Adorable Distractions...

Ugh.

It's been a bit of a frustrating/exhausting morning for me, so far...[I recommend working with family to no one. Absolutely no one.]

However, I have a feeling that I'll end up shoving these nasty feelings somewhere down into the deep recesses of my psyche...and then I'll get over it. Soooo, rather than write out a rant-y, whiny post about my crap morning...I'm posting pictures of several adorable Shiba Inus [is the plural of 'shiba inu' supposed to be 'shiba inus' or 'shiba inu'? I've got no idea...]

These adorable, super Asian dogs are my obsession of the day....hooray for cuteness! [Boo on crap mornings!]

Tiddly Bits...

Hey, hey, hey!

Who's up for some more thinking bits?!

- I've come to realize that I'll probably never stop watching cartoons. Aaaaand, I'm perfectly okay with it /grin

- I need to learn how to speak my mind a bit more freely. I've been bottling up things...and that's never good

- Listening to talk radio feels like a much more gratifying way to spend my driving time than listening to music...not that I'll ever completely cut music out of my drives, I just feel like I might actually learn something rather than just pass the time

- Heat + humidity = the worst combination possible

- Is it possible to somehow read books, watch movies, catch up on tv series, and play video games at the same time? I want to do all of these things. At once.

- I think that we need more stationery shops. I miss the ones like they had in Korea...everything was so cute! They even had scented pencil leads!

- Flying insects with stingers are the bane of my existence...they're right up there with everything that lives in the ocean.

- 'Shark Week' is a terrible, terrible week's worth of programming...I mean, have you ever seen a Megamouth shark? No? Google it real quick and you'll see why I'm cringing! [I'm sorry!]

A "Mad World" Sort of Day...

This is everything today.

Depression is a b****. But, just wait, I'm gonna kick it's butt...

Hey, Hey, Hey...

Pssssst! Hey!!

It's me! I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I promise I'm still alive!

Since I've been gone, it seems like I've had a lot going on and yet nothing going on at the same time...I always felt really busy, but looking back, I'm not quite sure why I felt that way.../shrug

Over the last couple weeks, I've had quite a bit of familial distress...I've got an aunt that's going through a tremendous amount of medical complications right now. That alone is enough to make for a worrisome situation, but add in the fact that she's overseas and it suddenly gets that much worse.

Luckily, we were able to figure out a way to get my cousin [her daughter] over there...but it's still a very stressful situation. Right now, the goal is to get her well enough to fly back to the states via MedEvac...her condition has been very up-and-down over the last week, but my aunt is definitely a fighter! So, if you don't mind, please throw up a quick prayer/positive thought/good juju for my aunt and the rest of my family...it's been quite the emotional roller coaster.

A more lighthearted development is my renewed love for My Little Pony...yes, I'm a 'grown-up' who still likes MLP...I don't quite remember how it happened, exactly, but I've been really looking into collecting the original ponies.

Lost her at the last second...
curse you, eBay!!

Like most girls of the 80's, I had some of these adorable ponies...but, of course, I played with them. So now, I've been scouring eBay and Etsy like crazy!

Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of MLP toys that people are selling...it's finding a particular pony that you love and happens to be in good condition that's the challenge.

It's the G1 ponies that I'm interested in collecting...these are the ones that came out between 1982 and 1995. There are so many of them, I know it wouldn't be practical to try and collect them all...so, I've decided to start with a group that might be a little more attainable. I'm looking for G1 Rainbow Ponies, Twinkle-Eyed Ponies, and a few particular Twice-as-Fancy ponies...I know these categories probably don't mean anything to you, so click here to see which ones I'm talking about...

Sooooo, if any of you happen to have some ponies that you no longer want, please let me know!!

Alrighty, I'm off to get things to prepare for a babyshower [yay.]...

Chips & Dip, Puppies, and Narrowly Avoided Global Destruction!!

Busy day at the office today...

However, I didn't want to miss a post, so I'm going to make this one quick...

Today [March 23] is:

- National Chip and Dip Day
- National Melba Toast Day
- National Organize Your Home Office Day
- National Puppy Day
- Near Miss Day
- OK Day
- World Meteorological Day

Quite a bit happening today in the realm of random  holidays!

Near Miss Day is actually quite interesting...I suggest a quick Googling of it if you've got a few spare minutes.

I hope you guys have a good Monday!

Treadmill Master!

Really short post today...

Found this video on BuzzFeed and I loved it, thought I'd share the goodness with you guys...

This guy is dancing to "Uptown Funk"...on a treadmill...it's amazing!

Link to the BuzzFeed Article

Another gem on BuzzFeed is the article "23 Struggles All Clarinet Players Know Too Well.

[Clarinet was my first non-piano instrument! This list is far too accurate...]

Included this GIF because...well, why not.

Enjoy!

It's Been A Long Week....

Soooooo, it's been a week since I've posted...one very long week.

It's been a week full of sickness, doctor's visits, church events, wintry weather, school delays, school closings, and (of course) loads upon loads of work. See? Tons of stuff!

Quick Recap [I may find the time to expand on a few things later...maybe]:

Gesundheit!!

- Thanks to my kiddo's recurring allergy problems [boo, genetics!], he was the unfortunate recipient of an ear infection last week. Luckily, I was able to get him an appointment with his doctor rather
quickly and he was back to himself in no time. As crappy as an ear infection is, we finally found a medication that will be useful when allergy season arrives [several medicines have been tried and failed...thankfully, this one doesn't have 'mood/personality' changes as a common side-effect!].

- My parent's church hosted a weekend for Junior High youth this past weekend. Not knowing exactly what I was getting into, I'd agreed to a pretty significant role [the preacher asked me about it while we were standing in line to get soup and sandwiches after the service a few weeks ago...I was hungry, there were sandwiches....I shouldn't be held accountable for things I agree to when pondering sandwich selection!].

The weekend ended up being phenomenal! I honestly think that I may have gotten more out of the weekend than some of the Junior High kids did [though, I hope that they did get just as much from the weekend as I did...]. At this point in my life, I shouldn't find things like this surprising anymore, and yet...I still find myself in awe of God's capability to use unlikely situations to bring me back from my [mostly self-induced] melancholy haze.

I can already tell that this topic alone could manifest several posts, so I'm just going to roughly summarize: this kids were amazing, spending time with people that I'd forgotten were my friends was something I'd needed for quite some time, hearts were touched, tears were shed, some spiritual lives were awakened for the first time, other spiritual lives received the revival that they'd been sorely needing...songs were sung, skits were performed, and hilarious inflatable sumo suits were worn in the Fellowship Hall! It was a good weekend...

- Alabama got a hefty dose of winter weather over the past week...Hamilton got 12' of snow! Pretty sure that 12' in one day is a lot, even by Northern standards! As could be expected, there was a lot of overreacting to the snow and ice...just about every day this week, school was delayed or cancelled. After the "Snowpocalypse" of last year, I guess the overreaction can be justified. Things are supposed to be much warmer this weekend...highs in the mid- to upper-sixties! Welcome to Alabama, home of the craziest weather patterns ever!

Soooo, that was my week, in a nutshell. Throw in some 3DS Ocarina of Time and Big Hero 6 and that'll do it! Hopefully, I'll be back to posting regularly soon!

Behold! The terrifying wrath of the spurned Cuckoo!

/Facepalm....

As promised, here's my quasi-rant about the latest episode of Arrow...[I think it's safe to say that there will probably be spoilers, sooooooo....yeah, if you aren't quite caught up with the series, you may want to wait and read this post later]

It's Felicity!

As I've addressed in several posts, I'm a huge fan of CW's Arrow...and [as can be read here and here], Felicity Smoak is, by far, one of my favorite characters. Ever. And I think at this point I should reiterate the fact that I've watched a ton of shows and movies, and have read a lot of books and comics...so, for me to say that Felicity is among my favorite characters...that's pretty huge. [To me, anyway...]

One of the driving elements of the Arrow story line [over the second half of season 2 and season 3, so far] has been the teasing of a potential romance between Felicity and Oliver...I mean, come on...who doesn't want to see the brilliant, 'nerdy' girl end up with Starling City's prince charming? [Though his reputation is definitely tarnished, thanks to the happenings during seasons 1 and 2...I still think that Oliver is going to come out everything on top!]

And then, there was the first episode of season 3

*** Okay, not kidding about the spoilers...here they are!***

For as long as Felicity has been a relevant character on the show, it's been obvious that she has some sort of attraction to Oliver. [Not that anyone could blame her...he's quite the handsome/charming guy!] Especially in the 1st season, before Felicity learns about Oliver's secret past-time, she adorably fumbles through social interactions with the handsome hero...as a fellow sufferer or social awkwardness, I really felt like I could relate.

And yet, as the episodes went on, it became more and more clear that the attraction wasn't quite as one-sided as it seemed...especially during the last few episodes of season 2, it started to look like Oliver was the only one that was denying his seat on the 'Olicity' ship. [hahaha...see what I did there?] During season 2, Oliver seemed to be confused on how he wanted to handle the reappearance of the long-thought-to-be-dead Sara...at one point, he even suggests to Sara that they live together, but that notion is rather short-lived. Sara decides to return to the League of Assassins [to hopefully ensure the safety of her family], and this also takes Oliver out of her realm of possibility. It seems as though this decision was for the best, and as a Felicity fan, I was thrilled to see Sara go! [Sara..../sigh....I wound up liking her character more than her sister, Laurel...but I wasn't able to reconcile Sara's actions from the beginning of the series...in my mind, she would always be the younger sister who stole her sister's boyfriend. Always.]

So. With Sara out of the way as a competing romantic interest, I thought that surely Oliver would pursue his increasingly obvious interest in Felicity. And in the first episode of season 3, when he asked Felicity out on an official date, I was ecstatic! She got all dressed up, Oliver put on a suit and tie, there were reservations to a very nice restaurant...it was an official date! [At this point in the series, Oliver had lost his family's company and was very, very poor...which, in my opinion, makes it even more touching that Oliver went through the trouble to treat Felicity to a nice dinner] The series of pictures on the left is a scene from said date...

Okay, so at this point, I realize that I've left out a key part of the Felicity/Oliver dynamic...up until the night that Oliver takes Felicity out for a date, Oliver refrained from pursuing his romantic interest because he had decided that he couldn't be with anyone that he truly loved. His rationale was that as long as he is Oliver Queen and the Arrow, he would be putting anyone that he cared about right into the cross hairs of whatever psycho-villain that bent on destroying Starling City/the Arrow/Oliver Queen. Now, I'm not absolutely positive, but I think Oliver even says this to Felicity at some point...

/sob

Back to the date: things seem to go well, there's the expected awkward banter...and then, there's an attack on the restaurant. Oliver scrambles to make sure that Felicity's safe [I can't remember the details...not sure if he pursues the assailants or not]...Oliver takes Felicity to their secret headquarters [Does that place even have a name? It should...] When Felicity comes to, she frantically looks for Oliver...I cried...those two are lying if they say that they don't love each other...

A good while later, Oliver begins to hint to Felicity that he was right in his initial thoughts that he would be putting her in danger if they continued to pursue a romantic relationship. Felicity tells Oliver that she doesn't necessarily think that it's so...and it all seems to culminate with Oliver telling Felicity that he loves her [even though they can't be together].




Now, I can't say that I completely blame Felicity for her response here...I think she was absolutely in the right for calling Oliver out for dangling the 'perpetual maybe' and not outright deciding to pursue a romantic relationship/retain a mostly-platonic working relationship. It would not be fair for Oliver to ask Felicity to stay in that fuzzy gray area between girlfriend and friend...soooo, I kind of have to respect Felicity for having the self-assuredness to demand that Oliver make a clear choice about what he wanted...

But yeah. this situation was rather frustrating...but it gets worse...

A new character comes into play [Ray Palmer. He's yet another millionaire genius. He bests Oliver in a corporate showdown to buy Queen Consolidated, and ends up becoming Felicity's new boss...] who clearly shows interest in Felicity...and though Felicity comes across as resistant to Ray's advances at first, within a few episodes she seems to be warming up to the guy.

To be fair, a good bit of this 'warming' happens while Oliver is out of the picture. [Oliver goes on a quest, of sorts, to clear up a 'blood debt' with the leader of the League of Assassins...he is presumed dead] About halfway through the latest episode, it appears that Felicity has finally found some peace with Oliver's death and started to move on...aaaaaand of course, this is the time when Oliver makes his grand re-appearance in Starling City. [The audience has known for almost an entire episode that Oliver is still alive...but, of course, he has no way of contacting anyone and letting them know...]

Noooooooo!!!!!

When Oliver and Felicity finally have a chance to talk, face-to-face, she kind of just let's Oliver have it...

I'm guessing that she was sort of venting the pain of having mourned Oliver for a month, and she was angry that it took so long for him to let anyone know that he was alive...but /sigh...come on!!!

I think she really should have cut the guy some slack!

I mean, he practically died. He went and faced down with a master assassin. He did this to save his sister's life!! Felicity has been one of the few characters that's been able to see Oliver's true-self...but I'm guessing that she's fed up with even that facet of Oliver...which, I don't get...

Sooooo....yeah.

This whole, very long post, all boils down to my dislike of this one scene [the one where she says she doesn't want to be a woman that Oliver loves].

It just doesn't make any sense!! [Okay...maybe it kind of does, but that doesn't mean that I like it!]

Thoughts? Comments?

Anybody have any additional insight to the falling apart of 'Olicity'? Because I'm rather at a loss on this one [and I'm tired of typing out this post...]

Don't Be That Guy...

/chuckle

Soooooo...chronic negativity in the workplace is a bad thing...

Loads of studies support this statement...

In fact, here's a link to an essay about the effects of workplace negativity:

Workplace Negativity Essay

Short list of reasons why you should avoid knowingly spewing your negative venom all over the workplace all the time:
- detrimental to overall office morale
- people will think you're a jerk
- notable decreases in office productivity
- co-workers will rightfully suspect you might be a jerk
- potential decrease in new/returning clientele
- you'll eventually remove all doubts as to whether or not you are, indeed, a jerk

[I tried to find some sort of semi-serious/informative picture of workplace negativity via bullying...but the search results were mostly hilarious. I mean...check out the gravity defying necktie!]

So, there's that...I'm just going to leave it here...do with it what you will...

Lego, Arrow, and Avoidance....

I promise I'm not the jerk that you
think I am...

Well...

I should probably start with an apology of sorts...

I hadn't originally planned on going almost two weeks between posts...but, every time I sat down and tried to start a post, I couldn't come up with anything worth posting...

After a few days, started a post wound up becoming quite the daunting task...kind of like when you've waited beyond the proper social conventions for responding to a friend or associate in a timely manner...it's not that you truly meant to take weeks to get around to calling/emailing/texting them back...but here you are...weeks later...attempting to respond to a now ancient message...and desperately attempting to construct said response in a way that sounds the least like an inconsiderate a-hole...

Yep...it's like that. [Do people without social anxiety issues have this same problem?]

Now that my awkward metaphorical tap dancing is out of the way, I can post about far more entertaining things!

Legos....Legos everywhere...

This past weekend, Birmingham hosted the Brick Fair...the Lego Convention has been around since 2008, but it's only been stopping in Alabama since 2012.

I'd decided to take the kiddo...and the crowd was much, much larger than I'd anticipated. I'd timed our arrival to be within 10 minutes of the start time...and we still had to wait in line a good 10-15 minutes before we had reached the table to buy tickets. I guess more people like Lego than I'd thought!

There were lots of vendors and lots or pretty awesome displays...if you are [or know] a Lego fan, I definitely recommend paying the Brick Fair a visit next year...

What else.../ponders...

Oh, yes...I've finally returned to watching Arrow...[and it feels like I'm cheating on Supernatural]

Now that I've started watching it again, I can't really remember why I'd put off watching the 2nd season for so long...the 2nd season is pretty amazing!

In the 2nd season, a lot of 'new' characters are introduced [though, some are not entirely new...some are just new to the pertinent story line]...and I would say that it's in this season, more so than the 1st, that you'll see more of the connections between the characters. I consider myself as fairly well-versed in the world of comic books...enough to have realized who some of the characters are before their 'big reveals'....and I am loving how the story has developed thus far [and certainly curious to see what they plan on doing in the future...there are so many possibilities!].

I suppose I've got a slight advantage...playing catch-up removes the agony of having to wait for weeks and weeks to see the next episode. [Having to wait for new episodes of Supernatural is killing me!] And I've programmed my DVR to record season 3 of Arrow...so I'll be all caught up soon enough...

But, yeah. Arrow. Awesome. Watch it.

Lastly...

WTF is going on with our government?

As I'm sure you know, our 'State of the Union' address took place last night. From what I heard, it was more of the same...nothing different form the straight manure that we've been thrown over the last 6 years. I elected to play Disney Infinity with the kiddo rather than subject myself to that bowlful of crazy.

Don't get me wrong...I am very concerned about the state of our nation. But I am adamant that the majority of this country's leaders are not in the same boat. Not by a long shot. Soooo yeah. There's that. It's crap.

There it is....got the awkward 'return post' out of the way...back to blog posting regularly! [That's the plan anyway!]

From 'Blah' To 'Meh'....

Update:

I just got finished with my hair appointment...

I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.


Here's the picture that I sent to show what color I'd like in my hair...

I'd originally wanted to put two colors in my hair [some caramel and some red] but I'd settled for one color after I'd talked to the lady that does my hair. [She said that she could do two colors but I got the vibe that she wasn't crazy about the idea...]

This picture shows highlights in two shades of blonde, so I opted for the lighter color. Not my favorite shade for myself, but /shrug I thought it might be time do shake things up a bit.

Ah, the lovely 'before' picture. Nothing special to see here. No makeup means that I look about 15 years old, but /shrug oh well. I just wanted to take a picture to use as a comparison.


Here's the 'after' picture. Like I said, I'm not crazy about it, but it's not the worst thing that I've had done to my hair either.


The thing that I do find bothersome, though, is that in normal lighting, the color is so subtle that it's almost non-existent.

See what I mean?

Oh well. Next time I'll just get red. It's what I really want anyway.

Aaaaand I just realized that I take a lot of pictures with that weird smirky face. I should probably fix that.

Old Resolutions For The New Year...

In spite of my complete loathing of 'new year's resolutions,' I found myself mentally making a few yesterday...though, to be fair, they aren't exactly new resolutions...more like goals that I've been wanting to work towards for quite some time and  I've decided to actively pursue.

1. I plan to spend less money.

I spend a lot of money on unnecessary things. Way too much. I know that in previous posts I'd complained about not having enough income...realistically, my income won't increase enough to magically fix all of my financial woes...so I need to do what I can to make the best of what I've got and to also work towards improving things for the future. [Unless someone would like to slide a winning lottery ticket my way...I'd be alright with that]

2. I plan to work on improving my health.

What does this mean exactly? Becoming more physically active? Improving my diet and eating less junk food? Finding some sort of outlet for stress relief? Yes. To all of it. I realize that my actual resolution statement is fairly vague...but I think it will work out better that way. I know that if I make it my goal to eat like a bird or do boot camp-esque workouts thrice daily, there's no way I'll stick to the resolution [nothing like the feeling of failure to make you really want to continue to make goals!]. If I keep the goal as more of a lifestyle change, then I'm less likely to feel like a total failure if I have an 'off' day. 

3. I plan on finding ways to not let the little things bother me.

I realize that a big portion of this has to do with my personality and temperament, but I am starting to see that this will only add to my already staggering stress levels. Sooooo, the extra stress needs to go.

4. I need to learn not to cling to people that aren't making an effort to stay in my life.

I know that sounds like a 'significant other/relationship' type of statement, but it's not. I'm more referring to friends and family. [Not meaning that I intend to push people away...] I realize that people change and as they change, so will friendships/relationships. I need to learn not to always take it personally. If someone acts as if they don't want to be around me, then I won't push it. I've learned the hard way that if someone wants to talk to you, they will [especially if you've already initiated conversation and have very obviously left the ball in their court]. There's no point in beating a dead horse. Even if it was your favorite horsey at one point. 

I'm still going to make the jar thingy, too...I'm planning on going to pick up the things to decorate it sometime today. I'll post to let you know how it's going...

Hope you have a good Friday!

Unwelcome Phantoms...

How long does it take for someone to disappear from your consciousness?

You probably know what I'm talking about...

Right after a break-up (significant other, friend, family, or otherwise) that person is constantly at the forefront of your mind, whether you want them there or not. It seems like nothing is distracting enough. Nothing helps soothe the raw, exposed, frayed nerves of your heart. And yet...

It happens quietly. Days pass by, and the pain lessens a bit. But...just because the pain's left, doesn't necessarily mean that the offender of your emotions has relinquished their foxhole in your mind. Seems, to me, that their ghost still lingers...more than happy to manifest at the most inconvenient of times to remind you of what was and is no longer...

I know that, eventually, those nasty phantoms fade, too...but when? 

Frankly, I'm tired of mine being a crotchety old grump. Coming out and shaking his cane at me whenever I manage to have a 'good' day. 

Maybe this would be a job for the Winchesters? Somebody give Sam and Dean a call for me, I'll bring the salt...

Angry Appendixes and Holiday Shopping Woes...

Hey guys!

Hope that you've been having a good week so far...mine's been on the crazy side...

On Tuesday, my sister developed appendicitis...luckily, we were able to get her to an ER before appendix rupture became a possibility. She had appendicitis before, about 7 years ago...so the surgeon opted to go ahead and perform an appendectomy. [It's a little bit baffling that the doctors left it alone the first time...] Fortunately, she was a good candidate for a laproscopic procedure rather than the traditional appendectomy...she was out of the hospital and on her way home, post-op, in less than 24 hours!

University of Maryland Medical Center - Laproscopic Appendectomy [A little blurb on the procedure]

I'm definitely glad that she's doing well...hopefully, the rest of her recovery will continue to go smoothly...

Rogue vestigial organs aside, it's been a bit of a stressful week...

As I'm sure most people are, I'm definitely beginning to feel the financial crunch that comes with the holiday season. I love giving gifts to friends and family, but it's undeniably expensive! And does anyone else have that one person [or handful of people, in my case] that just seem impossible to shop for? It's frustrating!

I keep scouring my regular shopping websites [ThinkGeek, Amazon, and, most recently, Vat19] hoping that something will just 'click' as the perfect gift for so-and-so and that said gift is on uber-sale...no luck on either, as of yet...

Anybody out there that's excellent at picking out gifts? I could certainly use some tips!

And, just in case anybody was curious, 'appendixes' is apparently the proper word for referring to more than one appendix. The organ, not the additional texts at the end of a book.

Social Awkwardness Strikes Again...

Know what's the worst? [Okay, maybe not the worst worst...but definitely sucks...]

What?  Oh. Yeah! I Totally knew
you didn't mean to call. Totally.

Looking down at your phone to see that you've got a missed call from a friend...getting a tiny bit excited because, well, phone calls from friends are far and few between...calling said friend back...and then realizing that they've butt-dialed you and they have no idea why you're calling them.

Yep. That's me...bringing you awkward moments since the mid-80's....you're welcome.

Hey There Mister Creepy Eyes...

Hey, hey, hey!

Hope this Tuesday evening finds you doing well...

Not much for me to complain about at the moment aside from the nagging headache that I'm currently hosting...I'm thinking I can thank the ever-lovely Alabama weather for the headache. Crazy swings in temperatures are pretty normal for good ole Bama...but they're still a huge pain. Average temperatures dropped a good 20-30 degrees [brr!] and we're looking at temps climbing back another 20 degrees or so by this weekend...crazy stuff, I tell ya! I really don't mind the cold, [I'm one of the few Bama residents that actually likes the cold...] but I need some semblance of consistency!

Death Note

Still working my way through Death Note...

It's a pretty short series...there are only 37 episodes available on Netflix. [Madoka had 12 episodes and Ouran had 26...] I'm thinking I could probably finish the series in about a week, maybe two, unless I pick up watching Supernatural again....

One of the main reasons that I've waited so long to start watching Death Note is the sheer creepiness of the guy with the crazy eyes in the background of this picture...[I've since learned that his name is Ryuk. He's a shinigami {literally meaning 'death god'} that's gotten bored and decided to toy around with humans for a bit]

Turns out that I rather like Ryuk. He's much funnier than I'd anticipated...not funny enough to completely override the fact that he doesn't have eyelids [which is always creepy. Always.].

I'm trying really hard not to accidentally spoil anything about this series...I spend so much time mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest for anime stuff, that I'll stumble on some of the bigger twists for different series without even meaning to...[it happened when I was looking through some Madoka pins...I managed to accidentally learn about the 'big twist' of episode 3 before getting to watch it...it definitely took some of the 'oomph' out of it]

More anime/life posts soon!

Sunday Evening and 'Gone Girl' Thoughts...

Hey, hey...

Well, the Grandmother's birthday shindig went...well...it went.

And I'm going to go ahead and make it official...I'm in love with my grey and white plaid shirt. Love it. I think I'm going to have to go and pick up a couple more of the buggers.

I got a few things accomplished today.

The kiddo and I went grocery shopping [hey, it may sound like a silly thing...but grocery shopping can be such a drag!].

Love this minion!

After that, I got some cleaning stuff done...sometimes, trying to keep our apartment clean feels like an exercise in futility, but I can't deny that I feel much better if it's been tidied up.

Oh!

Yesterday, I saw the movie Gone Girl...

The movie was pretty good considering I already knew what to expect [I'm going to start reading books after watching the movie...seems like there would be less disappointment that way...]. Some of the big "holy crap" moments in the book are captured excellently in the movie...and some of them are more or less glossed over. I know that this ends up being necessary for movie production, but it just leaves so much to be desired! Yes, yes, of course the book is better than the movie...the book is always better than the movie [it's practically a scientific law]. But, I would still recommend the movie to both those who have and haven't read the book...it's that good of a story!

NPH excellently captures the blend of
charm and malevolence that is Desi

Plus, Neil Patrick Harris is absolutely brilliant in the role of Desi. Brilliant!! Then again, he's pretty much amazing in any role he plays...so yeah, definitely no complaints in the NPH/Desi department.

Just...../sigh....no.

I'm still far less than thrilled about the casting choice for Andie. They
cast Emily Ratajkowski...and I'm not really sure how she fits the role at all...aside from the description that Andie has big breasts. [Seriously. In the book, Andie is described as being authentically Irish...sooooo, yeah.]

Don't get me wrong, I thought she looked fabulous in the Blurred Lines music video, but does that really give her enough 'acting' cred to land roles in movies? /shrug Maybe it does and I'm just getting old and cranky...

Contrary to the book, Andie gets very little mention in the movie...which [to my relief] translates to little screen time for Ratajkowski. She did...alright, I suppose. But I really think she's had too much done to her lips already [she's only 23 for crying out loud!], so much so that they were distracting. But aside from that.... /shrug I guess it could have been worse.

It was a pretty a good movie. If you've got a few hours to kill and about $40 to burn, maybe go see it. Oooooor, take the money and go buy the book!

The book is always better. Always.

Swiffer Mops Suck...

Over the last couple of years I've lived in a handful of different apartments. Each place was a little bit different, but there was one thing that I kept relatively consistent: I used a Swiffer Vac and Swiffer Mop on the hard floors. 

Looking back, I have no idea why I so stubbornly used the same products...they suck! [And not in the good way that you'd expect a vacuum cleaner should!]

Not too long ago, my mom loaned me a Shark steam cleaner thing [I don't know which model exactly...] and I finally got around to using it on my kitchen floor today...the difference is so great that I'd almost feel justified writing a letter to Swiffer demanding a refund! 

These things are great!

My current apartment has some pretty heinous vinyl tiles in the kitchen. They're this terrible swirl of beige and grey...definitely wouldn't be my choice. For as long as I've been living here, I've always used a Swiffer vacuum to get all of the debris and such and then mopped with a Swiffer mop. 

I will never use a Swiffer mop again.

The steam from the Shark cut through layers of residue from the Swiffer mop's cleaning spray...I had no idea that it even left that much residue! And I also discovered that there was quite the hefty deposit of dirt tracked in by the door. I'd Swiffer mopped the area often and it never improved...so I'd concluded that the vinyl was old and discolored...and I was wrong. Eww. /shudder

So if you've got the ability...go and get one of these Shark thingies for your hard floors! They're amazing! 

Thank Goodness for Netflix...

Ever feel like you're just shouting into the void?

/sigh Don't know what I'd do without my Netflix...

Binge-watch more Supernatural? I think yes.

At least Dean approves...

INFJ-ish Thoughts...

I saw this this morning when I was scrolling through my homepage on Pinterest and for some reason, it's stuck with me...

This phrase is undeniably true...my thoughts wander back to some of the people who are no longer in my life. People who, at some point or another, I felt were integral parts of my life...people who I thought were permanent fixtures in my life, but clearly weren't.

Some memories bring to mind friends that I am truly sorry that I'm no longer close to...other memories bring that little twinge of pain/regret that I let someone have a negative effect on my life for as long as they did...

Either way, it's awe inducing to recollect the people that have come into, and gone out, our lives...

Or maybe I just spend too much time in my own head...[haha I never claimed to not act like the INFJ that I am..]