Redemption is a beautiful thing, but it does have its drawbacks; it does something to a girl.  It makes her want to send emails and chat with old friends on Facebook.  It makes same said chick wanna pick up her rotary cell phone and make calls to alla way in the past just so she can hear the sound of certain familiar 15-year-old voices again.   It drives her crazy, and as we all know, it’s a *very* short trip into that celebrated “Wilderness of Nutty Old Ladies With Way Too Many Cats.”

Damn you, Redemption!  Damn you.  Moon was crazy enough already.  Why did you hafta intervene in her perfect little flood-ridden, redneck-infested Old Monroe life with alla your cute pictures and hair band photos?  Why, oh why??

But you did.  And by doing so, you took this lil’ Moon and turned her upside-down and inside-out with the silliness and wonder of a collective past and dumped her right in the middle that freshman  hallway with all those ancient, hot, sticky feelings she thought she had safely quarantined in her heart.  It really threw her for a loop.  She could barely find her way into work some mornings.  The  incessant 70’s music playing on her inner jukebox and visions of flowing feathered locks dancing in her head were quite distracting, I tell ya’.

::sigh::

Anyhoo, after the initial amazement of it all settled down, Rex suggested that mebbe he and I should meet up for old times’ sake, as friends, of course.

Queue freak out on my part, and here’s why: While I sooooooo very much wanted to see Rex again, I was petrified at the thought of him beholding my saggy-ass 40-something body in all its sucky glory when I knew he still had an image of me in his head from way back when I was a blonde (ewww) and still wore a size 1 — especially since I discovered he is “A Gym Guy” and pretty much rocks his middle-aged bad-ass self, judging from the pictures he posted on Facebook…not that I looked, or stared, or drooled, or anything like that…I’m jes’ sayin’.

Add to that the Broadway thingie and you can see why I was intimidated!  Wait, what?  You didn’t know that Rex was a Broadway star too?  ::shakes head::  See why I was so intimidated???

So I did what I do best.  I panicked.  I hemmed.  I hawed.  I wrote bad checks to The Past in an attempt to purchase my old body back, alas, to no avail.

Seems they don’t let you do that.  Who knew?

Meanwhile he and I chatted a bit on the phone, exchanged a couple emails, and I got more comfortable with the whole idea of coming face to face with a whole lotta baggage (I’ve always had very scary ugly plaid luggage).  We spoke to our respective spouses, got our permission slips, and despite my self-conscious protestations, curiosity prevailed.  We agreed to meet up for coffee, a bagel, a bowl of  borscht, a rousing game of Mah Jong, mini-golf…*anything*, basically, just to get together again and mutually see if we both still existed for real and all that.

So one fine evening Rex drove up to meet me at my job after I got off work.

Can we say, “Moon had a very very loooong and apprehensive day?”  If any of you has ever been 14 years old before and about to meet up with your past, I’m sure you would feel the same way – take bets even -  on whether he would  show up.  And jes’ so ya know?  Thanks for the support, bitches, srsly! ::wink::

When at 6 pm that evening Rex phoned to say he was waiting for me outside, I shrieked like a groupie at a rock concert and proceeded to tell my blinking co-worker what I was about to do.  I didn’t wait for a response.  I  figured it was now or never, took a deep breath, tousled my red curly hair, applied no make-up whatsoever (save for a few stray sparkles, of course…*all* Goddesses sparkle, dontcha know?), threw on my black leather jacket and ambled out with the jauntiest of airs into what, I did not know.

My suspense was short-lived, happily.

There was Rex, standing against his black Night Rider car in the mid-November moonlight in his skinny jeans and button-down blue shirt looking not one second older than the last time I had seen him and yeah, a whole lot cuter even (as if that were possible).  It was “Sooner or Later” all over again.  I resisted the urge to drop my bags and run over to him, but I was cool, like “Hi there! Wassup?!”.  I  smiled the goofiest grin I could muster up, then reached up to hug him as thirty years melted away into the past in a big gooey puddle right there on my employer’s parking lot.

What a moment.  I will never forget it.  The weird thing is that for a split second I thought I saw my 14yo self watching me from behind the bushes like a stalker.

Screw her! I thought.  It’s Moon’s turn now, and YOU, Little Girl, are waaaay too young to be hanging out with a 45yo man, even if he *is* Rex, so go away child!

::snort::

Anyhoo, Rex and I decided it might be fun to go to Dave & Buster’s, which is a place kinda like

our hard-won paltry haul of 24 tickets

ChuckE-Cheese for grown-ups, but with better food, and oh, beer!  Yummy.  We sat, we chatted, we talked each other’s ears off (ok *I* talked *his* ear off) and then we went to play games…very badly it would seem, because 24 tickets is all we could manage to amass.

There was Skee-Ball (’cause this is what old people do in their free time, apparently), and Rex shot some hoops after we scared off the kids who were attempting to impress their girlfriends (hey, it’s fun to frighten children…I excel at it).

Then there was the fun-ass snow-rider-thingy that blew cold air into my face in a feeble attempt to make me feel like I was riding an *actual* snow-rider-thingy where the seat vibrated and got me all hot and bothered like crazy (no comments from The Peanut Gallery, please…I’m sure you KNOW what I mean, so let’s not go there, mkay?).

Later we drove collective video-game Ferraris, during which time it was agreed neither one of us should never be allowed to drive *actual* Ferraris, yo? and made a pact with fist bumps.

We laughed.  We laughed some more.  We laughed so much virtual milk came out our virtual teenage noses.  And smiling?  Was definitely part of the evening.  And laughing.  Did I mention laughing?

After a while we realized it was getting late, so we decided it was time to venture into the Dave & Buster’s “store” to see just what we could buy with our measly, but hard-won, pathetic tickets.

Apparently?  There was nothing we could afford there…

We couldn’t get these pretty pink kitty wallets – not that we wanted them, but I couldn’t help thinking about Joshua and his Hello Kitty fetish and how much he truly needs a new billfold, and hmmm, wouldn’t he LOVE one of these…dear man that he is.

Then there were the giant gummy bears we also couldn’t afford…

Ah well.  We had set our sights low and were about to leave empty-handed when the dear little hot blonde girl at the counter took pity on the pair of us amid the squealing throngs of ‘tweens and twenty-somethings who were doing just as much laughing as we were.

“Psst!  Here!  Now you have 50 tickets!”, she said, as she giggled and worked her magick on The Ticket Machine.

Sweet!

One problem — 50 tix wouldn’t buy us much either.  The only thing we found we could get was this…

Behold "The Kazoo of Destiny"...hermetically sealed for your protection, of course

How awesome, I thought.  I needed a kazoo!

The Gods had spoken, and so we left to walk out to his Night Rider car and with a click of his magick clicky thing the doors flung open, we got in, and he took me back to my awaiting Fabulous Petey-car back at work.

When we got there, I didn’t want to leave.  I didn’t want that night to end, but I knew that, alas, it must.  We hugged, chatted, and made tentative plans to get together to play guitar.

Could Moon’s life have BEEN any more awesome at that moment?  Nopers…it couldn’t. Getting back together with an old friend AND getting to play guitar with him in the near future?  Yes.  It was all groovy like that.

As I drove away home I caught a glimpse in the rear-view mirror of 14yo brown eyes with waaaay too much blue eye shadow glaring at me from the back seat like Basement Cat from, well, the basement.  She had short blonde hair, shiny braces, and I couldn’t help noticing the scent of Love’s Baby Soft permeating the car.

“So!” she said, smacking her Freedent gum and cocking her head at me all jealous like.  “Didja kiss him?  Didja KISS him??  Hmmm??  Because, hey now, you KNOW he is MINE!!”

“Aw girl, settle down,” I said in a soothing tone, even though my voice was trembling.  “It’s ok!  Nothing happened!  Why don’t you come sit up front with me, wouldja? And we’ll work this stuff out.  No need to argue.  I’ve missed you, hon!”

At that, she climbed right over the bucket seats as I motored up Hwy 79 and buckled herself in for the ride.  I looked over at that little girl I used to be and laughed at the beauty and absurdity of everything as we talked all the way home.

Life is strange like that.  And we are all just teenagers inside.

You see, All These Things make us who we truly are, and they will never be erased or forgotten no matter how many years have passed.

And it truly *is*…All Good.

Happy Thanksgiving, Rex.

The End

A three-year-old prayer was answered four days ago. Here’s the story behind that.

Back in 2006 I was a few months into being a Christian, and volunteered as one of the church service coordinators. Being part of that ministry gave me the opportunity to interact with a lot of people, both volunteers and full-time church staff. One day, while waiting for the next service, I crossed paths with one of the worship team members I work with. Small talk ensued.

I found out that he worked for Every Nation Productions (aka ENP), which handles the communication needs of our churches here in the Philippines. My tiny eyes sparkled. I was still fresh out of college then, and had the biggest desire to work in the creative field–I was a Communications major, after all. I asked ten million questions all at once: what they did, how everything worked, etc. I told him I was a writer trapped in a (tired, overworked, and under-slept) call center agent’s body. He encouraged me to pray about it and submit a resume.

And that I did. I prayed about it, and tried my hand at applying for the position roughly a couple weeks later. It didn’t work out the first time around. Meanwhile, I remained in the call center industry. From my vantage point, things seemed to be so impossible in terms of my career. I thought I was stuck in the cycle of making calls, getting little sleep, receiving cusswords from customers, and getting sick. In spite of all that, I still prayed, and waited for God to answer. I knew that the call center thing wasn’t gonna be for long.

True to his nature, God proved himself faithful. Early this year, I was given a chance to write in a corporate setting. To be writing for a living was a twelve-year-old dream of mine,  and I was so ecstatic to do what I had always wanted to do. For the first time in a long time, I was actually happy with what I was doing. But that hope to be in full-time ministry still remained in my heart. Things went pretty well, until . . . another opportunity to apply as a writer for ENP presented itself.

I submitted my resume again. I was interviewed again. Then I prayed. And waited.

. . . and just last Monday, I received word that my application was accepted.

While SMS-ing some friends of the good news, I was so in shock that I actually began to space out and wonder if everything that happened was indeed real. It had been three years since I first heard of ENP, and had three jobs that helped me learn so much about so many things.

God proved himself faithful once again. He makes the impossible possible. We can never really take credit for everything that happens in our lives. And at the end of the day, he deserves all our praise.

I’ve been reminded of how God heeded Abraham and Sarah’s desire to have a son, in spite of Sarah’s barrenness and the couple’s old age.  Isaac was born twenty-five years after God first told them that they would have a son. They went on to become the father and mother of multitudes, of generations. That was what God promised, after all–that they would have descendants as numerous as the stars. (Genesis 15:5-6)

What are you believing God for? Whether that’s the salvation of your family members, a major financial breakthrough, healing from a long-time sickness, or a personal prayer concern, God hears you. His word says that He makes everything beautiful in its time. As we submit ourselves to him and make him our delight, surely–He gives us the desires of our hearts.

And that, my friends, is well worth the wait.

Yay burcu (22 Kasım – 21 Aralık)

Milliyet Gazetesi
¬ Artık daha olumlu bir gün başlıyor. İçinizden geldiği gibi davranabilir, kendinize yeni hobiler edinebilirsiniz. Sosyal hayatın getirdiği hareketlilik ise size heves getiriyor. Ancak sosyal sorumluluklarınıza da önem vermelisiniz. Duygusal ilişkilerinizdeki huzursuzluklar ise geçici görünmekte. Hafta sonu aşk hayatınızda istediğiniz hareketliliği ve coşkuyu yakalayabileceksiniz.

Sabah Gazetesi
¬ Ailenizle ilgili yapıcı kararlar alırken, onların sorunlarıyla uğraşacağınız bir gün olacak.. Aynı zamanda evinizi güzelleştirecek çalışmalar içinde olacaksınız. Bugün, birden fazla işle uğraşmak sizi yorabilir. Akşam saatlerinde dinlenmeye vakit ayırmalısınız. Sinir sisteminiz biraz zayıf. Vitamin takviyesine ihtiyacınız var.

Turk Nokta Net
¬ Bir yakınınızın sağlık problemi sizi endişelendiriyor. Sizden bir şey saklandığını sanıyor ve evhamlanıyorsunuz. Oysa sizden saklanan bir şey olmadığı gibi, yakınınızın endişelenmenizi gerektirecek bir durumu da yok. Yaşamınıza yeni giren birisi sizi yakından izliyor ve sizinle yakın dost olmak istiyor. Siz ise onun bu yakınlığını şu sıralar fark edecek durumda değilsiniz.

Kaynak: Yay Burcu günlük buç yorumları

“Cursoooo?!”

“ENGENHARIA!”

“Engenharia!”

“FEUP!”

Dia 24 de Novembro – Dia de Engenharia

(devido a um gravíssimo (!!!?!!1!eleven!!!whatarelettersdoinghere?!!!1!1!!) lapso da minha parte, deixei este dia ‘escapar’, mas não pude (ou, melhor dizendo, não me deixaram) deixar a ocasião por mencionar aqui) (Imagem roubada daqui; e, porque raio é que uma pesquisa no Google por ‘engineering’ só me leva a imagens de engenharia civil? -_-’)

I like Chinese characters.

Some of them are really really cute!

1. 木　林　森

This is the tree　木　（き）。When there are more of them, they become a moderately sized forest:　林　（はやし；　often used in names, like　小林　こばやし）。When there are lots and lots of them, they’re a bigger forest: 森　（もり）。

2．車　轟く

This is a car　車　（くるま）、but also all sorts of wagons that were in use long before the cars were invented。Three wagons give you a verb that means “to roar, roll”　轟く　（とどろく）、and another one that means ”to thunder”（１）　轟かす　（とどろかす）。

3．耳　囁く

One ear is an ear 耳　（みみ）. Three ears and a mouth mean “to whisper”　囁く　（ささやく）。

4．馬　騳　驫

One horse is a horse　馬　（うま）.　Two horses mean “to run”　騳る　（はしる）。Curiously enough, three horses mean “a lot of horses”　驫　（しょう）

5．歯　噛む

These are the teeth　歯　（は）。Your teeth + a mouth　＝　”to bite, chew” 噛む　（かむ）。

There are of course MOAR examples, but these are, I believe, the ones you’re most likely to come across if you ever have anything to do with Japanese at all.

（Also, 囁くis actually a pretty common verb. I mean, not usually in speech, but you’ll come across it if you read books. It might not be written with the kanji, though. It depends on how the author wants to come across, and who the potential reader is, and that sort of stuff. It’s actually pretty fascinating.)

＊姦計　ｖｓ　関係。

（１）　As in “speak 　loudly”.

I’m off tomorrow, please don’t say “Happy Thanksgiving” to me as I am sure I will wake up and post another variation of the reasons I don’t like hearing those words.

Yes, I like the family day and the meal, but I have a hard time celebrating Thanksgiving and saying “Have a Happy Thanksgiving!”. It’s very close to how I feel about saying Happy veterans Day to a Veteran. I’ll save that rant for tomorrow.

Friday I work. I meet with the new book-keeper and do catch up work with Terry out-of-town. Saturday I go out with The Boy. My stress level is already decreasing with…(hmmm, she needs a blog name and it hasn’t presented itself so I’ll let the relationship foster a while and see what presents itself)

Shower Time.

Yay burcu (22 Kasım – 21 Aralık)

Milliyet Gazetesi
¬ Hızlı ve hareketli zamanlar sizi bekliyor. Gerek iş gerekse eve ait yoğun bir tempo içine girmektesiniz. Aynı anda ailevi konuların getirdiği gelişmeler huzursuz edici olabilir. Bu yüzden daha düzenli olmalı ve özel hayatınıza öncelik vermelisiniz. Yine bu dönemde elinizdeki maddi kaynaklar konusunda önemli kararlar almaya yöneleceksiniz.

Sabah Gazetesi
¬ Bugün sorumluluk duygusu içinde hareket ediyor ve değer yargılarınızı gözden geçirmek istiyorsunuz.. Zor olanı seçmek sizin tarzınız ve sabırlı yönlerinizi ortaya çıkarmalısınız. Atılımlarınız ve hedefleriniz konusunda isabetli davranışlar içindesiniz. Bugün, maddesel kaynaklarınızı gözden geçirmelisiniz.

Turk Nokta Net
¬ Oldukça zeki biri olmanıza karşın, iyimserliğiniz yüzünden suiistimal edilebiliyorsunuz. Bugün bunu fark edip bir arkadaşınızla ilişkinizi kesebilirsiniz. Bir iki gün içinde yanlış bir bilgilendirilmeyle gerginlikleriniz olacak. Çok özel bir yanınızla bugün tanışacaksınız. Bu erdeminizle, geçmişte yapmış olabileceğiniz doğru e yanlışların ayrıntılarına gireceksiniz.

GY Web
¬ Bugün ev ortamınızda bulunmak isteyebilir, sakin saatler geçirmeyi arzu edebilirsiniz. Aile içi ilişkiler ile ilgili gözden geçirmek istediğiniz bazı şeyler de olabilir.

Vatan Gazetesi
¬ Aşkta yaşadığınız ayrılık sizi üzmesin. Çünkü arayıp da bulamadığınız insanın karşınıza çıkması an meselesi. Bir çok iş teklifiyle karşı karşıyasınız. Sizin için en prestijli olan için karar vermelisiniz.

Kaynak: Yay Burcu günlük buç yorumları

Well guess who went and downloaded Gimp?

It’s pretty awesome sauce and free! Paired with free fonts all the better. Once essays are done with and the holidays are upon me I’ll have time to properly get to grips with it (and download shiny plug ins).  I’m very impressed so far though, worth a look see if you can’t afford photoshop but want something with more punch than the standard red-eye removing software most computers come with. 

I’ll talk about it more once I’ve had time to download stuff any play around some more,  but so far I’m very impressed!

Take care,

Minnie xoxo

At a recent school meeting that E and I weren’t paying any attention to, I was discussing the hilarity that is the site, I Can Has Cheezburger. She had no clue what I was talking/laughing about, and I was just made to look even sillier when I couldn’t access the site due to the district’s “web blocker.” So, later, I sent her the link, only to have this one sent back to me.

Then, I found MORE photos!

I’m scared.

And, then I find out, WTF, there is an iPhone app for Kitty Wigs! I promptly downloaded THAT awesomeness! I don’t need a cat to have a little fun with iPhone photos, wigs, and the like.

B.Ri.

My bro, Buddy Gregg.

And, yours truly.

Trust me. Get the iPhone app. The $.99 is worth AT LEAST 10 minutes of your wasted time.

You’re welcome.

Yay burcu (22 Kasım – 21 Aralık)

Milliyet Gazetesi
¬ Sizin için yaratıcı bir gün. Olumlu düşüncelerle başkalarını etkileyebilirsiniz. Kendinizi zihinsel konulara yakın hissettiğiniz bugünlerde başarıya açıksınız. Bu alanda size yansıyan canlılıkla kararlarınızda değişiklikler yapabilirsiniz. Yakın çevre ve komşularla ilişkilerde ise size destek veren gelişmeler var. Alacağınız haberlerle iyimserliğiniz artıyor.

Sabah Gazetesi
¬ Yakın dostlarınızla aranızda işbirliği yapmanız gereken bir döneme giriyorsunuz. Kardeşlerle birlikte ortak çalışmalar içindesiniz.İletişim konusunda oldukça başarılısınız. Özgürlüğünüzü ön plana alacağınız yeni başlangıçlar peşindesiniz. Birlikte çalıştığınız kişilere yardım etme isteği içindesiniz ve yardımsever duygularla hareket edebilirsiniz.

Turk Nokta Net
¬ Aile içinde bazı mutluluklarınıza ortak olmayı arzulayan sitemkar birileri var. Bunu geç fark edip nasıl gözden kaçırdığınıza üzülebilirsiniz. Bugüne bitirmeniz gereken işleri önümüzdeki haftaya sarkıtmanız, düşünceli bir tatil geçirmenize neden olacak. Akşam saatlerindeki yeni bir tanışma, size çok ilginç bir arkadaşlık sunabilir, bu ilişkiyi kalıcılaştırmak isteyebilirsiniz.

Vatan Gazetesi
¬ Kuşkucu oluşunuz yüzünden sevdiğiniz insanla olan ilişkinizin bozulduğu bir dönemi yaşıyorsunuz . Onu tekrar kazanmak için harekete geçin. Teklif edilecek bir iş ortaklığına evet demeyin.

Kaynak: Yay Burcu günlük buç yorumları

Sonata Arctica – They Follow

Sommige mensen wisten het misschien al, maar ik heb een Finland-affectie.  Geïnspireerd door de mensen om me heen. En nu, na jaren van speculeren, brainstormen en ideeën opwerpen, is het dan eindelijk zo ver:

ik ga naar Finland!

Samen met m’n tante Rinske ga ik van 2 tot en met 8 januari bivakkeren in een cottage in Muonio, waar we verschillende activiteiten gaan ondernemen, zoals huskysleeën, paardrijden in de sneeuw en langlaufen. Daarna gaan we nog tot en met 10 januari naar Helsinki!

Het is nu echt helemaal officieel, want de vliegtickets zijn geboekt, net als de busreis en het huisje. *stuitert enthousiast*

Peace!

The lovely DC Princess does a weekly blog called I LOVE Fridays.  I was inspired by reading her posts each week to write one similar last week called *LOVE*.

I so enjoyed doing the *LOVE* post that I think I might make it a regular event.  Not sure yet but we shall see.  It won’t be on a specific day because, well I have too many days devoted.  And I just can’t commit to that kind of pressure.  HAHA

I won’t however be restricting myself to only “Things” today like I did last time.  Just whatever comes to mind.  Yay!  (say Yay, you know you want to)

Here goes….

I *LOVE* that my ass is all healed!! YAY!!!  (what a freakin’ nightmare that shit was!) SHEEZ!

I *LOVE* that I got soooo many comments, emails, phone calls and messages from people telling me how much I was missed last week!  I was shocked and honored.  And now I have a big head.  Yay!!

I *LOVE* my Jacuzzi bathtub.  Yay!

I *LOVE* that we got all of the shopping done for Thanksgiving today!  No more crazy crowds.  Yay!

I *LOVE* that I got awards from AMAZING bloggers this week.  Thank you Carma Sez!  Thank you Stuperhero Extraordinaire!  And a very belated thank you to MommyBrain and Rudy Family Rukus!   All are great, please check them out.  Yay!

I *LOVE* that someone rushed out of Wal-Mart with such hunger to getiton that they just whipped ripped their “Ecstasy” Trojans out of the box and left the box in the parking lot.  Yay!

I *LOVE* that I stopped to take a picture of the empty Trojan Box thinking ahead that I just had to share my jealousy excitement with all you poor, unsuspecting readers.  *grin* Yay!

I *LOVE* Entourage!! I just started watching it and have made it through to the middle of season 4.  I can’t believe I ever missed this show!!  It is sooooo good!  Yay!!

I *LOVE* that the weather is finally getting cooler.  Wearing long pants is much more socially acceptable when you go 4 weeks without shaving. Haha  Yay!!

I *LOVE* that December is so close now I can taste it!  Because it means TWO things that I *LOVE* are coming.  #1 The holidays!  (and my house gets uber awesome decos for the holidays) And #2 our next round of injections!!  Yay!

I *LOVE* these Suds.  If anyone knows how I can get in touch with them so that they can come to my shower and entertain cheer me on I would surely appreciate it!  Yay!

I *LOVE* Saying YAY!!!!! 

Click here to view today’s Daily Photo Blog… Innocent Daily Photo Blog

When I first started blogging on February 28, 2009, I never thought I’d be so uncelebrated well received into the blogging community.  Now, after 8.5 months, and eight HUNDREDS  of consistent readers, I know I’ve hit my prime.  And it feels good.  Fantastic.  To celebrate this surely forgetful commemorative occasion, the 100’s of Carpeviam.  A list of 10 things, under 10 topics, all about my blog (and in no particular order).

10 favorite posts

1. Tit for tat bubble wrapped in pot*
2. Day 1:  I’m as bloated as Rush Limbaugh’s ego.
3. Boston Marathon-Perspectives and Ruminations
4. Boston Marathon-Full Race Report
5. My “bad ass” weekend
6. Pacific Northwest Part III
7. Bolder Boulder 10k Race Report
8. Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.*
9. The House of the Devil Review
10. Paranormal Activity Review

10 least favorite posts (yeah, I’m sure since I’ve confirmed that these are my “least” favorite, you’ll surely click on the links)

1. As pure as the driven snow…but you drifted
2. When I’ve got nothing else, you get this
3. Friday Fail:  Cereal Killer
4. 4th of July:  Independence from conscience.  America’s excuse to over-indulge.
5. Thursday Mish Mash
6. I’m back!  Temporarily.  Here’s a brief recap of the week.
7. Just breathe.  Just sleep.  Just get it together.
8. Egads!  They keep getting faster!
9. Phone it in Friday
10. Good wine is a good familiar creature

10 favorite photos

10 favorite post comments (this was too hard, and I had too many comments to sort through, so I chose them at random)

1. “Welcome to the club. “  Xenia
2. “My hero.”  Tantris
3. “…i think we met spiritually during the race many times over!” Doc
4. “Insomnia is the worst. I find that drinking Scotch right before you go to bed usually helps.” Cowboy Hazel
5. “I just love your writing style, really makes me want to read your posts but not see this movie.”  Margaret
6. “I love those two sonicare minutes & sometimes can drag it out for FOUR minutes.” JoyRuN
7. “*Ahem*! The first will be the long-promised @$$ pix, right?  Then you’ll have an @$$-some blog. Way better than awesome.  Unless you were lying about yer @$$.  Or your new camera.”  GQH
8. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! YAY FOR YOU! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! Maybe someday we can get together and randomly punch buttons and twist dials together on our cameras, ha yeah.”  Chloe
9. “Yes, I love that you, the chick, are the fast and deadly one in the relationship.”  M2M
10. “I don’t like any melons either, which is why I never buy the fruit cups…always full of melons with maybe 2 strawberries. Ridiculous.”  Roisin

1. Snickerdoodles
2. Eggnog pancakes
3. Peach Pie with Creme Fraiche and Streusal
4. Rum Cake (secret recipe)
5. Crawfish Pie
6. Shrimp Etouffee
7. Oatmeal Caramelitas
8. Samoa girl scout cookies
9. Chocolate Chip Cookies
10. Peanut butter/oatmeal/chocolate cookies

10 favorite post reviews (okay, some of these are kind of a stretch)

1. Side effects may include upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, difficulty breathing, dizziness, or swelling.  All in the name of vanity.
2. The House of the Devil Review
3. Paranormal Activity Review
4. Coaching, running, and a Nuun review (keep your habit on)
5. A change in race distances + RANT & RAVE
6. Werewolfing would give me something to do when insomnia struck on the night of a full moon
7. Watchmen don’t watch chick flicks
8. I got chills, they’re multiplying
9. 4th of July:  Independence from conscience.  America’s excuse to over-indulge.
10. Colorado wine country…Napa’s “wannabe”

10 posts that have caused me extra research

1. Determine Nation
2. Like The Bloop*, except on land, and the fact that it doesn’t really sound like The Bloop
3. Shopping for a half
4. Friday Fail:  Cereal Killer
5. Billie Jean is not my lover.  But, if she were hot, she could definitely have K’s son.  I mean, someone’s got to.  And, death in threes.
6. Werewolfing would give me something to do when insomnia struck on the night of a full moon
7. Bring home the bacon!
8. Wicked pissah…or, whatever the hell they say in Boston
9. Between the miles
10. Pacific Northwest Part I

10 blogs that I read most often

1. Chloe Conspiracy
2. Xenia
3. The Loose Moose
4. Runner’s Rambles
5. Cowboy Hazel
6. The Beat of My Noisy Heart
7. Running Bull
8. Cake Wrecks
9. Doc Laminator
10. The Bloggess

10 funny/strange search engine terms used to find my blog (one day, I’m going to post a list of the top 10 search engine terms and see how many hits I get)

1. i’m sweating like a pedophile at recess
2. take my ass
3. vomiting diarrhea and loss of voice
4. i am not a number i am a free man sample
5. i know craig ferguson maybe this time
6. cleavage (img or dsc)
7. ass to mouth
8. samoan girl
9. dinosaurs shoes
10. night of the giving head sample

10 most viewed posts

1. I may actually like the Merry Ol’ Land of Oz. I could join the Lollipop Guild!
2. Like The Bloop*, except on land, and the fact that it doesn’t sound like The Bloop
3. There once was a man from Nantucket
4. Pacific Northwest Part II
5. Who is carpeviam?
6. Treadmills:  my arch nemesis
7. Palisade Peach Pie Perfection.  That’s some damn fine alliteration, if I’ve ever seen it.
8. Two Minutes to Boston:  Marathon training update
9. Yeah, I’m an ab whore.  And, some running stuff.
10. Free sample Wednesday!  Don’t be hoodwinked.  I’m not really giving out free samples.  Yet.

Yay burcu (22 Kasım – 21 Aralık)

Milliyet Gazetesi
¬ Size iyimserlik getiren gelişmelerle güne başlıyorsunuz. Bu dönemde kendinizi geliştirebilir ve yeni şeyler öğrenebilirsiniz. Duygularınızı yakınlarla paylaşmak ve kardeşlerle ilişkilere öncelik vermek kolaylaşmakta. Kısa yolculukların getirdiği gelişmelerle olumlu girişimler yapacaksınız. Eğitsel konularda da dikkat çekici çalışmalarla öne çıkabilirsiniz.

Sabah Gazetesi
¬ İşinizle ilgili açılımlara ihtiyacınız var.Fakat, düşündüğünüz şeyleri yaşama geçirme konusunda kararsızlık çekebilirsiniz. Hırslarınızı canlı tutamıyor ve değişen şartlara hemen uyum sağlıyorsunuz. Bugün, toplumsal konularda yaratıcılığınızı ön plana çıkaracaksınız. Kişisel egolarınızın tatmin sağlayacağı özel günlerden birini yaşıyorsunuz.

Turk Nokta Net
¬ Yakınlarınız arasında sevimliliğinizle, dürüstlüğünüzle özel bir yeriniz var. Zaman zaman onların beklentilerini yanıt veremediğinizi düşünüyor, üzülüyorsunuz. Dostlarınızla geçirdiğiniz zaman nedeniyle onlara bir şey kalmıyor. Aranılan, düzgün bir dostsunuz. Vefa duygunuz oldukça gelişkin. Gösterilen dostluğun, duygusal anlamda mutlaka karşılığını görmek istiyorsunuz.

Kaynak: Yay Burcu günlük buç yorumları

Main bahut roi, pata nahin kyun. Par main bahut khush thi. I think that makes sense.

I did not read the sikhiya, but thats probably a good thing.

Happy.

Jakiś czas temu pisałam, że zrobię “wydanie specjalne” przeglądu Dziś oto nadeszła ta wiekopomna chwila, kiedy dostajecie je w swoje łapki xD

Cały pomysł z “specialem” polegać będzie na tym, że raz za czas wybiorę sobie jakiś temat przewodni i na jego podstawie napisze notkę. Dziś chciałabym się skupić na dwóch nowych tytułach od naszego kochanego wydawnictwa JPF, które zaczęły się ukazywać w tym roku. Już sam wyboru tych dwóch serii dość porządnie mnie zaskoczył (no dobra - Bleach nie był aż takim zdziwieniem, ale Ouran???)!

W każdym bądź razie szczęśliwa Shouri (w końcu z każdego przejawu aktywności naszego, polskiego rynku M&A należy się cieszyć ;]) postanowiła na własnej skórze przekonać się, czy rzeczywiście są to dobre mangi, tak więc pobiegła do Matrasa i z dwoma świeżutkimi tomikami wróciła do domu. Jakie były tego rezultaty, przekonajcie się czytając poniższy wywód

Bleach – Ichigo Kurosaki jest zwykłym, nastoletnim chłopakiem. No, może poza pewnym szczegółem – widzi duchy. Mieszkał sobie spokojnie (?) wraz ze swoją szaloną rodzinką w podtokijskim miasteczku Karakura – i zapewne mieszkałby nadal, gdyby pewnego dnia w jego pokoju nie pojawiła się tajemnicza dziewczyna w czarnym kimonie. Chwilę później rodzinę Kurosakich atakuje tajemniczy potwór, a oszołomiony Ichigo dowiaduje się, że jest tylko jeden, jedyny sposób, by ocalić najbliższych – musi on przejąć na siebie pracę Strażnika Śmierci!

Szczerze mówiąc chyba wszyscy, którzy czytają tego bloga chociaż raz za czas, wiedzą jakie mam opory przed seriami-tasiemcami. Tak samo było z “Bliczem”. Anime jest całkiem niezłe (widziałam kilka odcinków na Hyperze ^^), ale kiedy się dowiedziałam ile ma epizodów, to z czystym sumieniem odpuściłam sobie oglądanie reszty. Pół życia bym straciła na nadrabianiu, a mogłabym przecież w tym samym czasie zrobić sto pożyteczniejszych rzeczy ;] Z mangą sprawa jednak wygląda inaczej. Dopiero co zaczęła się ukazywać, jest dwumiesięcznikiem, mam ją po polsku i co najważniejsze – jest w formie drukowanej i nie muszę się bawić z czytaniem online. Same plusy chciałoby się rzec Powiedziałam sobie, że spróbować nie zaszkodzi i najwyżej niech stracę te 15 złotych. Okazało się, że była to dobra decyzja ^^

Kreska jest całkiem fajna – warto zaznaczyć, że miałam wrażenie iż różni się trochę od tej z anime. Design Ichigo wydawał mi się ciut inny, ale co tam – fanem nie jestem, więc dla mnie to żadnej różnicy nie zrobiło Sceny akcji pokazane są dość przejrzyście i raczej nie powinno się mieć problemów z wyłapaniem tego co się dzieje (ostatnio jestem wyczulona na takie rzeczy ;p) i śledzeniem dalszego rozwoju wypadków. Bohaterów można szybko polubić – są bardzo… “ciekawą” zbieraniną różnych wariatów xD Zabawni, ale jednocześnie zdarza im się też powiedzieć coś mądrego ;] Duży też plus należy się za polskie tłumaczenie – prawdopodobnie wiele gagów zawdzięczamy Pawłowi Dybale Właśnie! Jak już jesteśmy przy translacji – strasznie się bałam co wymyślą jako odpowiednik “shinigami”. Czytając sobie moje sprowadzone z zagranicy wydanie Full Moona, prawie się załamałam widząc “Mr.Death” zamiast typowego dla Mistuki “Shinigami-san”. Bardzo się cieszę, że tutaj wymyślono “Strażnika Śmierci” a nie samą “Śmierć” bo w naszej kulturze to by ciut nie wypaliło

Podsumowując – polecam kupić chociaż pierwszy tomik. Naprawdę niezła manga i może z tego wyjść coś dobrego ^^ Rave Master z praktycznie 100 procentowym prawdopodobieństwem nie ukaże się w Polsce (a strasznie chciałabym go kupić!), więc chociaż Bleach zastąpi mi zapotrzebowanie na papierowego shonena (bo FMA się powoli kończy ).

Ouran High School Host Club – Jak powszechnie wiadomo, nauka to potęgi klucz. Niejaka Haruhi Fujioka jest tego najlepszym przykładem – dzięki pilnej pracy udało jej się dostać stypendium w ekskluzywnym liceum Ouran. Pewnego dnia, w poszukiwaniu jakiegoś cichego miejsca, w którym mogłaby poświęcić się nauce, nieopatrznie trafia do siedziby pewnego klubu, gdzie udaje jej się… stłuc wazę za 8 000 000 jenów! Członkowie klubu orzekają zgodnie, że kwotę tę należy odpracować – i nie byłoby z tym żadnego problemu, gdyby nie pewien szkopuł: jest to klub hostów, czyli specjalistów od zabawiania rozchichotanych licealistek… Czy Haruhi odpracuje dług? Czy zaaklimatyzuje się w zwariowanym klubie? I… dlaczego wszyscy myślą, że jest chłopcem…!?

Taaaaak… kolejny tytuł, który do tej pory omijałam kilometrowym łukiem ;P Zawsze słyszałam tyle superlatyw odnośnie Ourana, że odzywały się we mnie jakieś wewnętrzne hamulce i skutecznie mówiły “nie, tego ruszać nie będę!”. Sami wiecie jak to jest – tym więcej coś się chwali, tym bardziej człowiek ma już tego dość! To samo teraz jest z książkami z serii “Zmierzch” – kto wiem, może z ciekawości bym to kiedyś przeczytała? Jednak patrząc na obecną promocję i to, że gdzie bym się nie obejrzała to widzę coś związanego z Twilightem, czuje taki niesmak, że nie jestem w stanie wziąć tej książki choćby do ręki. Błędy i głupotę, którą kiedyś bym zignorowała, teraz wytknęłabym ze spotęgowaną irytacją… przed takim właśnie wyzwaniem stanął Ouran! Jak wyszedł z tego starcia z moimi wygórowanymi wymaganiami? ;]

Otóż poradził sobie wręcz na szkolną szóstkę xD Już dawno się tak dobrze nie bawiłam przy serii, która z założenia miała być komedią! ^^ Naprawdę jest okropnie zabawna, bohaterowie wprost rozbrajają swoimi charakterami i przyznaję się, że nie raz podczas czytania wybuchałam gromkim śmiechem (rodzinka była dość zdziwiona co mi się dzieje ;]]]). Historia jest tak uroczo idiotyczna, że jeśli się już zacznie, nie można się oderwać. Cały Klub Hostów to można by rzec idiota na idiocie, ze szczególnym wskazaniem na Tamakiego ;P Haruhi z drugiej stronie to full stoicyzm – taka nietypowa mieszanka doprowadza do scen, gdzie praktycznie płaczemy ze śmiechu ^^ Nie brakuje tu też lekkich romantycznych akcentów, które zapewne się będą rozwijać wprost proporcjonalnie do większej ilości tomów Jeśli zaś chodzi o kreskę, to jest prześliczna – czytałam także Millennium Snow od Pani Hatori i naprawdę obie prace pokazują, że jest na czym zawiesić oko

Podsumowując – warto i to jak! Manga ta gwarantuje taką dawkę dobrej zabawy, śmiechu i pozytywnej energii, że żadna jesienna czy zimowa chandra nie będzie nam straszna ;]

To by było tyle na dziś – mam nadzieje, że te dwie mini recenzje pomogą wam podjąć decyzję, kiedy będziecie stali w księgarni przed półeczką z mangami i chcieli zadecydować co by tu wybrać Moim zdaniem obie zasługują na uwagę – ta pierwsza niby jest skierowana do chłopaków, zaś ta druga, do żeńskiego grona czytelników, ale tak naprawdę można śmiało brać się za obie bo kogo obchodzi jakieś dziwne szufladkowanie? ;P Ja nie żałuję pieniędzy, które na nie wydałam, a jeśli wasz gust choć po części pokrywa sie z moim, to i wy nie pożałujecie ^^ Btw, jeśli chcemy jeszcze większej ilości tytułów, to trzeba wspierać polski rynek, prawda? xD

Cheers! :*

Yay burcu (22 Kasım – 21 Aralık)

Turk Nokta Net
¬ Özel yaşamınızda da, işinizde de önemli bir sorununuz yok ama yakınlarınız en küçük bir problemi bile büyüttüğünüzü düşünüyorlar. Bugün bu konuda bir uyarı alabilirsiniz. Öğle yemeğinde bazı yeni insanlarla tanıştırılacaksınız. Tanıştırıldığınız kişileri ilginç bulup onlarla dostluk kurmak isteyebilirsiniz. Akşama bir davet alabilirsiniz.

GY Web
¬ Bugün keyfinize bakmak isteyebilirsiniz. Gezmek, sosyal ortamlara girmek, alışveriş yapmak günün konuları olabilir. Dikkat etmeniz gereken şey ise neye harcama yaptığınız olacaktır.

Vatan Gazetesi
¬ Uzaktan gelecek bir misafiriniz hem iş hem de sosyal yaşamınızi renklendirecek. Aşkta aşırı duygusallığa gireceksiniz. Yakın dost ve akrabalırınızı ziyaret etmek için iyi bir fırsat yakalayacaksınız.

Kaynak: Yay Burcu günlük buç yorumları

I stayed up and watched “Marley & Me” for the first time. And cried my eyes out. But honestly, I have not had a good cry in a while.
Also, Luke got a job today!! He is the newest “Beauty Adviser” at Trade Secret. Hahahahahahaha!! X.X I gave him shit about it but he really seems to actually enjoy it! And I’m very happy for him.

- Beckie