spinning-jennie: archives « November 2006 | Main | January 2007 »

December 31, 2006

New Year
Hey, look. I can type when I'm drunk! Whee.

Happy 2007. If you're having fun where you are, maybe you could save a little for me.
12/31/06 11:17 PM |  Comments


December 30, 2006

And on a Completely Different Note.
It's almost New Year's, and so I feel the need to get all sappy and introspective up in it. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Have I told you how happy, and grateful I am that I have such an affectionate little boy? Today, for instance. I've been down much of the day with a real screamer of a sinus headache; even my beloved cocktail of Advil LiquiGels, Pseudoephedrine, and Mucinex wasn't cutting it. So who, completely unencouraged, has been throwing his arms around me -- "kees Mommy!" -- and planting my forehead with dozens of little bub smooches? And he's always giving out impromptu hugs. Some of it is from example, I'm sure, but it can't be all.

And he's just so joyful, singing and laughing and being silly. Sometimes, when I'm watching him, or even just thinking about it (like right now) it brings a tear to my eye. I mean, don't get me wrong -- he's a toddler, and throws the usual fits and tantrums. But he's so sweet when he's not.

A good deal of my unbounded joy and boldness (yes, me!) was stolen from me as a child, in one hidden, violent act, and much of the rest ebbed away not long after. And it was painfully difficult to win my current portions back. Every beat of life within me knows, fiercely, that I'd do my best to destroy anyone who threatened his.

That is, perhaps, the strongest conviction I've ever held.
12/30/06 09:55 PM |  Comments


Be My, Be My, Be My, Roger Ebert.
Would y'all do me a favor, and comment about how wonderful and wacky and bright you thought Little Miss Sunshine? That Steve Carell is brilliant, as always? And, oh, that's it's NOT a chick flick? Consider it my holiday gift from you to me. Thanks! I knew I could count on you.
12/30/06 09:35 PM |  Comments


December 29, 2006

Mayfly 2006
Time once again to sum up your year in twenty-four words or less. Here's mine, it's painfully accurate:
Two already, really? Time flies. Routine, routine, routine. Photoshop, more photoshop. More friends going than coming. Case of the crazies, sane again.
See my previous years:

  • 2005
  • 2004


    • Well, that can't be it, I know I've been doing it longer than that. I'll have to dig harder later.

    ETA: Had to dig into the Web Archive, but I found 2002:
    Tightening job noose chokes - one tired robot. Impromptu marriage in Reno! Love Sacramento (though summer dragged). 31 and ticking fast.
    And 2001:
    first green new year. missed michigan. sick (a lot). weblog turns one. tragedy bigger than comprehension. vegas! job overwhelms. Engaged!
    Looks as if I forgot about it in 2003, no mention in the blog. And no Archives entries. Maybe it didn't exist that year, and I was probably too busy being nauseous and craving purple Powerade, anyhow.
    12/29/06 08:52 AM |  Comments


    December 28, 2006

    A Little Late...
    ...but, still, check these candy kebabs. What a great holiday kid craft -- hopefully I'll remember that I put this here a year from now.
    12/28/06 05:54 PM |  Comments


    December 27, 2006

    Really? You Don't Say.
    What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?


    You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little anti-social, and may want to start gaining new social skills by making prank phone calls.

    Take this quiz!
    12/27/06 03:57 PM |  Comments


    December 26, 2006

    Drums and Vocals
    Freshly-made video goodness.
    12/26/06 10:15 PM |  Comments


    December 25, 2006

    Merry Merry
    I hope you're having a pleasant day. It's been quiet here, mostly. Lots of loot and food. Santa brought me a Wacom tablet which will be more than handy for all things graphical.

    Here's a little video that's long overdue, and has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. It's a bit of the bub's birthday at Dillon Beach over the summer. Maybe I'll have the holiday video done by the next birthday!
    12/25/06 03:30 PM |  Comments


    December 24, 2006

    Eve Day
    I'm not sure what to write today.

    If I were to be completely honest, none of it would be particularly cheery (a bit of homesickness) or very PC (a whole little naggedy storm has been brewing in my head all season re: Christmas vs. Holiday blah blah, more annoying because I can't pick a "side" and stick with it) or sensical (just a dusting of snow might be nice!) or grateful, or patient, or, or, or. Maybe it'll be better as the bub gets older, and I can pass on at least some of the traditions.

    We did drive around a bit, looking at lights. It was strange: the beautiful old Victorians, the ones you'd think would be most likely to show off their gingerbread with tasteful light displays, were undecorated. We were hoping to find a neighborhood like the one we used to visit in Sacramento, where everyone got together and really put together something special as a group.

    I am, though, looking forward to morning, hoping the bub will be excited to see what Santa's left him around the tree. And then, of course, is the ham.

    I hope you're enjoying a peaceful evening.
    12/24/06 10:17 PM |  Comments


    December 23, 2006

    Mega Happy Cleaning Fun Party Time
    Okay, having two hours before the holiday alone in the house is one of the best presents ever, when I'm on a cleaning tear. And I'm not saying this because I'm high on Doc Bronner's Eucalyptus, no I'm not. I washed all the downstairs floors (this is scrubbing every inch on hands and knees), vacuumed, washed the livingroom mirrors, shook out the rugs, and wiped down/decluttered the corner of the kitchen where the paper junk monster grows.

    So blissful not to have anyone underfoot, or have to worry about how much noise I was making.
    12/23/06 08:57 PM |  Comments


    December 22, 2006

    After These Messages
    I'd just like to take a moment to plug these two wonderful Etsy artisans that made my holiday gift shopping experience so much nicer!

    Art Glass Fusion offers a nice selection of glass hairthings and miscellany. I purchased a couple of barrettes, one for an exchange, and one for myself, and they truly are a terrific bargain. I think I love holding mine more than wearing it! The photos don't do them justice, they're so substantial and have so much depth.

    TV Tray Art Designs creates the coolest soldered and resin jewelery from bits of ephemera. I bought this washi paper reversible necklace for an exchange, and now I'm kind of wishing I'd picked out one of those for myself, as well!
    12/22/06 08:27 PM |  Comments


    December 21, 2006

    At Least One Innocent Shopping Cart Has Been Spared
    I've been dreading -- dreading! -- going to the grocery store for Christmas dinner, so fed up with shoppers and shopping and anything that involves being in, next to, or near a building that even remotely resembles a store.

    Then I remembered that we have Safeway, and Safeway delivers. And, in what I can only view as yet another Christmas miracle, they have plenty of available delivery slots over the weekend. Wahoo!
    12/21/06 11:36 PM |  Comments


    December 20, 2006

    Not That I'm Fishing For a Big One Here...
    ...but geez, and shucks, and all that. Can't I just feel one of the small ones, at least? Even just a little? I never do.
    12/20/06 11:26 PM |  Comments


    18.5 Hours
    Suze invited me to a Come as You Are party, so I thought I'd really do it right and show my up-since-6 am self.

    Frankly, I'm surprised I can still hold the camera that straight and hit the button at the same time.

    Oh, and you can play too, if you like!
    12/20/06 12:39 AM |  Comments


    December 19, 2006

    Another Christmas Miracle?
    I had the best DMV trip ever this morning. I don't know if it's because everyone is at the mall, or what. But the (nice!) woman at the entry desk told us not to even bother sitting down, it would be that fast. And it was! And the woman who served us was nice, too.

    And it was all clean and sparkly and open, not crammed and skankified like the Sacramento offices I've had the pleasure of visiting. Rawk.
    12/19/06 12:16 PM |  Comments


    December 18, 2006

    Rather Mysteriously...
    ...the package showed up on our porch while we were eating dinner today.

    My faith in humanity, if not FedEx, has been restored for the moment.
    12/18/06 10:19 PM |  Comments


    December 17, 2006

    FedUp
    FedEx delivered my package to the wrong house. I know this because I was home, bub asleep, at the time of delivery on tracking. So I would've heard the doorbell, or even someone on our porch (it's a pretty creaky porch).

    This was four days ago. They've been "tracing" it for three.

    I honestly don't know who deserves my disgust more. FedEx, or the person who would keep a package full of toys right before Christmas.
    12/17/06 08:48 PM |  Comments


    December 16, 2006

    Preservation (of Buildings, Sanity, and Love Handles)
    This is old news, but it's new to me. I'm so excited to see that 114-year-old building getting a well-deserved overhaul.

    In other news, my final project is done. Tomorrow I take the exam, and I'm finished. Phew.

    In other other news, the bub helped me make banana cookies today. Mmmmm. Just the right balance of crispy and soft. I think I'll have another, with a glass of milk.
    12/16/06 11:47 PM |  Comments


    December 15, 2006

    Christmas Knit Magic
    I knit a wreath! The colors are a lot more flattered by natural light, but that's at a premium these days, and I needed to get this post in before my coach turned into a pumpkin and all, so. Don't know that I'm happy with that bow.

    I knit two balls of Patons Twister (on sale at Michael's, serendipity) into a tube with the Mattel Knit Magic; this was the perfect amount, and left me with enough give for a little bunching. Then I sliced an opening into an 8" extruded foam wreath form, slipped the tube over it like a sausage casing, electrical-taped the foam ends back together (we have a gazillion things in the house, but not one of them duct tape? must correct that), and sewed the tube ends together. And voila.

    Kind of a cheatsy project to the purists out there, perhaps, but it was a satisfying little thing to make. And it's all soft and scrunchy and pettable, for all its hard extruded core.
    12/15/06 11:09 PM |  Comments


    December 14, 2006

    There Will Be Much Baking of Cookies and Drinking of Nog
    Ugh. This final project is kicking my ass. It's not making a whole lot of sense to me at the moment, but then I've only been staring at the screen non-stop for three hours, and look what time it is, so that doesn't help. Rasterizeclippingmask-adjustmentlayercowheadonfishbodyunderwaterbaseball-whowhatwhatnow?

    I almost forgot to post, even. That's how mushified my poor brain is.

    Thank goodness it will all be over by Sunday. Then I can enjoy the holiday in peace. Well, you know. At least more than now.
    12/14/06 11:40 PM |  Comments


    December 13, 2006

    Knit Lite
    I admit, I've fallen almost entirely away from knitting. I'm going to whip up a skinny scarf on my vintage Knit Magic sometime this week, and that'll pretty much be the most productive thing I'll have done all year (even if what I have finished on that sweater so far was way more labor intensive).

    But, damn, these lighted needles are just the bee's knees.
    12/13/06 04:25 PM |  Comments


    December 12, 2006

    Toddler Equation
    s = 1 / (w + p + i + t)²

    where

    s = the speed of your toddler
    w = the weight of the bags you are carrying
    p = precipitation
    i = cortisol in your bloodstream
    t = amount of time you are late
    12/12/06 12:16 PM |  Comments


    December 11, 2006

    RIP, Kitty
    It's hard to believe that McFly has been gone for over a year, now. Someone else's pink-nosed grey and white kitty passed over the weekend, and it made me think of him more.

    I wonder if the other cats hold memories like that.
    12/11/06 11:30 PM |  Comments


    December 10, 2006

    Dorm, Shmorm!
    They make it sound like only a dorm dweller would want this Cereal on the Go milk cooler/cereal container, but if I ever went anywhere, like work, I'd sooooo be all over it. Via ljc.
    12/10/06 07:30 PM |  Comments


    You Work at a Smile and You Go For a Ride
    If you're not a smoker... did you ever kind of want to try it? In the back of your head? Just a tiny bit? I'm not talking about a cancer-mongering habitual thing. Just one, every now and again, when you're feeling particularly down, or angry, or invisible. No? Probably just me.

    Really, I'm not thinking of taking it up, so, please, no platitudes about how you do twenty laps or scrub floors or chant japa beads, 'kay?
    12/10/06 06:37 PM |  Comments


    December 09, 2006

    Kickin' It the Old Skool
    The old Media Center machine was becoming painfully inadequate, so D. ordered up a shiny new one, and things in viewing land are all happy and spiffy now. It's so nice to watch a recorded show without constant hiccups and stoppages!

    Now he's using the old machine upstairs to transfer a bunch of our remaining VHS stuff to digital. Some movies, some old home footage. I never had access to a video camera until recently, but D. has some old-ish stuff (glee!).

    This reminds me to ask my mom about some very, very old home movies that I remember watching when my grandpa was still alive. I'd love to see some of that stuff professionally transferred.
    12/09/06 08:26 PM |  Comments


    December 08, 2006

    The Nose Glows
    I know I saw this riff on Rudolph last year, but it's making me giggle again.

    And: some of the original puppets have been located and restored, and will be on display at Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts. Neat.

    Also: have you checked out the "Rankin-Bass" site yet? While the setup itself is a bit hokey, it's all still a blast from the past and fun to poke around, especially this time of year. One holiday some time ago, I ordered my sister a signed copy of The Enchanted World of Rankin-Bass, and Goldschmidt sent extra goodies and a little hand-drawn cartoon, and it was just cool.
    12/08/06 11:57 PM |  Comments


    We Interrupt This Postlessness...
    This isn't my real post for today, don't fret. I just wanted to let you know that, barring one day, I've also been posting daily over at the Christmas blog, and I plan to keep it up!
    12/08/06 11:40 AM |  Comments


    December 07, 2006

    Ooga Booga.
    I'm so tired tonight. Why am I not in bed?

    Oh, yeah. Because I'm here, trying to force myself to post. Why am I doing this again?

    Oh, yeah. All the adoration and money.

    I'm going to drag the bub to storytime tomorrow again. Let's hope he doesn't break into a voluminous rendition of that old Bon Jovi classic like he did today in Target. We've created a monster!
    12/07/06 10:49 PM |  Comments


    December 06, 2006

    Sorrow, and Survival
    The sad news kept me down much of today. I'd hoped -- actually, believed would be far more accurate -- that the outcome could be nothing but positive after the rest of the family was recovered on Monday. With all the searchers, and the technologies at their disposal... how could it end otherwise? It's heartbreaking.

    I've also been devouring Jean Hegland's Into the Forest, a semi-apocalyptic tale of two orphaned sisters scrabbling out an existence here in rural Northern California after It (which is left vague, at least so far) hits the fan. It's not lighthearted reading, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do, in a most striking way.

    The book, and so many events these past few years, seem to be beating the message into my head: Make at least some preparation to depend solely upon yourself and your own resources, because, whether the thought makes you uncomfortable or not, the things and powers that are so easily relied upon can fail. I try not to obsess over this, and usually I'm successful. But every now and then I become hyper-aware of our own potentially lethal complacency as a culture, and shudder in my sleep.

    So, yeah. Melancholy stuff for the season. We went out to pick a new ornament for the tree tonight, a shiny tradition that served as a bright little reprieve.
    12/06/06 09:06 PM |  Comments


    December 05, 2006

    Oh What Fun it is to Ride
    How fun is it, this year, to go looking at lights with a little person who enthusiastically chatters on (even if some of that only parrots what I've said?). Much moreso than last year.

    And then I feel a bit badly for saying things like that, because it might sound as if I'm rushing him along, not appreciating each chubby baby stage as I should be. It's not that I didn't enjoy his baby-ness (and still tear up a little at the photos and videos, already), but I admit I have more, well, fun with the toddler-ness, whining and tantrums notwithstanding.
    12/05/06 09:33 PM |  Comments


    December 04, 2006

    Self-Explanatory

    nablo_tree_red_border.jpg
    12/04/06 06:47 PM |  Comments


    Things That are Making Me Happy Today
  • Packages
  • Another PBS book request, whee
  • Kati Kim and daughters found, alive
  • Cookies far more inspired than mine
  • The return of commenty goodness
  • Getting the hugest ever unsolicited bub hug in Albertson's parking lot
  • Pumpkin Spice Coffee-Mate
  • Kashmiri Chai
  • Everwood reruns. Yes, I'm just that sappy. Especially at the holidays.

    • 12/04/06 04:37 PM |  Comments


    December 03, 2006

    More Reindeer Games
    Things are in full swing over at Bloggin' Around the Christmas Tree! Pull up a comfy chair, grab some cocoa and cookies, and join us, why don't you? And, bonus -- you get to check out more of my questionable Illustrator skills!
    12/03/06 03:42 PM |  Comments


    December 02, 2006

    It's Time to Play...
    ...guess the 80's pop rock standard!
    12/02/06 12:18 PM |  Comments


    December 01, 2006

    Day 1 Redux.
    So a small lot of us are informally posting through December, as well. You're more than welcome to join in! It's called DeBloPoO -- December Blog Posting Overacheivers -- but, in my head, I'll be referring to it as December Blog Positively Outstanding Posting Overacheivers. Because it makes the acronym just that much more fun, and you know I'm juvenile that way.

    The bub and I went to get the oil changed today. Do you put this off, too? If there's one thing I avoid, it's being made to feel stupid (at least in person; I love being an idiot online! hee), and if the thing has something to do with my car... it usually does. Even if it doesn't, garages in general put me off. Mechanicaphobia?

    Yeah. Anyhow. Next week I have to get smogged, joy. I wonder if I can bribe DH to do it for me.

    Oh, you know what I love about oil changes, though? When the mechanic brings out the dipstick on a rag to inspect. I can't help but think of a sommelier with a bottle, and it makes me giggle inside just a little.
    12/01/06 01:23 PM |  Comments