As with TV shows, I feel that if I watch it, it must be cool, but I know my kids don't agree with that at all. They have spent some happy hours mocking my favorite movies, with special attention to anything by Robert Altman.
My friend Axel, from work, is the movie guru. He can give you the year of release and the director and leading actors in almost any movie you ask him about. He owns a large library of movies, and has loaned me quite a few.
When I watched movies, the kids got so they could recognize Axel's influence, and they thought he had terrible taste. I told them they wre getting an education in film that they would appreciate later, and assured them that I was doing them a favor, really.
When Rachel was younger, we had a fun activity we called a "Crapfest", in which we would go to the movie rental store on a weekend night and rent anything that looked the slightest bit like it might be ok, even if we suspected it would be terrible. We would rent a movie based on who was in it, like Steve Zahn (who we both love and it's too bad he can't pick a decent script), or based on a review on an obscure film website, or just the blurb on the back of the box.
We had rules, like if the movie had a member of the Friends cast in it, we knew it was going to be crap, but sometimes we rented them anyway. Unless it had David Schwimmer in it, then we knew there was no hope at all. (The only exception to the Friends rule ever was The Good Girl.)
Another rule was that if it said on the box that the movie was "hilarious", we wouldn't touch it. Hilarious almost always means that it is stupid and/or slapstick, and I hate both of those things.
One memorable weekend, we accidently struck gold - three of the four movies we rented that weekend were wonderful! That never happened again, but we have seen lots of movies that we enjoyed, but we would never have rented them if we hadn't been having a crapfest.
There is one movie that I am famous among my family for loving and making each of them watch with me, insisting it is part of their film education. I won't even tell you the title of it, but when I ask them what movie I like that is uncool, each of them will tell me the same thing. (I just called Rachel and asked her, and she said it right off!)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
How I waste time.
Diana thinks she is getting ahead of me by posting the Day 4 topic, Wasting Time, but I am going to camp onto her post about wasting time with Dr. Mario! See? Everything's a competition!
I probably knew at some point that Diana played Dr. Mario, but I have forgotten about it if I did know. We must have been wasting our lives playing Dr. Mario at about the same time.
I also played Tetris, so much that I felt slightly embarrassed about it, because I was good at it, and I would spend hours playing it while the kids were in bed, with tears running down my face because the game was moving so fast at the higher levels that I couldn't blink! I would just play and play with burning, tearing eyes!
One day I saw in the paper that there had been a Tetris competition in Detroit the previous weekend and some kid had won a largish amount of money. When I told Rich about it, he said I should play all I wanted to, since there was money in it!
It was after that (and I kind of think I hadn't been playing Tetris as much because eventually I did get tired of it), that my kids brought home Dr. Mario for me to play. It is very similar to Tetris, and I was pretty good at it, but although I did waste plenty of time on it, I think I had lost the fire for stacking things and I got over Dr. Mario relatively quickly.
I wouldn't mind playing a little Dr. Mario right now, just for fun.
I probably knew at some point that Diana played Dr. Mario, but I have forgotten about it if I did know. We must have been wasting our lives playing Dr. Mario at about the same time.
I also played Tetris, so much that I felt slightly embarrassed about it, because I was good at it, and I would spend hours playing it while the kids were in bed, with tears running down my face because the game was moving so fast at the higher levels that I couldn't blink! I would just play and play with burning, tearing eyes!
One day I saw in the paper that there had been a Tetris competition in Detroit the previous weekend and some kid had won a largish amount of money. When I told Rich about it, he said I should play all I wanted to, since there was money in it!
It was after that (and I kind of think I hadn't been playing Tetris as much because eventually I did get tired of it), that my kids brought home Dr. Mario for me to play. It is very similar to Tetris, and I was pretty good at it, but although I did waste plenty of time on it, I think I had lost the fire for stacking things and I got over Dr. Mario relatively quickly.
I wouldn't mind playing a little Dr. Mario right now, just for fun.
I'm lagging behind already!
Diana just took the 30 Days of Shamelessness challenge and ran with it, and I'm limping along behind her, trying to catch up!
This, therefore, will be my catching up post!
Day 2 - Look Like a Fool
This is not a problem for me, as I have many opportunities to look like a fool, and I just have to pick one. Let me tell you about my yoga class...
It was Laura's idea to take the yoga class a few weeks ago, and I have always wanted to try yoga, so I happily signed up to do it with her, and then I mentioned it to Shelley, who said she wanted to do it, too, so we all did a six week yoga class this summer. It was so much fun, and we went once a week, but we really wanted to go more often - like every day!
Rachel had to work most of the days of class, but she went with us a couple of times and she liked it too, and when Carolyn was visiting, she went, too. Everybody liked yoga!
Fast forward to this session, and Laura and I were not going to be able to go to yoga class because we had microbiology on that night, but then I dropped that class, because people, I am so not going to be a nurse. I like it in theory, but when it comes down to taking care of actual sick people? No, thank you.
Once I had dropped micro, that freed up my life a lot, and I signed up to take yoga two nights a week for six weeks!
So tonight was the first night of yoga. Rachel and I went in and parked our mats, and the woman next to me introduced herself and made some little conversation, and then it was time to start, but Shelley wasn't there yet. She came in a few minutes late, and it was fine, we were still breathing and centering our chakras, so no problem.
There are different kinds of yoga, and this kind is Vinyasa, or Flow yoga, which is a series of movements that flow into each other and it moves rather quickly once you have gone through the sequence, so you can work up a sweat and you get to use many muscles and they will all report back to you later in pain.
We were doing a series of sun salutations, which is how it usually goes, with some slight variation, depending on what the teacher feels like doing that night, and oh my goodness, it was hard work!
At some point we stopped to change what we were doing, and I whispered to the lady next to me that she was doing an amazing job, and she said she teaches yoga at another studio in town, so that explained why she was so good at it. Then she told me it's not a competition, but I assured her that everything is a competition, and she just laughed. Did I mention that she was in her sixties? Oh yes.
So then halfway through the series of sun salutations, when I was trying to inhale and exhale the way we were being directed to do, I got hyperventilated, and rather than pass out, I decided to sit down for a series, which worried Nurse Rachel a bit! I was fine, and I got up for the third series and finished the rest of the class.
That is my story of how I looked like a fool, when I was getting shown up at yoga by a woman 10 yrs older than me, and I had to sit down in the middle of it. How embarrassing.
Day 3: Eat Whatever You Feel Like Eating
Remember a week (or more) ago when I mentioned that all I wanted to eat was tomato and bacon sandwiches? It has been a couple of weeks of constant tomato and bacon sandwiches, and finally yesterday I finished the last tomato in the house, and I think I will not buy any tomatoes for a few days, so that I can eat something else.
I'm not tired of tomato and bacon sandwishes, not at all. I just think that in the interest of balanced nutrition, I might want to eat something else. Just for a few days. The Farmers Market isn't until Saturday, and I will probably go buy a few then. It's tomato season, though, and if anyone were to offer me some tomatoes from their garden, I would certainly make a few sandwiches!
This, therefore, will be my catching up post!
Day 2 - Look Like a Fool
This is not a problem for me, as I have many opportunities to look like a fool, and I just have to pick one. Let me tell you about my yoga class...
It was Laura's idea to take the yoga class a few weeks ago, and I have always wanted to try yoga, so I happily signed up to do it with her, and then I mentioned it to Shelley, who said she wanted to do it, too, so we all did a six week yoga class this summer. It was so much fun, and we went once a week, but we really wanted to go more often - like every day!
Rachel had to work most of the days of class, but she went with us a couple of times and she liked it too, and when Carolyn was visiting, she went, too. Everybody liked yoga!
Fast forward to this session, and Laura and I were not going to be able to go to yoga class because we had microbiology on that night, but then I dropped that class, because people, I am so not going to be a nurse. I like it in theory, but when it comes down to taking care of actual sick people? No, thank you.
Once I had dropped micro, that freed up my life a lot, and I signed up to take yoga two nights a week for six weeks!
So tonight was the first night of yoga. Rachel and I went in and parked our mats, and the woman next to me introduced herself and made some little conversation, and then it was time to start, but Shelley wasn't there yet. She came in a few minutes late, and it was fine, we were still breathing and centering our chakras, so no problem.
There are different kinds of yoga, and this kind is Vinyasa, or Flow yoga, which is a series of movements that flow into each other and it moves rather quickly once you have gone through the sequence, so you can work up a sweat and you get to use many muscles and they will all report back to you later in pain.
We were doing a series of sun salutations, which is how it usually goes, with some slight variation, depending on what the teacher feels like doing that night, and oh my goodness, it was hard work!
At some point we stopped to change what we were doing, and I whispered to the lady next to me that she was doing an amazing job, and she said she teaches yoga at another studio in town, so that explained why she was so good at it. Then she told me it's not a competition, but I assured her that everything is a competition, and she just laughed. Did I mention that she was in her sixties? Oh yes.
So then halfway through the series of sun salutations, when I was trying to inhale and exhale the way we were being directed to do, I got hyperventilated, and rather than pass out, I decided to sit down for a series, which worried Nurse Rachel a bit! I was fine, and I got up for the third series and finished the rest of the class.
That is my story of how I looked like a fool, when I was getting shown up at yoga by a woman 10 yrs older than me, and I had to sit down in the middle of it. How embarrassing.
Day 3: Eat Whatever You Feel Like Eating
Remember a week (or more) ago when I mentioned that all I wanted to eat was tomato and bacon sandwiches? It has been a couple of weeks of constant tomato and bacon sandwiches, and finally yesterday I finished the last tomato in the house, and I think I will not buy any tomatoes for a few days, so that I can eat something else.
I'm not tired of tomato and bacon sandwishes, not at all. I just think that in the interest of balanced nutrition, I might want to eat something else. Just for a few days. The Farmers Market isn't until Saturday, and I will probably go buy a few then. It's tomato season, though, and if anyone were to offer me some tomatoes from their garden, I would certainly make a few sandwiches!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
In which I am shameless.
Sarah suggested that we take part in a blogging activity called 30 Days of Shamelessness. I think by "shameless" it means things that we are a bit ashamed of, but that we don't need to be; in other words to let your weird flag fly.
Day one is 'A show you watch that isn't cool,' and I had a hard time thinking of one, because hey, if I watch it, it must be cool, but then when I was watching the coverage of Hurricane Irene on the Weather Channel, I realized that was the one. I love the Weather Channel when there is any kind of extreme weather going on! If there is a blizzard, or a hurricane - well anytime, really, that Jim Cantore is standing outside wearing protective weather gear? I'm there!
I love to sit in my chair with my knitting on my lap, drinking a diet Pepsi, and watching the wind blow! It's harsh! The reporters get buffeted, and sometimes pieces of roofing or lawn furniture blow by!
Once when a big snow was blowing into Chicago, I turned on the Weather Channel (over the protests of Kim, who was probably watching Spongebob), and there was Jim Cantore, wearing a parka, standing at an empty intersection in the middle of the snowstorm with a microphone in his hand, and I ran to the kitchen yelling to Rich, "Come on, Jim Cantore is in Chicago! We have to go right now!"
Rich just rolled his eyes and laughed at me, but when I went back to the living room, Kim was putting on her shoes. It was latish, and I asked where she was going, and she said, "You said we were going to Chicago!" in an annoyed way, like why was I even asking when it was my idea, and I had to explain that I was just being funny because it was Jim Cantore! In Chicago!
So yeah, that is probably the show I watch that is the least cool. Although I have also been known to turn on the TV Guide channel and just let it roll by, over and over, while I knit and watch it hopefully, waiting for something, anything, to look good. That might be considered a bit lame.
Day one is 'A show you watch that isn't cool,' and I had a hard time thinking of one, because hey, if I watch it, it must be cool, but then when I was watching the coverage of Hurricane Irene on the Weather Channel, I realized that was the one. I love the Weather Channel when there is any kind of extreme weather going on! If there is a blizzard, or a hurricane - well anytime, really, that Jim Cantore is standing outside wearing protective weather gear? I'm there!
I love to sit in my chair with my knitting on my lap, drinking a diet Pepsi, and watching the wind blow! It's harsh! The reporters get buffeted, and sometimes pieces of roofing or lawn furniture blow by!
Once when a big snow was blowing into Chicago, I turned on the Weather Channel (over the protests of Kim, who was probably watching Spongebob), and there was Jim Cantore, wearing a parka, standing at an empty intersection in the middle of the snowstorm with a microphone in his hand, and I ran to the kitchen yelling to Rich, "Come on, Jim Cantore is in Chicago! We have to go right now!"
Rich just rolled his eyes and laughed at me, but when I went back to the living room, Kim was putting on her shoes. It was latish, and I asked where she was going, and she said, "You said we were going to Chicago!" in an annoyed way, like why was I even asking when it was my idea, and I had to explain that I was just being funny because it was Jim Cantore! In Chicago!
So yeah, that is probably the show I watch that is the least cool. Although I have also been known to turn on the TV Guide channel and just let it roll by, over and over, while I knit and watch it hopefully, waiting for something, anything, to look good. That might be considered a bit lame.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
In which I talk about my knitting.
When I mentioned the mystery shawl knitalong in my last post, I completely forgot that my friend Wendy might be interested in making one, too, so this is just a PSA for her - we're making a pattern that's on Ravelry - the 2011 Mystery Shawl: Earth & Sky. Go take a look at it, it's really fun, and it goes fast, so even if you start right now, you can get caught up by the weekend, and you will get the last clue when everybody else does.
If I can remember, I will take a picture of my shawl and post it here tomorrow. I have a couple of things to do when I get up tomorrow, and then I have my Microbiology class, so I might forget. Send me a reminder if you want to see a picture!
When this knitalong is over, Sharon from the yarn shop is going to start a sock knitalong for us, and I'm looking forward to that! She's going to start it after Labor Day, which will give everyone time to get their mystery shawl finished.
What I'm knitting today:
I promised someone that I would make some mittens for her to sell at Civil War re-enactments, so I'm making a few pairs for her. Last night I knitted a complete mitten, then decided it didn't look right, and ripped it all out, back to the wrist ribbing. Today I looked at the pattern again, asked another knitter for her thoughts on the mittens, and now I am reknitting what I tore out yesterday. I'm an idiot.
If I can remember, I will take a picture of my shawl and post it here tomorrow. I have a couple of things to do when I get up tomorrow, and then I have my Microbiology class, so I might forget. Send me a reminder if you want to see a picture!
When this knitalong is over, Sharon from the yarn shop is going to start a sock knitalong for us, and I'm looking forward to that! She's going to start it after Labor Day, which will give everyone time to get their mystery shawl finished.
What I'm knitting today:
I promised someone that I would make some mittens for her to sell at Civil War re-enactments, so I'm making a few pairs for her. Last night I knitted a complete mitten, then decided it didn't look right, and ripped it all out, back to the wrist ribbing. Today I looked at the pattern again, asked another knitter for her thoughts on the mittens, and now I am reknitting what I tore out yesterday. I'm an idiot.
Monday, August 15, 2011
It's almost Fall!
Okay, our visitors have come and gone, and the only popsicles that got made were one batch of Jello pops. They were great, and they don't melt and run down your face and arms as readily as the Koolaid pops. I never made any other popsicles, because I was busy chasing after kids all day, except when they were napping, and then I was too busy collapsing and enjoying some quiet knitting time to bother with popsicles. So at this point, having made that one successful batch of popsicles, they come out to about $7.50 apiece.
It was fun to have Soren and Carl and their parents here, and Soren read the map of Asia to us, and Carl is very sweet and has a rabbit named Bunnicula. Maddy went to GenCon with the adults and had a time, and came back with a cold that she shared with her parents.
It is a lot quieter at our house now.
What I am knitting today:
I finished a lot of half-done projects in the last few weeks, and now I have started a shawl. It's really going to be more of large scarf, because I am getting tired of the long rows, so I'm going with the smaller, scarf option. It is a mystery project, in which we get one clue a week for four weeks and we knit up the new clue and then eagerly wait for the next clue. Several people from our knitting group are making it, and it's fun to see how everyone's project is going - we're all using different yarns in different colors, so every shawl is special and different! (Could I say different any more?)
What I am eating today:
All I want to eat, since I saw an article on the internet about tomato sandwiches that referenced Harriet the Spy, which is only the best book ever, and I am not even exaggerating when I say I have read it a hundred times, are tomato and bacon sandwiches! I am not usually a fan of plain raw tomatoes, and Kim will tell you that I don't even love red sauce on my pizza (to her disgust), but tomato and bacon sandwiches on whole-grain toast with mayo? Are the best thing in the world.
Rich's mom and dad were here last weekend to visit while all of the grandchildren were here, and they stopped at a farm stand to buy corn (fresh! it was so good!) and they got tomatoes, too, just in time for Tomato Sandwich Madness! When those tomatoes were gone, I got RA out of bed early on Saturday to go to the farmer's market and buy more tomatoes!
You know you want one, so go make a tomato and bacon sandwich! I use instant bacon, the kind that is already cooked and you heat it up in the microwave - it doesn't get grease all over the stove and make your whole house smell of bacon.
Why my hands smell like rubber gloves:
I am taking microbiology this semester and the first class was tonight. It is all very interesting, but I am a bit germ phobic, and I have been picking at my cuticles so I wore a rubber glove to protect myself from the live bacteria we were handling in the lab! Eek!
Laura is even more squicked out about the germs than I am, so she was using her herbal calming spray in class, and practically hyperventilating in the lab! I thought we'd have to carry her out on a stretcher, but she did okay. We're going to get used to it and be fine. (Pass the Purell.)
It was fun to have Soren and Carl and their parents here, and Soren read the map of Asia to us, and Carl is very sweet and has a rabbit named Bunnicula. Maddy went to GenCon with the adults and had a time, and came back with a cold that she shared with her parents.
It is a lot quieter at our house now.
What I am knitting today:
I finished a lot of half-done projects in the last few weeks, and now I have started a shawl. It's really going to be more of large scarf, because I am getting tired of the long rows, so I'm going with the smaller, scarf option. It is a mystery project, in which we get one clue a week for four weeks and we knit up the new clue and then eagerly wait for the next clue. Several people from our knitting group are making it, and it's fun to see how everyone's project is going - we're all using different yarns in different colors, so every shawl is special and different! (Could I say different any more?)
What I am eating today:
All I want to eat, since I saw an article on the internet about tomato sandwiches that referenced Harriet the Spy, which is only the best book ever, and I am not even exaggerating when I say I have read it a hundred times, are tomato and bacon sandwiches! I am not usually a fan of plain raw tomatoes, and Kim will tell you that I don't even love red sauce on my pizza (to her disgust), but tomato and bacon sandwiches on whole-grain toast with mayo? Are the best thing in the world.
Rich's mom and dad were here last weekend to visit while all of the grandchildren were here, and they stopped at a farm stand to buy corn (fresh! it was so good!) and they got tomatoes, too, just in time for Tomato Sandwich Madness! When those tomatoes were gone, I got RA out of bed early on Saturday to go to the farmer's market and buy more tomatoes!
You know you want one, so go make a tomato and bacon sandwich! I use instant bacon, the kind that is already cooked and you heat it up in the microwave - it doesn't get grease all over the stove and make your whole house smell of bacon.
Why my hands smell like rubber gloves:
I am taking microbiology this semester and the first class was tonight. It is all very interesting, but I am a bit germ phobic, and I have been picking at my cuticles so I wore a rubber glove to protect myself from the live bacteria we were handling in the lab! Eek!
Laura is even more squicked out about the germs than I am, so she was using her herbal calming spray in class, and practically hyperventilating in the lab! I thought we'd have to carry her out on a stretcher, but she did okay. We're going to get used to it and be fine. (Pass the Purell.)
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