RIP DVD player

Due to the untimely and badly timed death of my DVD player, I find I have time to write. This is a distraction to the fact that my three new Netflix came today, and I was looking forward to watching them. Oh, hello 2009, I had almost forgotten that you had arrived. See, due to my lengthy vacation from work, I don't really know what day it is. Maybe the 2nd? That sounds about right. So, how about some renovations, nope that's not the right word. Resignations? Nah, not quite right. Oh, yeah, RESOLUTIONS. Ok, I am going back to my fat meetins'. I need to get myself together, that'll be the first resolution, and probably the first broken. The new diet starts Monday. Next, those people from 2008 that should be forever forgotten are. I said goodbye to you in my head on New Year's Eve. Good riddance. I hope to resolve myself to get back to blogging more regularly, like I did in the beginning. I'll work at this one. I'm also leaving Christmas where it lies - behind me. The good gifts: Gigantic blue topaz ring (perfect!),Cute Creatures Crochet book, docking station, Jersey Boys ticket, and the fuchsia glitter Madonna (as in mother of God, not chic from Detroit) bank - however this was a blatant regift, as in "Here, Aunt Von, I'm giving you this because Jyl isn't here, so you can have it" (I kid you not. See why I am done with Christmas??) The bad gifts (that will be free on Craig's list in a day or so): ugly scarf/gloves, book three of some series I haven't read books one or two of, cheap ass candles, jelly, cheap ass wallet. Next year I will be providing my family with a list prior to my birthday with gift ideas. I will ask that they not stray from this list. It's not going to be ideas, it's going to be concrete things I want. People, please stop giving me things you think I NEED. Give me things I WANT. Things I have no business buying for myself, that's the whole point of the child-like Christmas glee I try to have every year. Every year? Sorely disappointed. Best gift this year? My Nintendo DS. That I bought. For myself. I did decide that this is the year that I am getting back on the dating horse. Dearest reader, let's all forget about that little (I stress LITTLE) bump in the road from last September, ok? Things look pretty favorable on that front. More favorable than in a long long time. While out having Fun Tuesday with Shannon, I met a guy who told me three times how cute I am, and that he will be taking me out to dinner. He didn't so much ask for my number as much as demanded it. And he got it, for his confidence alone. Looks wise not what I'm looking for, but his confidence is intriguing......we shall see when/if he calls. If call, then I agree to a date. Today while chekcing my email, another decent prospect asked for my phone number. And he got it. Hedging my bets? Damn straight. So now I expect two phone numbers that I do not know to show up on my cell phone in the near future. Not to mention the dude in my German class that I wouldn't mind setting up a private study group with. I'm out of ideas for tonight. Off to Best Buy in the morning, need to purchase deceased DVD player's next of kin.

Snippets

A couple of snippets from last night: 1. One cannot give someone the finger while wearing mittens. The person who should be offended sees this as waving, and will wave back, thus infuriating you futher. If one must give the finger, take off the mitten, so the message is not miscommunicated. 2. I CAN park in the garage while VonBroinlaw is parked in there. I can, I can, I can. Yeah me. 3. Chris made me spit out my pop at dinner last night. We were sitting at the table, having just finished our crappy holiday dinner. Laura was out warming her car, and Lizzie was playing with her toys. For no reason whatsoever, Chris looked at me and said "How bout I take that ski and shove it up your ass and walk around the restaurant with you like that?!?". She.was.sober. I love Chris. I missed her a lot. A lot. 4. We were nearly thrown out of Joe's Crab Shack last night. Chris decided to fill my purse with whatever she could find on the table. There was sugar, sweetandlow, crab crackers, napkins (used), pens. We were standing up practically wrestling. I think Laura was torn between laughing and trying to get us to stop. Lizzie? She was trying to help her mom fill my purse with crap. Yep, Chris and I are great role models for her!

Mr Freeze is winning

I can handle the snow. To a point. If it snows, and hangs around for a day or two, that's cool. This 6 snow storms in 6 days, followed by the coldest temperatures in two years? That's a problem. I even cancelled plans yesterday, because I was so freakin' cold I couldn't stand the thought of going back outside. Sigh. So, I know I've been lax with this here blog. Mea culpa. A quick weekend in review. Friday I didn't go to work. I had hit the wall. I'm in that mode right now where I have a lot of plans, I say yes to, well, everything. I got tired. And, of course, we had Another snow storm on Friday. So, I stayed home from work on Friday. It was everything I needed it to be. I wrapped all of the presents (once I remembered what was for who), I watched three movies. I finished reading Twilight. I ended up cancelling my plans Friday night too, I was too comfortable in my cozy little apartment. It was exactly what I needed. Saturday Laura and I went to dinner, and then to the Daily. She had never been there, and was curious. We picked a good night to go because pretty much everyone I know there was there, both staff and customers. I had this tasty little beer called Skull Splitter. I highly, highly recommend this beer. It's from Scotland. It's 8.9% people - what more do you need? Go get you some, you won't be disappointed. Sunday I headed to Montgomery IL for breakfast with the godmother. My godmother is awesome. I get the feeling she feels about me the same way I feel about my goddaughter. Mimi is one of my dad's best friends from forever. When I became Catholic in third grade, Mimi became my godmother. Anyway, she lives out in the middle of nowhere, and we go to her house every year for breakfast right before Christmas. It was a great time. Her granddaughter showed up and joined us for breakfast, which was nice. The only problem was it was so so so cold yesterday. When my parents picked me up at 8am, it was -6 with a -30 windchill. That's why VonSis and I ended up cancelling our plans last night. We just couldn't get ourselves to go back outside. I swear it took me about an hour to warm up after I got home from breakfast. Today isn't much better. I got up and got myself by just not thinking about it too much. I have noticed a happy thing this holiday season - I've heard more and more people saying "Merry Christmas" more than the standard lame "Happy Holidays". Every time someone says "Merry Christmas" to me, I respond, enthusiastically, in kind. I think it just sounds better, I don't know. I will try, really try, to blog again this week, but it may not happen. It's just an incredibly busy time right now. Hopefully I will have something entertaining to share after Christmas. Wishing you all and all of your families and friends a very Merry Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, or a happy last week in December, whatever you'll be celebrating this week.

Auntie Mame

I didn't hate it. I'm not going to lie, I was a little unsure at first, but the company that I kept last night made it a hilarious round of good time. My favorite line? "I'm ya SPONGE!" I'm going to use that. A lot. (If you haven't seen this movie, rent it. NOW. If only for that line, it's worth it) Sigh. Right now? Looks like we're livin' in a snow globe. I do love working on the 30th floor downtown! Not really looking forward to heading home. Not just a major snow storm, but cold as hell. COLD. H A T E W I N T E R. I know, I know. Weekend review and all of that. No time, my friends, no time. Tonight, you say? Um, well, I would, except that I am going to dinner with my friend Toni, and following that up with a movie..... What movie, you quander? Well, um, let's just say we're going to be lecherous cougars leering at some fine young vampire meat..... I know. I know. Let the harassing and haranguing begin..... (p.s. I know quander may not be a word, but I liked it, so I left it in)

Dod Gamn

Busy weekend, busy life = no time for weekend in review. I'll get back to you on that. Right now? Going to sit on a radiator and try to get feeling back into my body. God Damn Chicago. God Damn 7 degrees, with a 15 below wind chill. God Damn Monday.

Happy Friday

I find that giving someone a piece of my mind gives me peace of mind. I'm having lunch with Shannon today. She's bringing me my first Bake Off entry to sample and judge. Where are your entries?!? I've got nothing else as of yet today. But with the monstrous full moon, you never know what could come spilling out of my brain.

28 is not so bad

I like to read. A lot. So, this year I decided to keep a list of all of the books I've read. I think it's late enough in December to share the list with you. Let me warn you, I don't stick to any one type or style of book. So, here goes. Please, don't judge. 1. My Boring Ass Life 2. Wheel of Darkness 3. The Tenth Circle 4. The Thirteenth Tale 5. The Pact 6. The Mistress of Death 7. Lucky 8. The Will of Wisteria 9. Keeping Faith 10. Open Me 11. Five Quarters of the Orange 12. The Worst Day of My Life So Far 13. The Memory Keeper's Daughter 14. Left Behind 15. Hunting Unicorns 16. Tribulation Force 17. Bloodsucking Fiends 18. Nicolai 19. The Collectors 20. Soul Harvest 21. Blessed are the Cheesemakers 22. Apollyon 23. Ysabel 24. Book of the Dead 25. Mercy 26. World War Z 27. Story Telling 28. Kitchen Confidential 29. Twilight (I'm just starting this. Damn peer pressure) Phew. This is quite a list. To be honest, I didn't finish #12, I ended up hating it about a quarter of the way in and I didn't finish. It's very rare for me to not finish whatever I'm reading. If I start a book, I feel like I owe it to the book, or maybe to myself to read it all the way through. I also do not read more than one book at a time. Again, I consider it a disservice to myself, and to the books. My sister and I read All The Time. Our mom instilled this practice in us at very young ages. I don't remember a time when we didn't go to the library, or read books to earn Cubs tickets from the library, or get books as gifts for Easter and Christmas and sometime birthdays. Sadly, VonMom is very very off when selecting books for me. The ONE type of book I will not read is chic lit. I'd rather rip out my own teeth with a rusty pair of pliers and call that a good time. So, of course, VonMom gives me chic lit. My favorite story about that is this: A few Christmases ago I got a book from VonMom. She was all excited because it was about two sisters, and one was blonde and one was a brunette, and the blonde was the younger party gal and the brunette um, wasn't, yada yada yada. I read the first few pages of this Jennifer Weiner crap "And the little blonde one was having rough sex in the bathroom at her high school reunion with some random dude and aren't I so witty with my peppy prose?" Instead of just putting it down and not finishing it, I called VonMom and read her the first few choice pages. I said "Isn't this just so, like, great?" She wasn't amused. From then on she's asked for recommendations either from me or from the poor Barnes and Noble staff who indulge her lenghty description of me and my life story, so they can help her pick out a book or two. VonSis? VonMom buys her whatever giant huge tome she can find. Regardless of subject matter. Sigh. Thank God my sister and I have each other to book swap with and compare notes. We're like our own mini book club, but kinda like one on crack, with the speed she flies through books, and me trying to keep up. Best book on the list above? Ysabel, by Guy Gavriel Kay. But, I will say, he's been my favorite fantasy writer since I was about 13, so that may be a little skewed. *Side note: YES, there are a few of the Left Behind series on the list. However, I was strongly adivsed, and I strongly agreed to stop reading the series. Not only was it boring and weird, it left a bad taste in my mouth. If anyone would like the authors' names or any more info on any of the above, please let me know.