Tales from the Boiler Plate

Craft Fair this weekend!!!!

2009-10-24T09:05:56Z

Well, the big day has come. I'm finally going to get to try and sell some of my jams to the public!!!! I donated some to my niece's Harvest Festival, but I was not there to represent myself. This time I'm going to get to talk up my yummies.... All low sugar, made with seasonal fruit and the occasional spirit.

I'm looking at getting an e-business started but I haven't found the time to make all the appropriate inquiries.

If you're in the Castro Valley area, come and visit!!!

Click for details

Post DC mini post

2009-10-15T04:09:44Z

Just returned from my cousin's wedding. It was very nice and the fact that she had the reception in a historic place was pretty cool.

So for the mini post-

My feet are happy to be home.
Metro is about a million times better than BART (and significantly cheaper).
The Library of Congress is simply amazing.
We ate at Spike Mendelson's (Top Chef) burger place, which was pretty good, considering it was just a hamburger and fries, although the toasted marshmallow shake was super yummy.
We ate a Eric Ripert's place - that was like food heaven.
Had some family drama that I can't decide if I want to post about. Maybe but I don't feel like typing out 20+ years of stuff just to whine about this past weekend. It's probably not whining really; what's going on is starting to bother me and make me very sad, so in reality, I should just do something about it.

A few snaps:

Been away awhile...

2009-09-28T07:11:03Z

My entrance into the Facebook community has taken me away from blogging anything. I thought it was about time to get back to this...

Yea for bullet points:

* I bought myself a laptop. I love it and can't believe we were a one computer family for as long as we were.

* Work is crazy with ups and downs. I have no idea if I will have a job in six months but I'm sticking with it for the time being. Biotech is always a little risky but sometimes it feels more risky than I like which is causing me to think and evaluate my options.

* We almost have one complete month of emergency money saved, so that is making me very happy and a *little* more secure.

* I've been selling some stuff on eBay this week to get rid of some things around the house. Things sure don't sell as well as they used to, do they?

* Been doing a lot of home improvement lately: new blinds throughout the house, new windows and doors (taking advantage of the tax rebate and it will make the house so much warmer in the winter), and we removed the carpet in our 2nd room revealing a very nice wood floor. The floor could stand being refinished but it's not that bad.

* Finally, the thing that it taking up the most of my free time lately - JAM! I have over 100 jars of jam put up in my house right now. I brought some of my very best flavor to a meeting with some croissants one night and I've been invited to sell it at multiple craft fairs around the area (Castro Valley). I do about 3-5 batches a week so I've got jam all over the house. People at work have been buying off of me at my cost so this will be the first time I try to actually turn a profit. I hope it sells because 100+ jars is a LOT! I've been developing some of my own flavors, too, so my confidence is growing.

Flavors so far:
Mango Raspberry
Cherry Amaretto
Strawberry Nectarine
Rhubarb Orange
Blackberry - from my own bushes
Blackberry Chambord
Peach
Peach Rum with Gosling's Black Seal (more of a sauce than a jam)
Vanilla Bourbon Peach - the far and away favorite of everyone
Orange Fig with Grand Marnier
Cardamom Plum

To do this week:
Strawberry & Stemilt Apricot (they are beautiful, little, blushed apricots)
Balsamic Strawberry (which I can't wait to eat with ricotta or vanilla marscapone on an english muffin!!)

Next week:
Pear & Anise - from my own tree!!
Vanilla Pear
Apple butter
Carmel Apple butter
Spiced Carmel Pear butter
whatever other fresh fruit I find

*In addition to jams, I've been putting up pickles with my favorite being dilly beans. They are dill pickled green beans and I had NO idea they would be SO good. I'd never heard of them before and someone mentioned them at work... they are awesome. I've been eating them over salads and find that I don't need any dressing because the flavor of the beans is plenty. I've done some bread and butter pickles which are quite good and some kosher dills that I don't like too much but Lenny does. I've also got a dozen jars of sauerkraut that I fermented myself. Fermenting food is a little unnerving but no one has gotten sick yet, so that's good.

*I also came into some tomatoes today, so I guess I'll be canning those this week too.

*Home canning - it's a sickness.

*Lenny continues to travel for work far more than I like. He's home one week out of every 6 and I'm getting tired of it. Done, not going to bitch about it right now.

* We are taking a vacation to DC in early October for my cousin's wedding. Our big plans were supposed to include NYC but since he's never home we decided on taking one week in DC and one week at home. NYC will come soon, but not as soon as we'd hoped.

Well, that's enough, I guess. Good night, LJ - I'll try not to be so absent....

Friday Five- The Cleaning Edition

2009-08-01T00:26:10Z

1. How often do you clean your home? Very rarely do I clean the WHOLE place. Mostly, we'll do the public areas or the private areas on opposite weeks. Some rooms don't get cleaned for a looooong time; we're too busy with other things to worry about a spotless house. I'd rather go out and live my life. However, if there a people coming over I will clean -- most people would be amazed at how much dust I tolerate.

2. What domestic chore do you hate? I don't like to vaccuum, fold/ put away laundry or change sheets.

3. What domestic chore do you enjoy? I like cleaning kitchens and bathrooms.

4. Do you own a washing machine or go to the laundrette? I have a washing machine - one of the few perks to being an old lady with a job (as opposed to a poor college student).

5. Do you iron underpants and/or bed sheets? ARE YOU KIDDING??? I don't iron ANYTHING unless forced at gun point.

grrr

2009-07-22T23:57:10Z

I should feel sorry for people who have no vision and want to shit on other people's ideas but right now I'm just pissed.

Melissa F

2009-06-20T01:10:13Z

Right now, I am sad. My cousin and her husband are losing his (their) daughter within the next few hours or days.  She was diagnosed with a brain tumor February 2008 and while they've had a few months more with her than they thought, it has been a hard journey for them.

Her dad admitted to me that he wished she would "go soon" back in October. (They didn't expect her to see Christmas in 2008.) He said, "I know that sounds terrible" but I told him that I understood; waiting for the inevitable would feel impossible. They were very close because she was his "buddy", loving to fish, hunt and camp with him.   I told him that I had could not begin to understand how he was feeling and that I didn't know how he was getting through it.  He replied, "Xanax". We chuckled. There is a little truth in most humor, I guess.

I met her once so I didn't know her at all really. But I can't imagine what it must be like for her parents.   All the promise and dreams for her life that is dying right along with her must be unbearable for them. She is 14.

My heart is breaking for family in Illinois tonight.

Annoyed - what else is new

2009-04-09T18:53:00Z

I hate it when people use Facebook status updates to preach about whatever; especially when it is, by-and-large, propaganda.

I've also pulled by back or something and it is horrendously painful. If this is what my mom has been feeling like for the last few months, I am elated that she's had her surgery and that she is no longer in pain. (She's pain-free except for the healing part... but that is temporary. YAY!!)

What's in a name?? A whole lot of decision time, that's what

2009-03-14T08:17:16Z

We've been racking our brains (me and Lenny, that is) trying to come up with a name for a company that we are in the fledgling stages of starting. It is REALLY hard to come up with something that is personally meaningful but doesn't sound stupid. We've brainstormed seriously for the last two days and there is not a lot that is sticking out saying, "Pick me! Pick me!"

SO... if you were a client/ financially based organization what would you be called? You need to sound strong yet caring, original (if possible), brand-able (depending on growth), easily spelled, with longevity so that 10 years down the road you don't sound pathetically trendy.

We've got one, maybe, but it lacks originality. Something might have to be sacrificed - originality looks to be it, so far.

I'm getting antsy to get going though. Without the name, we cannot set up the LLC, get an address, business cards or credit.

Odd

2009-03-04T08:36:52Z

I got a bill from UPS today. Which is wierd in the first place, but as I dig around I find that it is for something shipped from Kansas to Vermont. WTF? There is a shipper number assigned to my name. I hope this is a simple mistake and not some kind of identity theft.

Interesting Friday Five that I have no answers for, yet

2009-02-13T07:09:16Z

A thought provoking questionnaire this week! I'm going to have to seriously consider the answers. Anyone have thoughts on what they would do?

1. If you were to have a scholarship created in your honor, what qualities would you look for in applicants (leadership, service, GPA, etc.)?
2. Who would be eligible to apply for your scholarship (members of a certain major, ethnic group, sexuality, etc.)?
3. Would it be need-based or not? Why?
4. What would you call it?
5. If you made applicants write an essay, what would the topic be?

ETA- I can't believe I spelled questionnaire right on the first try!

BBC Book Meme - my turn!

2009-02-11T20:58:36Z

Swipped from dagnabit . Looks like I've still got some reading to do!!

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen(X)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (X)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X++)
6 The Bible (* - only read parts, not the whole thing yet)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (*)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (X)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (X)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (X+)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (* )
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (X)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (X)
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (*)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (X++)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (* reading it right now)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (X)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh *
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (X)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (X++)
29 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (X)
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (X)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (X)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (*)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (X)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres (*)
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (X)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (X)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (X++)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (X++)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving (X)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (X++)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (X)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (X+)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert (*)
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (X)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (X)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (X)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (X+)
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (*)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (X)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (X)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (*)
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (X+)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (X)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (X)
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (X)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (X)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo (*)
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (*)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (X)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (X)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (X)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (X+)
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (X)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute (*)
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (*)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (X)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

53 out of 100 read.
.

Water Heater -- Poof!

2009-01-28T05:27:32Z

Friday I came home to a kitchen full of soaked towels because our water heater decided to burst. (Yes, my water heater is in the house, in my kitchen. Silly, I know but it's an old house.) We wanted to re-locate it anyway but were hoping to do it on our schedule.

We've been without hot water since then, but it hasn't been too bad since we saw family all weekend ( free showers) and our gym has private facilities. The only thing that is suffering are the dishes but that's livable. Eventually, I'll boil some water and get those cleared out too.

I was able to stay home from work during the day and wait for plumbers and estimates so that's what I did today. (I'm working now in order to get some data done by the end of the week - waiting for plates to come off machines = time to ramble about my day.)

Our broken heater is electric, tabletop and right next to the W/D. It just doesn't make any sense. It looks like a big white box in the middle of the kitchen. We also found out today that it's 18 years old. We asked for estimates for gas, cylinder heater,relocated to a pantry closet and gas, tankless heater, located outside. Would you believe the tankless estimates are cheaper???? I never thought that would happen. We're still looking a about $3000 but that still beats $3500 for an indoor one that would cause me to lose a pantry until we can get the kitchen remodeled. (Oh happy day, how you elude me!)

You might ask why we are going with gas instead of just using the electric outlet... well, our choices were to update the electric box from 20 to 40 amps or plumb for gas. I vote plumb for gas.

Anyone out there have a tankless water heater? I think that's what we're going to opt for. It's cheaper and saves/adds some room in my already-small house. However, I have heard mixed reviews. Anyone?

6 words

2009-01-22T19:45:37Z

I'd heard about 6 word stories but I thought this might be a fun exercise: a six-word love story.

Mine is:

Ten years later, we're like newlyweds.

What's yours?

Friday Five

2009-01-09T21:15:11Z

1. What would you do right now, if money were not an issue? Travel- Japan, Antarctica, Europe, Africa

2. What would you do for the next three years, if money were not an issue? - That's a toss up between traveling or starting a business of my own. Depends on if money would never be an issue or if for three years only money would not be an issue. If I have three years with no trouble getting and using money, then I would start a real estate empire, make all kinds of money then use that to travel or go back to school. If money would never be an issue for me again, I would travel, travel, travel.

3. What is bringing you the most joy right now that requires little or no money? Reading, watching my dogs run around, being with my niece and nephew, planning and dreaming big.

4. What types of things do you find enjoyable that require no money? Reading, taking a walk, goofing off with Lenny, playing games, looking at old pictures, writing, scrapbooking or cooking (because I have all the stuff I need, so it's essentially free now), offering solicited or unsolicited advice, making to-do lists

5. Is there anything you've been meaning to do for a long time, but put off because of money? Buying some more property, going to school again, adopting some kids (which also has a different set of problems, but it is quite expensive.)

I've done something incredibly stupid

2009-01-06T05:40:21Z

I signed up for the Camp Pendleton Mud Race. I have been thinking about it for a while and a friend sign up our team over our holiday break. Basically, it's a 10K run with obstacles at the Marine base down in the San Diego area. The climbing wall was causing me the most anxiety, then I found out there are two. Now that I'm looking over the course, I'm nervous about the tunnels and the steeple jumps. Essentially, I'm fairly conviced that I can't get over the 2' steeples and that I'll get my fat ass stuck in the tunnel and embarass the hell out of myself.

I plan on training for the run but, as of right now, I'm having some serious doubts.

Will post any pictures, including those involving a chain saw to get me out of the tunnel.

Grossed out at the Pizza Hut

2009-01-01T05:06:50Z

Lenny and I went to the Hut the other night for some a salad. (I happen to love their creamy Italian dressing and I hate the pizza.)

Anyway...

At the booth across the way was a couple with a kid, I'd guess around 2-ish or younger. The kid was eating the ketchup bottle top. They eventually left and all I could think about was the next person coming in to use the ketchup and having kid-slobber and germs all over it. Fucking gross. Then I thought about all the people who used the bottle ahead of said child and was grossed out even more.

Mini-barf.

I believe I might be abstaining from condiments at restaurants from now on.

Books in Review - 2008 Edition

2009-01-01T04:29:35Z

Well, I'm not going to make my goal of 12,000 pages read, but I did read more than last year. I managed to get over 10K, so 85% of my goal isn't too bad.

Since, there is no need to read like crazy for the rest of the night, here's this year's accomplishment:

	Author	Title	Finish Date	Pages	From List
1	Grahame	The Wind in the Willows	1/9/2008	187	X
2	DeLillo	White Noise	1/20/2008	326	X
3	Caldwell	Tobacco Road	01/24/08	184	X
4	London	The Sea-Wolf	2/28/2008	287
5	Loos	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes	4/14/2008	165	X
6	Naipaul	A House for Mr. Biswas	4/21/2008	564	X
7	O'Hara	Appointment in Samarra	4/28/2008	240	X
8	Styron	Sophie's Choice	5/17/2008	562	X
9	Meyer	Twilight	7/24/2008	498
10	Meyer	New Moon	7/26/2008	563
11	Meyer	Eclipse	8/1/2008	629
12	Meyer	Breaking Dawn	8/28/2008	754
13	Lancaster	Such a Pretty Fat (Seriously, Another Memoir): A Narcissist's Quest to Discover if her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big or Why Pie is not the Answer	9/2/2008	379
14	Dreiser	An American Tragedy	9/7/2008	856	X
15	Smart	By Grand Central Station I sat Down and Wept	9/9/2008	206	X
16	Kingston	Tripmaster Monkey	9/20/2008	340	X
17	Gilbert	Eat, Pray, Love	9/27/2008	334
18	Smith	The Top 10 Distinctions between Millionaires and the Middle Class	10/18/2008	118
19	Dacyczyn	The Complete Tightwad Gazette	11/1/2008	927
20	Cramer	What It Takes	11/9/2008	1051
21	Sarton	Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing	11/15/2008	220	X
22	Bradbury	Fahrenheit 451	11/16/2008	179	X
23	Windling	The Wood Wife	11/22/2008	320	X
24	Faulkner	The Sound and the Fury	11/30/2008	321	X
25	Eker	Secrets of the Millionaire Mind	12/8/2008	202

So I got sucked into Twilight. I will blame it on the fact that I went to high school with Stephanie Meyer (nee Morgan). I also was majorly sidetracked with reading and researching financial books. And since I'm making excuses here, I was a fool to think that I could get through War and Peace (which would have put me over 12k) in ten days.

Recommendations from this year include What it Takes, Fahrenheit 451, Sophie's Choice and The Tightwad Gazette.

I'm in the middle of a number of books. I got really distracted this year and lost focus on "The List" but I'm not that worried about it. I did manage to get 14 from the list read and at one point this year I hit 33.33% finished. That was a decent milestone.

On my nightstand and currently reading:

War and Peace -Tolstoy
The Weekend Millionaire Mind-Set - Summey and Rodgers
The One-Minute Millionaire - Allen and Hansend
The Frugal Duchess - Rosenberg
The Rainbow - DH Lawrence
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Shaffer and Barrows

Up next: Ender's Game - I hear it's great.

I'm bumping up next year's goal to 15k pages read. Even though I didn't meet the 12K from this year, with more focus I know I could have.

To be a part of this...

2008-12-30T10:13:50Z

This is an amazing article about the last surviving, American WWI soldier and a high school class with a phenomenal teacher. I wish the papers were filled with more of these kinds of stories. What a difference this teacher and experience will make in the kids' lives.

The most accurate assessment from a personality quiz I've ever taken

2008-12-30T09:51:45Z

If you want to know who I am, here it is. This is me in a nutshell, minus the Betty Davis Eyes.

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Bette!

You are a Bette -- "I must be strong"

Bettes are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.

How to Get Along with Me

* Stand up for yourself... and me.

* Be confident, strong, and direct.

* Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.

* Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side.

* Give me space to be alone.

* Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.

* I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack.

* When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am.

What I Like About Being a Bette

* being independent and self-reliant

* being able to take charge and meet challenges head on

* being courageous, straightforward, and honest

* getting all the enjoyment I can out of life

* supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me

* upholding just causes

What's Hard About Being a Bette

* overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to

* being restless and impatient with others' incompetence

* sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it

* never forgetting injuries or injustices

* putting too much pressure on myself

* getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right

Bettes as Children Often

* are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit

* are sometimes loners

* seize control so they won't be controlled

* figure out others' weaknesses

* attack verbally or physically when provoked

* take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings

Bettes as Parents

* are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted

* are sometimes overprotective

* can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Cat Meme

2008-12-28T08:46:50Z

From thatgaychick :

1. Open paint
2. Close your eyes.
3. Draw a cat.

I submit for your viewing, A Cat in Three Parts

Movie Meme

2008-12-28T08:34:57Z

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times: Shakespeare in Love
2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in a theatre: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2x)
3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie: Jake Gyllenhaal
4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie: Tom Cruise
5. Name a movie that you can quote from: Fasttimes at Ridgemont High, Legally Blonde, American Beauty, Spaceballs, LOTR, and many, many others
6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs: Annie, Sound of Music
7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with: Pretty in Pink
8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see: Gosford Park - you will either love it or hate it. I love it.
9. Name a movie that you own: Really, just one? Miss Congeniality
10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops: Mos Def
11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in?: Yes, Waterworld (I think spoondave was with us. Familiar?)
12. Ever made out in a movie?: No
13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't gotten around to it: Citizen Kane
14. Ever walked out of a movie?: No, although I wish to God I'd turned off Closer.
15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theatre: Terms of Endearment, Lorenzo's Oil
16. Popcorn?: Sometimes and when I do, it's lightly buttered.
17. How often do you go to the movies?: Not very often, too much crap to wade through and I have a nice, big TV at home.
18. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?: Wall-e
19. What is your favorite/preferred genre of movie?: Independent and romantic comedy
20. What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?: Winnie-the-Pooh or Bambi

Love me some 1960's clothes, men, confusing gender roles and the emerging women's movement

2008-12-21T22:50:23Z

I have been completely sucked in by Mad Men. That is a fantastic show -- only 3 epi's in but I can't see it going south anytime soon.

Dork Sexy

2008-12-20T07:31:50Z

We went to Target tonight to pick up a couple of things. I needed to get some Goo Gone stuff for work so we made our way to the cleaning aisle.

At home, we have a two different kinds of Windex but neither one seem to be too good at cleaning mirrors. I think I must have picked up some multi-surface stuff or something. I was trying to talk to Lenny about it and was interrupted with a grammar correction.

Conversation as follows:

"Honey, the Windexes we have..."

"Uh, that's Windices."

God, I love that man!

Writer's Block: Under the Same Sign

2008-12-19T08:14:57Z

Today is chockfull of celebrity birthdays—Brad Pitt, Keith Richards, Christina Aguilera, and more. What celebrities do you share your birthday with? Do you find any similarities between you and those who share your birthday?

View 500 Answers

The only celebutard that celebrates my birthday to the letter is Johnny Knoxville. There are lots of people that have the same day, but only he and I share the same year. Hmmm... are there any similarities? Well, I'm not a jackass so that's out...

Writer's Block: Gone but Not Forgotten

2008-12-07T20:59:54Z

Many beloved television shows are no longer with us, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Six Feet Under, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. What defunct television show do you miss the most?

View 500 Answers

Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared and Sons & Daughters. Very sad that they were all cancelled so young. They were frickin' hilarious!