august wrap-up
A few days behind the times, and a little abbreviated, but here we are!
Books:
23. The Stranger Beside Me (by Ann Rule)
24. The Rosie Project (by Graeme Simsion)
25. Sushi for Beginners (by Marian Keyes)
26. Lit (by Mary Karr)
27. The Other Side of the Story (by Marian Keyes)
Reviews at the book blog, as always.
Movies:
None!
TV:
Masterchef Australia wrapped up with a mediocre top three and a horrible winner. I gather that most everyone is pretty unhappy with the result, at least going by TWoP and the Facebook page. It was still fun to watch, though.
We also watched Broadchurch, which had some issues, but overall was enjoyable. I do have to say that I picked out the murderer in the first episode, totally based on gut instinct, and I was right!
Other Pop Culture and Internet and Stuff:
I highly recommend the series Learn Guitar with David Brent. [Insert standard disclaimer here about how Ricky Gervais is kind of an asshole but David Brent is so brilliant and perfectly played that I can't hold it against him even though I have tried.] I've had "Ooh La La" stuck in my head for days.
I also yet again have to complain about Flickr. I JUST WANT TO FIND THE MOST RECENT PICTURES IN MY MINA SET. I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO WAIT FOREVER FOR 1200 PICTURES TO LOAD AND SCROLL ALL THE WAY TO THE END BECAUSE THEY'RE ARRANGED FROM OLDEST TO NEWEST AND PRESENTED FULL SIZE FOR SOME IDIOTIC REASON AND THERE IS NO THUMBNAIL VIEW. I HATE YOU FLICKR. Anyone have an alternative? I'm tired of being so annoyed all the time. I would go to Picasa but that's Google's, and I'm still pissed at Google about Reader. Plus, Picasa does some annoying stuff too. Grr.
Birds:
None. Sigh. I did go out a few times despite how busy I was, but I didn't manage to see anything new.
Socializing/Travel:
Busy! I stopped by Annie and Eric's gorgeous studio, had dim sum with Jette who is here from Texas for a few weeks, and Ian's parents were here for a few days so we saw them. On top of that, I spent a weekend in Las Vegas for Michelle's penis-straw-themed bachelorette party, and the holiday weekend in Los Angeles for Michelle's wedding. Combine all of this with my work schedule (see below) and I honestly can't believe I managed it all!
The bachelorette party was a blast; we ate at the Caesar's Palace Buffet, had a couple of hot craps rolls (my really long one was only stopped when some bro put his hands on the table and bumped the dice, resulting in a seven), visited the Neon Museum, and drank through the aforementioned penis straws. And we laughed a lot. It was me, Caroline, Tiffany, Michelle, and our honorary bachelorette Steve. (He was also a Bridesman at the wedding.)
The wedding was also fun, although it was incredibly hot, and they planned Mina's part very poorly. (As in, she spent three hours waiting around in a flower girl dress and they didn't do pictures until after the wedding when she was dirty, tired, and over it. If it had been planned better we could have given her a nap, and she might have walked down the aisle instead of me having to carry her. But anyway, she looked cute, so whatever.
I also can't believe I got no good pictures of the three of us at the wedding, or any pictures of her with my parents, or any pictures of her with my sister and Tiff. I feel like it was too hot to think straight. (The temps were in the high 90s, and the wedding was outdoors.) Sigh.
Work:
I worked three different jobs this month: school started again on the 19th, I finished up my last couple of weeks at Chemico, and I spent two weeks freelancing at my old workplace while Annie was on vacation. All of this was prelude to my new job at DataCo, working with my friend srb. That job is what's going to make September nuts! I have also had to turn down two different other jobs, and I have one more freelance job that I have to squeeze in around my DataCo and Dollar College commitments. I feel so in demand!
Toddler:
The big development this month was that Mina started preschool. We are really happy with the decision to send her there; there are days when she doesn't want to leave when we come to pick her up. There are 17 kids in her class right now, and three very nice teachers. The first few days we had some lip trembling "putting on a brave face," asking us if we were coming back for her at the end of the day. But she adjusted and is doing great there overall, knock wood!
Here are some of her bon mots:
“You will not do that! That’s bad.”
(of a plastic pirate) “Who’s this little guy?”
(holding a remote control to her ear): “Hello, how can I help you?”
(cupping my face in her hands): “I love you. You’re the cutest bean!”
Resolutions:
Basically the same as last month, so no updates.
Some more August pictures:
Books:
23. The Stranger Beside Me (by Ann Rule)
24. The Rosie Project (by Graeme Simsion)
25. Sushi for Beginners (by Marian Keyes)
26. Lit (by Mary Karr)
27. The Other Side of the Story (by Marian Keyes)
Reviews at the book blog, as always.
Movies:
None!
TV:
Masterchef Australia wrapped up with a mediocre top three and a horrible winner. I gather that most everyone is pretty unhappy with the result, at least going by TWoP and the Facebook page. It was still fun to watch, though.
We also watched Broadchurch, which had some issues, but overall was enjoyable. I do have to say that I picked out the murderer in the first episode, totally based on gut instinct, and I was right!
Other Pop Culture and Internet and Stuff:
I highly recommend the series Learn Guitar with David Brent. [Insert standard disclaimer here about how Ricky Gervais is kind of an asshole but David Brent is so brilliant and perfectly played that I can't hold it against him even though I have tried.] I've had "Ooh La La" stuck in my head for days.
I also yet again have to complain about Flickr. I JUST WANT TO FIND THE MOST RECENT PICTURES IN MY MINA SET. I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO WAIT FOREVER FOR 1200 PICTURES TO LOAD AND SCROLL ALL THE WAY TO THE END BECAUSE THEY'RE ARRANGED FROM OLDEST TO NEWEST AND PRESENTED FULL SIZE FOR SOME IDIOTIC REASON AND THERE IS NO THUMBNAIL VIEW. I HATE YOU FLICKR. Anyone have an alternative? I'm tired of being so annoyed all the time. I would go to Picasa but that's Google's, and I'm still pissed at Google about Reader. Plus, Picasa does some annoying stuff too. Grr.
Birds:
None. Sigh. I did go out a few times despite how busy I was, but I didn't manage to see anything new.
Socializing/Travel:
Busy! I stopped by Annie and Eric's gorgeous studio, had dim sum with Jette who is here from Texas for a few weeks, and Ian's parents were here for a few days so we saw them. On top of that, I spent a weekend in Las Vegas for Michelle's penis-straw-themed bachelorette party, and the holiday weekend in Los Angeles for Michelle's wedding. Combine all of this with my work schedule (see below) and I honestly can't believe I managed it all!
The bachelorette party was a blast; we ate at the Caesar's Palace Buffet, had a couple of hot craps rolls (my really long one was only stopped when some bro put his hands on the table and bumped the dice, resulting in a seven), visited the Neon Museum, and drank through the aforementioned penis straws. And we laughed a lot. It was me, Caroline, Tiffany, Michelle, and our honorary bachelorette Steve. (He was also a Bridesman at the wedding.)
The wedding was also fun, although it was incredibly hot, and they planned Mina's part very poorly. (As in, she spent three hours waiting around in a flower girl dress and they didn't do pictures until after the wedding when she was dirty, tired, and over it. If it had been planned better we could have given her a nap, and she might have walked down the aisle instead of me having to carry her. But anyway, she looked cute, so whatever.
I also can't believe I got no good pictures of the three of us at the wedding, or any pictures of her with my parents, or any pictures of her with my sister and Tiff. I feel like it was too hot to think straight. (The temps were in the high 90s, and the wedding was outdoors.) Sigh.
Work:
I worked three different jobs this month: school started again on the 19th, I finished up my last couple of weeks at Chemico, and I spent two weeks freelancing at my old workplace while Annie was on vacation. All of this was prelude to my new job at DataCo, working with my friend srb. That job is what's going to make September nuts! I have also had to turn down two different other jobs, and I have one more freelance job that I have to squeeze in around my DataCo and Dollar College commitments. I feel so in demand!
Toddler:
The big development this month was that Mina started preschool. We are really happy with the decision to send her there; there are days when she doesn't want to leave when we come to pick her up. There are 17 kids in her class right now, and three very nice teachers. The first few days we had some lip trembling "putting on a brave face," asking us if we were coming back for her at the end of the day. But she adjusted and is doing great there overall, knock wood!
Here are some of her bon mots:
“You will not do that! That’s bad.”
(of a plastic pirate) “Who’s this little guy?”
(holding a remote control to her ear): “Hello, how can I help you?”
(cupping my face in her hands): “I love you. You’re the cutest bean!”
Resolutions:
Basically the same as last month, so no updates.
Some more August pictures: