"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it, I shall acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning." -- Mahatma Gandhi
This quote came to me in an email this morning, courtesy of Gala Darling's Icing Transformation Challenge. It is a neat quote.
I'm not doing too well with my ITC resolutions. I did have a yummy salad for lunch yesterday but today I am having mini hotdogs and shoestring fries. It's alright though, because I am making a huge and delicious salad for Lee and me to have with slow cookered 'roast' beef for dinner. Om nom nom.
I am home from work today using a day in Lieu from way back when I worked New Years. I have spent the morning being deliciously lazy and playing Rock Band.
Writing wise I am still doing awesomely now. It's really funny how as I've got into a habit of writing more often and in greater volume I am not satisfied if I only write a couple of pages. Like this morning I filled up 3 A5 pages of notebook with new content and I am not even counting that as me doing writing today. I am going to make myself sit still for an hour after lunch and do more writing.
I also managed to operate the car lift and drove out to Nancy's Embroidery for more quilt labels. I gave Seraph's baby the quilt I made for him last night and although he didn't say anything I think he was quite overcome with emotion. Well, there was a lot of squirming anyway.
If you want to see what it looks like, I put pictures up on my lj.
Rock Band wise we're doing very well. Darth Fancy is an Internationally renowned band now, with successful gigs performed in Rome, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Paris. Our top songs are (from memory):
Creep
Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden
Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (which I kick ass at with the singing)
More than a Feeling - Boston
Wanted (Dead or Alive) - Bon Jovie
We also got some new songs yesterday including Glados' "Still Alive" which is a hilarious song from Portal which I love to pieces. We also got Weezer's "El Scorcho" and "Perfect Drug" by NIN which I know backwards because of certain Triple J compilations I may have listened to endlessly for several years. I'm also very good at Blondie "Call Me".
I've been taking my singer Lenore Goldfish on a solo tour because that way I get to practice and I also get money to buy her new clothes. This game mixes the Sims with Singstar in a way that is deeply dangerous for me.
PoF: summer
CO: will not sleep, will write book.
I'm not doing too well on the eating salad every day thing, so I am going to go to the supermarket and buy myself a range of tasty salad fixin's so that I can have 'em for lunch next week.
This morning I dreamed at length about buying shaved ham. Lee wanted me to get 'hairy ham' but I thought it sounded gross.
Lee and I had lunch at Mt Fuji last Monday, which is a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant that I can see from the lounge. We had never really realised it was there but then I got to thinking that they may do okonomiyaki and takoyaki so I took Lee out for dinner. They didn't do either of those things, but they gave us delicious salad, miso, fried fish and teriyaki chicken and tempura vegetables. Nom nom nom.
On Wednesday after swing dancing we went to the Wine Library in Edward St, which as I mentioned was very good. We had a set menu of antipasto and super long breadsticks to start with. Lee and I are teh class and ordered coronas to drink. Oh yeah. So much fancy wine and we go with Mexican beer, whatever we were hot and thirsty! Lee's workmate's parents were down with it though, they were all like 'be yourself'. Hummm...tangent.
So after the antipasto platters it was an entree of stuff wrapped in eggplant. Rocket and feta wrapped in eggplant. I didn't dig it so much, I mean I like feta, but the rocket was all stringy and weird and the eggplant meat was nice but the texture of the outer skin when it's cut so thin was ookie.
For main we could choose between chicken and lamb so I went with lamb because the chicken came with semolina gnocchi which didn't thrill me. The lamb was little wee racks of lamb on wilted spinach and very very good. I love fancy lamb, it's all rare and melty and yum. Watch how I could never be a vegetarian!
To finish up we were served amaretto creme brulee and can I just say: It is worth the price of admission! In fact I just realised that there isn't enough creme brulee in my life and I should do my best to locate all the good creme brulee in Wellington. This I will do for you, my loyal readers. It will be a sacrifice, yes, but I think it will be worth it.
The amaretto creme brulee was a bit burnedy on top but it was so yum. So so good, the almond flavour was subtle enough that the essential creme brulee flavour still came through and the texture was just perfect.....man I want some more.
PoF: cutest sith lord ever.
CO: uh, clearly creme brulee.
It's been a busy week! To start with work has been super busy with high numbers of emails coming in and heaps of people away meaning we have to work hard and fast....so I feel like I've been zooming at work as well as at home.
Tuesday night I had roleplaying, another hilarious and mind blowingly awesome session of Bad Family.
Wednesday I worked my half day at work and then had the best 'lunch break ever'. I went out to Lambton Quay Whitcouls (chose the farthest one from home because I wanted to enjoy the sun.) I bought Enchanted, The Holiday and Chocolat on DVD and then picked up a Ka Pai salad for lunch. I've not been doing too well with my resolution to eat salad every day, so I figure a giant one would make up for it. It was basically the best salad ever. I ate it in the sun on a blankie on a deck chair on our balcony.
I read Cardcaptor Sakura and ate my best salad ever and blissed out completely.
Going out straight after work and getting errands done and myself fed looks like it might be the best way to set myself up for going hard on Wednesday afternoons. I've been distractable because I want to slip out and do stuff, but having a lunch break and then getting everything I wanted to do (uhm, eating and reading?) out of the way meant I was in the perfect mindset to sit down and write all afternoon.
I filled my third moleskine notebook and started on an A5 size one I got at Fancy World which says 'Be of better cheer, everything will be fine' on the cover. Awesome.
I also did about two thousand words of typing up the digital copy as well, and was very sensible and backed it up so I'm good there too. The other thing I did which is praise worthy is that I made a list of secondary characters' motivations and a little flow chart of events for the rest of the book. I am so together with this novel! I can't believe how much of a step up it is planning and execution wise to the last one. Well, practice makes perfect, so maybe I'll get the one after this out even more efficiently!
Wednesday night we went to Swing dancing for the first time. Lee's sister, her husband, Lee and I were all pretty nervous, but once we found the studio and saw that everyone was standing around looking anxious with crossed arms we relaxed. Swing dancing is awesome fun, and I think I really benefited from the constant partner swapping because you do learn from how other people dance as well as from the demonstrations.
I'm so keen for the next class and I can't stop myself from practicing the basic charleston step that we learnt. (rock step, kick step, kick hitch back step.)
Then we went out for dinner with Lee's workmates to the wine library, there food is to die for.
Thursday night was move night and I'm pleased to report that the Sasquatch dumpling gang was just as funny and endearing and quirky as I remembered. It was well received by everyone and I loved it. Favourite quote and one I shall have to use in real life is "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever says.....bounces...."
Heh. Then this morning I had a good sleep in, read a Fables book and then wrote another 5-6 pages of novel. In a moment I shall have to go to work, earning time and a half oh yeah. But I realised I hadn't blogged since Monday because of the busy busy so here I am catching you up.
Happy remembrance ANZAC day. I kinda feel like we should say "sad ANZAC day" but then we are supposed to be feeling grateful as well I guess. Whatever, have a good one.
PoF: true and accurate depiction of the layers of the earth
CO: writing natch
Th completely fabulous Gala Darling has challenged all her readers to a month long 'transformation challenge' starting today. The rules are simple: you choose something that you will commit to doing for a month, whether it is simply thinking about yourself in a more positive way or eating only raw food for a month.
I really want to participate, but I feel an overwhelming laziness monster in my head trying to talk me out of it.
Here are some things I want to do in my month of icing challenge:
So, there's a whole lot of good and valid things I should be doing and my whole mind is telling me that it's too much effort and I can't be bothered trying.
Obviously my first challenge for the month will be to get over myself and freaking do something.
On the up side, I tricked myself into starting on the first one by tidying up in the kitchen and sorting rubbish into bags as soon as I got home from work. That will be my dedicated time for cleaning up I think. Dishes after dinner without fail!
I am already being very good and doing patchwork that needs doing though. Last night we played more Rock Band and did so well that we won a jet and are now able to fly to Rome, Amsterdam, etc to do gigs there. Darth Fancy kicks ass, and I am very good at singing Creep, Maps, Don't Look Back in Anger and Celebrity Skin.
PoF: hoodie
CO: so very cold.
My new years resolutions this year were vague, because I generally forget that I've made them.
I think Going Out and Doing Stuff counts as being less lame and more awesome though, so that makes me pleased that I went to the Kiwi Pro Wrestling event last night to support a friend from work. She's Jessie from Team Pretty and she and Hollie had a Diva strap match. Lots of spanking and hair pulling.
I arrived late because I had to work, but it didn't take long to get into the scream of things. It's such ridiculous fun, deciding who to cheer for and booing other people. I'd recommend it for stress release if nothing else.
I am also now a fan of H-Flame and Jade Diamond. Those boys are cut(e). And talented.
I am sad that Jessie lost her match though, she fought so well and I'm sure she would have won if Johnnie Juice hadn't body slammed her at the end there.
Plus, Blair is an awesome commentator. Some serious skills fo sho.
PoF: same as before
CO: think I'll have a nap
So, they're making Twilight by Stephanie Meyer into a move starring Cedric Diggory from the Harry Potter movies as the sexy sexy vampire.
You may recall that I had some issues with this series of books. A literal love/hate relationship where I really enjoy the writing but the storyline takes my feminist principles and stomps them into the ground and then piles mud over them and spits on the mound of mud and then calls it romance.
So, my feelings about it being made into a movie and thereby promoting the series further and showing girls that this is an okay way to act by showing it in live action with Cedric as the sexy vampire is somewhat upsetting to me.
On the other side of the conflicted emotions spectrum I am also excited about the movie and I compulsively have to click on the links that Cleolinda provides and look at the photographs from the movie.
See here for some very nice images which show off the vampire makeup and here for an interview with the author and some set pictures. Does it bug anyone else that girls are expected to swoon while watching this movie? Because it bugs me.
But it also bugs me that Kristen Stewart looks nothing like I imagine Bella to look like! Man, I hate being this conflicted. I either want to suck it up and fangirl like crazy or decide to hate it and feel better about myself.
But neither decision feels right, so I live in conflicty-town. I think Giffy can probably join me there?
PoF: Threadless hoodie
CO: do I have Lee's illness or not? Why is it so so cold?
Google books gave me this: how much caffiene is in stuff? (especially Royal Crown Draft Cola which I am currently addicted to on a low low level since I shouldn't really ingest caffiene.)
Look at how little there is in chocolate! Wait, Dr Pepper has caffeine in it? Weird.
I also love this! Recreating photos of you as a kid! Fun times.
Weekly appreciation ritual.....I have been feeling generally happier about stuff. I think this gratitude thing is working out. Therefore, I continue it.
Today I am thankful for:
My friends. I had lunch with Sok and although we didn't talk about anything terribly deep or life shattering, it is lovely to catch up and just see each other. Sok is also looking very beautiful right now, which I really should have told her in person but I guess I forgot what with laughing so hard I got tears in my eyes.
Plus seeing people at Movie Night and talking about weird stuff during the movies. I did enjoy The Host the monster-under-the-water FX was pretty chilling stuff.
Good books. I went (as you know) on a bit of a spending spree last week. I have now finished How to be Popular and it was really good. I am now tossing up between reading the other Meg Cabot book I got or Ironside by Holly Black. I think it will be Holly Black.
Location location location. Being in the middle of town rocks subtly as well as explicitly. Today I made a tiny detour in my walk home and visited my two(!) local DVD shops. I was flirted with at one, which was sweet even if he wasn't terribly helpful, and at the other I picked up Sealab 2021 because all the Adult Swim first seasons are $25 right now and I also learned from the two very cool boys working there that Life on Mars season two comes out May 4th (be with you) and Cloverfield in mid May. Perhaps the 15th?
Also, I can just pop out and go to Glassons/Farmers/Bookshops at will...bliss.
My new glasses. They are pink and shiny! They also make the world a much clearer place with crisp sharp edges. I am a little sad that glasses cost so very much, my bank account is certainly feeling the burn from them, but I wouldn't give them back! They are shiny and pink! If I had much more money I would buy a couple of pairs for my different moods. I crave black cat's eye glasses like my Mum wore in the 60's.
Also: slow cookered meat curry, patchwork, having a clean house, my pyjamas, my Threadless hoodie, $2 cupcakes from Te Papa, LOLcats and the way people's faces light up when they see me walking with my bright orange lion umbrella. It has ears.
I should also mention the decadence that is having a whole afternoon to myself in the middle of the week. I can't get over how happy it is making me having this tiny weekend.
What do you love today? What makes you thankful to be alive?
I was going to go to Spotlight but the car lift wouldn't come to me. Dammit. I had to settle for Arthur Toyes instead, which is good in that I am not tempted to buy random other stuff, but bad because their fabric range is smaller.
I had a nap this afternoon and then got some writing done. I spoke to my mother and did some housework. I had a shower at 5pm. The madness!
I was thinking about typing up some of what I wrote but instead I feel compelled to blog about Bad Family. Steve's game that used to be called Lucky Joneses and is a huge hit with my Tuesday night roleplaying group right now. Basically it's a game meant to recreate a dysfunctional family sitcom.
You get a list of family members to choose from. We've been playing the following family members:
Elric is River, the youngest child. A girl of 13.
Star is Lee, the adopted child. A girl of 18.
Svend is Dick, the father.
and me as Jamie, the middle child. I am playing him as 17 years old.
Once the characters are sorted out you figure out what your character 'wants' for the game. We've played two sessions, so we've each had two sets of wants to work towards so far. Over the course of the games we've worked out that there is a perfect oldest son called Alex who is away at college. It's not clear if he even exists, but the family all believe he does and all the children have Alex's shining example to try and live up to.
River: get a room of my own and prove that this dodgy thing I found in Alex's room has nothing to do with Alex.
Lee: Make some money and get kicked out of home
Dick: Ensure one of my kids goes to college and make Lee feel more a part of the family.
Jamie: Find a place for my band to practise and then win the battle of the bands.
Here are some quotes from the sessions, so you can see both how incredibly, terrifyingly good we are at being a dysfunctional family and how some of those wants turned out.
Session one:
Jamie to Lee: I need this garage for band practice! Stop building a meth lab!
River: I need my own room, I don't want to share with Jamie any more!
Jamie: You should really get her her own room, one of my bandmates was going through her drawers the other day.
Dick: Maybe you shouldn't be spending time with such people?
Jamie: It's not their fault! She totally leads them on! She's like Paris Hilton!
Jenni to Steve: I think I've just established this isn't a G rated show.
Steve: Oh yeah?
Jenni: Well, I just swore and then implied that a 13 year old was a ho.
River: What the Hell do you think you are doing?
Lee (crucifying a Barbie): Vandalising your property.
Steve, as Dick, who has forgotten his children's names: I just pick a family at random and wipe their minds.
Back at the room debate:
Jamie: I notice that no one is using Alex's room.
Dad: That is Alex's room.
Jamie: But he lives at Harvard now!
Dad: not when he comes home to visit.
Jamie's band mate, to Dick, who has just walked into band practice:
Yo old man, what you doin? You're making a face like you are pooing!
Lee (threatening to damage it....): I thought you said your guitar was in the shop, but there it is.
Jamie: Uh, that's Alex's guitar.
River:no, his is in his room. I saw it.
Jamie: It's....his back up guitar.
River: no, he took that to Harvard.
Jamie: OK FINE! It's mine! *snatches it back*.
Session two:
Dick: Every time you go to tuba practice we put some money into your college fund. Isn't that tremendous!
Chris the dodgy bandmate is at breakfast, with a drunken mum sitting on his lap...
Jamie: Are you and Mum breaking up? Is Chris going to be my new father? Because I'm not really OK with that.
Dick: Neither am I.
Lee: *tazers Chris*
Dick: History is something we have to put behind us, like our broken dreams.
Star: I guess I could agree that if my father was reincarnated as a dog I would keep him in my handbag.
To get his band to focus for the battle of the bands, Jamie tazers Chris.
Chris: Argh!
Jamie: Dude, that was just a pepper grinder. Get it together.
Jamie, having lost the battle of the bands and then broken up the band:
I think I want pizza.
Dick: Well, if it's on the menu then that's fine.
Jamie: why would I order pizza if there is no pizza on the menu?
Mum: It might be a self hating thing dear. (moved closer to Jamie)
Jamie: Oh.
Mum: We can have pizza together.
Jamie: Can we have anchovies on it?
Mum: I hate them, so yes.
Jamie: So do I.....I love you Mum.
Mum: I love you, number two son.
Next week Lee and I are going to start Swing Dancing on Wednesday nights. It's a six week course for beginners and we're doing it with his sister and her spouse.
A couple of my friends have asked me how I managed to convince Lee to take me dancing. Well, let's start off with saying two things.
1. It weren't easy!
2. I likely had it easier than many other people.
To expand, in reverse order. My darling husband used to be an Actor. He did a degree in theatre and performed in many many plays. He had to do dance and yoga and crazy stuff that I don't even want to know about for his degree, so he has a familiarity with the whole idea that many kiwi blokes probably just don't.
In addition to this, he promised me a couple of years ago that he would take me to dancing lessons if I organised them. He had to promise, because he doesn't like the idea of me dancing with other men and I don't want to go to lessons on my own, and if he won't dance with me then I get no dancing and that hardly seems fair.
So we're going to do swing dancing and I am excited about it! Plus, we really need the exercise. We haven't played tennis once since we moved (no court around the corner) and we can't agree on any other kind of exercise. He runs faster than I can and swimming at Freyberg pool doesn't appeal. The renouf tennis centre is really expensive!
The other leverage I had to convince Lee to go was that I organised the lessons and we can walk there quite easily from our new abode.
This evening I went to another book launch. It was for a friend of my mother in law's at the Kilbirnie Children's book shop. She's written an adorable book called Piggety Wiggety Jiggety-Jig and when it was read out it actually brought a little tear to my eye. The title is a little off-putting I admit, but it is also the heart of the story and a great one it is too!
In other book news I am really enjoying Meg Cabot's How to be Popular, although her romances are getting kinda formulaic...it's still awesome light chick-litty goodness.
I am officially addicted to my bath. I am trying to restrict myself to two soaks per week, but the damn thing is too tempting. This evening's submerge was in Flossty Gritter bubble bar from Lush (lovely smell, huge lasting bubbles and a pleasingly subtle purple tint to the water), American Doll Posse blasting on the stereo and a glass of cold water to drink. Plus Meg Cabot to read.
PoF: Blissed out
CO: really quite sleepy.
I didn't manage to write a Things I Love Thursday list this week, due to spontaneous going to movies, so I thought I'd do a wee gratitude update here on Sunday instead.
I am trying to make this a regular thing, because listening to Gala Darling's Being Happy podcast on my MP3 player has convinced me to do so. I know Suraya said that she thought there should be a 'Things that rip my shorts' Wednesday to balance it out, but to be honest, I'd rather focus on the happy things.
I am considering defining 'rip my shorts' as 'make me excited' though, and starting that up as a list. 'Rip my shorts' sounds vaguely sexual to me for whatever reason. Maybe that's not such a great weekly list to start up. Heh.
This Sunday I am feeling vaguely anxious and grumpy because I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep because I kept thinking all sorts of things. I must've been awake an hour or so before I dropped back off and then Lee woke me up at 9am, so I feel tired and ratty. I absolutely refuse to get up and do things at 4am though.
So, in my grumpy-ish state, what things am I grateful for today?
Lee and I sat in the sun on our balcony today and read books. It got so hot out there that I started to feel like I would get a sunburn, but I am so so grateful to have a sunny balcony to go out on. It was one of my favourite things about our hotel in Mooloolaba, so I can pretend like I'm on a fancy holiday in some amazing city and sit out on my balcony now.
I am grateful for my mother and father. We visited them for lunch yesterday, ostensibly for my father's birthday but I didn't actually get him anything yet. I just love to hang out with them and talk. My mother taught me sewing and baking and she gave me some quilt fabric with teddy bears on it from her stash so I can put it into a quilt for Dominic. My dad has a whole pile of little oil and watercolour landscapes half painted. The one pegged to the easel right now is a gorgeous snowy mountain.
I am loving my own ability to get things done. I have all the blocks completed now for one baby quilt and a bunch done for the second one. Now it's assembling and bordering.
I am also happy and grateful to have such awesome friends. Yesterday's visiting was awesome cool, bonding with babies and catching up with people we haven't seen in quite some time. I got the cutest photos too!
I wish I could spend all my time in the presence of such positive people. I don't know that the people I see day to day are necessarily negative, just maybe not quite as positive as I need right now.
I know I've been saying this over and over but I really am happy in our new apartment. I found myself thinking yesterday that I don't know how I could ever move out!
Chocolate is another thing to be thankful for. I shall go and have some now to remind myself of this.
Please do feel free to comment and let me know what you are appreciating right now. Even better, write your own blog post (if that's your thing) about positive things, or just write in your private journal. It really does help to put things into perspective.
PoF: Emo bear and sunshine
CO: how can I ever move out of this shaft of sunlight?
People buzzed our intercom last night, in what I suspect will become a ritual of looking at the caller ID and then ignoring it. I figure anyone I actually know will have the decency to text before dropping round at quarter to one in the morning.
Father in law said the intercom wouldn't work past 11pm. Must have a talk to him about that.
I am getting new glasses. They are shiny and kind of pink! They're a bit littler and squarer than my last ones. I resisted the OTT red space frames and the super light (expensive) addidas steel ones. I also resisted the urge to ask for Harry Potter black round frames. I am teh sensible.
I went to Giffy's father in law for the optometry and I couldn't be happier. He tells you a lot of what's going on and we chatted about Giffy and her Beau and he remembered that it was us who were involved in the Tiger Incident of a few years back.
I had an interesting consumeristic moment yesterday, I came out of the optometrist and went 'huh, that wasn't as expensive as it could have been. Why don't I go to Borders and spend a heap of money?' so I did. I bought the Fables book that I didn't have (book 8 Wolves) and then I bought a bunch of Meg Cabot books that I didn't already have (Tommy Sullivan is a Freak, How to be Popular and the manga sequel to Avalon High and then a blank journal because it was $6 and bigger and cheaper than replacement moleskines, even though I love the moleskines.
Then I ordered the boxed set of the Spiderwick Chronicles online because that's what I was going to Borders for in the first place.
We saw the movie The Spiderwick Chronicles on Thursday night at the Embassy. It was very good in terms of look and acting and characterisation. It suffered a little from trying to cram in all the story they could, making the pacing of the movie Very Fast Indeed! And I was annoyed at how they changed the troll, which was the scariest thing in the book for me, but for different reasons to why it was scary in the movie. In the movie it was a bit like a wee kid's version of the monster from Cloverfield, in the book it's much more subtle. A coercive killer.
Today we have much visiting planned, so I am feeling the urge to craft like crazy. Lee is still asleep but I might give it another ten minutes and then do it anyway because he actually hates oversleeping. He did that last Sunday and spent the whole day in a state of flop.
Last night was an all customer support dinner at Little India. Nom nom nom. I love onion bhaji so much. I also like my work friends very much.
The other thing about yesterday was that I received my Gala Darling tank top and it is stunning. The colours of the design are gorgeous. I am going to wear it today and take photos of me visiting people in it and show off the loveliness.
Hmmm. It's 8.30 now. Lee shouldn't sleep much more.
PoF: hooded dressing gown
CO: crafting!
In an effort to Get More Writing Done, I have cut back on my work hours by half a day a week. From this week forward I shall leave work at midday on a Wednesday and head home to sit down and make myself write.
It's especially good, because if I find it difficult to force myself to write because I get distracted by stuff going I could be doing at home, I will walk myself to Te Papa, which is two minutes away and sit in the library there, where it is very quiet and I got so much of Kiki written.
I need a better name for my first book than Kiki. I am pleased that my super hero chick-lit is already named What's The Worst That Could Happen? and I don't need to agonise over the title, because I like the one I have.
I have passed the centre seam in my third moleskine notebook for my super hero chick-lit (chicklet) as of this evening. My wrist gets a little sore when I write longhand for too long though, so I switch to blogging for a bit.
It feels like a positive life change for me, so I'm happy there.
I have not done any craft. I did manage a nap yesterday afternoon but then I had a broken night's sleep because I was aware that daylight savings made the alarm time different so I had to keep waking up to check that I wasn't oversleeping.
Thanks to Frank I have now read Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman and it is good, although I start to worry that he is obsessed with the Norse gods. But then I think, that's ok, I'm obsessed with fairies. Maybe not as obsessed as Holly Black, but still. Good book.
Meg Cabot updated today here about the definition of chick lit and it makes me happy to be writing one.
PoF: Earth dissected
CO: writing writing writing
Lee and I have created a band called Darth Fancy and have been touring Chicago and New York, getting a fanbase up. I sing under the pseudonym Lenore Goldfish (which dedicated readers of this blog will recall was my band's name in rockstargame oh so long ago) Lee plays the guitar as Lee Vicious.
We just managed to win a tour bus in a contest so we can go to more cities now. I am very good at Bon Jovi's Dead or Alive. We had to abandon Iron Lung on hard setting, though.
Lee points out that really, Rock Band should be called Covers Band, because that's what you do.
Lee's brother had the game and accessories specially imported and is very generous to lend them to us. It is a ridiculously fun and addictive game.
This is one of those procrastination entries. I know I should really be doing something constructive like writing or sewing, but what I shall actually do is finish this and then have a nap and then maybe a bath and then maybe I will do some sewing. Seraph and his lovely V have a new baby boy, and quilts do not make themselves, more's the pity.
Our housewarming was great fun. Rock Band was well received by most. I caught up with quite a few of my lovely lovely friends. I need to spend more time with some of those people!
I can quite understand that the weather kept people in their own houses though, it was incredibly miserable when I went out for icing sugar (more orange cupcakes, they came out very well in the new oven and I got lots of compliments on them. Bliss!) and dip at about 3.30. I was soaking after that.
Note to self, Star Mart Courtenay Central doesn't carry icing sugar but the BP near work does.
PoF: pie queue
CO:
Talk about a sweet story! (Link grabbed from Gala Darling)
Victim treats mugger well. Awww.
This story is also rather nice:
There are lots of things I love this Thursday and they spring easily to mind, which is nice.
What things do you love this Thursday? Please share them in the comments :)
*Don't we all?
I worry that I am not living my most fabulous life, that I am not realising my full potential in terms of living vibrantly every moment. I had a bath at 7.30 pm with the apartment ranch sliders open to the street outside and Tori blaring on the stereo. (Not to worry, no one could see my nakedness from the street.)
I then oovled around the apartment being mopey for a bit (Lee was out at quiz night) and then forced myself to write some more of my current book. It's amazing how just sitting down and bloody doing it really works. Even if I only have a vague idea of what to write next such as this evening "The next two days passed by in a blur" can turn into many pages of interesting character flip outs and tangental imaginings of cataclysm. And there was some plot development too. Mustn't forget the plot. Overall I wrote longhand for over an hour (with wrist resting breaks) and I am feeling good about myself again. I do feel guilty when I go for days without writing, which is good, because it seems to mean I'll pick it up again.
I am excited about having our housewarming on Saturday and may now write a list of good foods to buy/make for the partay.
I bought a tank top from Icing. It is gorgeous, and I can't wait to wear it. I also bought little girl hairclips in pink and red and purple-with-cupcakes.
Earlier today, the sweeping generalisations in this article pissed me off:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4458880a11.html
But my workmate J uploaded photos of the D*vice party I attended on Friday night and included the videos we made of us all doing our Dawson Crying Face impressions. Hilarious stuff.