, our car still spun out and very nearly sailed over the shoulder and down the embankment. Astonishingly, the driver was able to regain control of the car, and we made it back into the main stream of traffic without a scratch, but I think my heart was pounding for a good hour afterward, and we were all in that shaky, half-hysterical, half-inappropriately joking state. I'd actually had a moment where I thought, "Oh NO, not like this," and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. As we got closer to home, I looked down and realized that I was still clutching my seat belt in a white-knuckled death-grip.
So. Needless to say, in spite of the ten inches of heavy, wet snow, and the still-unplowed, impassable roads, and the fact that I'm still snowed in, and the temps that have once again plunged down near zero... I'm feeling pretty damn happy to be alive. The sun is shining, we're all in the correct amount of pieces, I have heat and ample food and supplies, and if this isn't exactly the way I planned to spend my winter break, well, I'm choosing to look at it as an opportunity to focus on grading and writing, cuddling with warm cats, and enjoying my new Kindle. I have too many things for which to be grateful to waste time feeling exasperated or pouty.
Maybe I'll even find the time to put together a few more fandom snowpeople. After all, I have ample material for it. ;-)