Bleh and memes

[averygoodun42]

I don't like February. It's like mall-gas: it slowly drains every ounce of energy from my being, replacing it with a whirlpool into the void.

It doesn't help that it's cold out. Really, frickin cold. It doesn't matter how warm it is inside the house, because if it's cold outside, I'm cold. Right now I might not be wearing quite enough, but as it is I'm wearing a turtleneck, super thick, doubled-up polar fleece vest, furry slippers, socks and jeans. Oh, and I'm using the space heater as a leg rest, so that might count, too.

I'm still cold.

When I'm cold I don't want to do anything. I want to sequester myself away under my big doona, maybe with my little duvet thrown on top, and curl up into a nice long nap with dreams filled with warm beaches, tropical sun, and a few manservants friends.

Alas.

I did manage to get out of the house today. I had a dentist appointment. The car wouldn't start. Unfortunately, that isn't enough of an excuse to miss the appointment since we live less than half a mile away from the dentist's office.

Did I mention how cold it is?

I tried wrapping my scarf around my head, neck and mouth, but the frigid wind kept playing tug of war with my hair, which, in turn, was trying to stage a revolt and strangle me with its static electricity charged tentacles. So, in the end, I had to settle for keeping my neck and mouth covered as breathing was uncomfortable otherwise.

And the dentist visit was... well, best not mentioned.

And yet, I have nothing real to complain about. I have a heated home. I have a wonderful husband who, after buying a new car battery, picked me up from the dentist. I have a beautiful, sweet little boy who is happily asleep at the moment. I have a wonderful family and collection of friends who, for some unknown reason, care. Even my health isn't doing too badly.

But I still hate February. I'm really glad the Equinox is now only three weeks away.




gakked from beletseri

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions, and if you like, the title of the book.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

From Nicey and Wifey's "Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down"

The tone of the two biscuits is also somewhat different: the Tim Tam is a warm bronze to the Penguin's almost slate-grey chocolate and biscuit.

I haven't actually sat down to read this book yet. It's one of those books that's good to read over a cup of tea, and I've recently determined that I'm allergic to black tea, sooooo...


The four things meme: gakked from everyone

Four Jobs I've Held
a: babysitter
b: gallery-sitter (morphed into more responsible managerial position after two years and a $4 p/hr raise)
c: student (it's not paid, but it's still a job)
d: mother

Four Movies I can watch over and over
a: Galaxy Quest
b: The Incredibles
c: Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
d: Ever After

Four Places I've Lived
a: Boulder, CO
b: Herrsching, (West) Germany
c: Melbourne, Australia
d: Indianapolis, IN (one of these is not like the others...)

Four TV Shows I Love
a: Stargate-SG1 (seasons 3-5)
b: Simpsons
c: Due South
d: Black Adder

Four highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I've never watched a single minute of
a: NYPD Blue
b: The OC (it's highly regarded? huh)
c and d: What's highly regarded or recommended, anyway?

Four Places I've vacationed
a: Hawai'i
b: Isle of Skye, Scotland
c: Northern Italian Alps
d: Painted Desert, AZ

Four of my favorite dishes
a: roast lamb with lots and lots of garlic
b: Metátesh (Spicy Sweet Potato Stew - especially combined with spicy red lentils (Yemeser Wot) and injira)
c: grilled cheese sandwich beside canned cream of tomato soup made with milk
d: Saag paneer (one of the few ways I like spinach)

Four Sites I visit daily
a: http://www.hotmail.com/
b: http://www.gmail.com/
c: http://www.livejournal.com/
d: http://www.thepetulantpoetess.com

Four Places I'd rather be right now
a: Vancouver, BC
b: Melbourne, Australia
c: Florence, Italy
d: wherever my friends are

I would tag someone, but I suspect I'm the last person on lj to do this.

Comments

[zalena.livejournal.com]

I haven't done it, so here goes:

living: Boston, NY, various locales on both the Eastern and Western slopes of CO.

jobs: editor, winnie-the-pooh at the mall, nanny, bakery

repetitive film: Cuaron's A Little Princess, Hudsucker Proxy, Persuasion, Room with a View

TV: Gilmore Girls, Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece Theatre

Never TV: anything with cops or court, Friends

Vacation: the Bahamas, Britain, Maine, California

Food: mashed potatoes, icecream, grilled pinapple, cheescake (hmm, I'm in a mushy phase. I like creamy foods, or crunchy foods.)

[fishity.livejournal.com]

Herrsching - where in Germany is that?

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

About 60 km west(?) SW (?) of Munchen, on the Ammersee. The year I lived there the Ammersee froze over completely.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Oh, in Bayern.

[fishity.livejournal.com]

I used to live in Bayern for two years, but in a slightly different area. It was nice there but to be honest, I'm glad to be back on northern territory :)

How long did you live there? Do you speak any German? *bounces excitedly*

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

I never did get around to the northern areas. :( (Well, I can't remember where Meinz is. Is it north?)

Thing is, I lived there when I was 6 (back when Germany was still divided!), and only for a year. By the time we left I had a first grader's proficiency at German, but now I can only remember little fragments, most of them to do with songs... like the Muppet Show's skit (sorry for spelling/word errors - it's been a long time) "Ganau ganau ganau ich (been) ein gnu, ich nicht (been) ein kuh, icht been ein gnu!" and Tom and Jerry's opening song - "Dankeshun fur die blumen, danke shun (da da da)." That's about it. Little bits occur to me here and there, but mostly... nada. :(

I wish I still had my children's books. They'd be helpful for relearning. (though "Max und Moritz" (sp!) was pretty brutal, if I remember correctly.)

[fishity.livejournal.com]

Mainz...depends on where in Germany you ask :) Bavarians would tell you it's north. But keep in mind that my friends in Bavaria told me that from their point of view I practically came from Sweden! I grew up in Northern Germany but not even THAT close to the coast. From where I live, Mainz is in the middle of Germany.

Oh, German TV shows tend to stick very well with children. I still know the German Smurfs song to this very day. Can't help you with the Muppet Show because I never watched it, but I think the Tom and Jerry theme was "Vielen Dank für die Blumen, vielen Dank, wie lieb von dir".

Several classic German children's books are rather brutal. Max und Moritz is one of them, and the "Suppenkasper" is just as mean (boy won't eat his soup, boy starves to death). So are many of Grimm's fairy tales, though. Lots of evil stepmothers dying gruesome deaths :)

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

well, I guess that I've never been to Northern Germany, then. ;) I was only in Mainz for a weekend... dang it, can't even remember what festival it was. All I remember was that it was COLD! And that warm (not hot) milk without honey is just plain gross. =)

[fishity.livejournal.com]

Warm milk is gross by default, no matter whether you add honey or not! *shudders*

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

LOL! Yeah, I tend to agree. I do like hot milk, though. Hot(!) milk with honey, vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon is a wonderful pre-bedtime drink. Replace the vanilla with good rum, and suddenly it's a really nice soporific. ;-)

Of course, this is now that milk and I have worked out our differences. If you'd brought up the subject of milk three years ago I would have gagged at the thought.

[fishity.livejournal.com]

I don't like the taste of honey, so the not-so-great taste of milk isn't exactly improved by adding it :)

The real thing for a long drink: cold milk and "Liquor 43". Tastes like vanilla flavoured milk and not at all like alcohol.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yeah, that would cut into the enjoyment factor, wouldn't it? Maple syrup is also interesting, though it's different enough to need a bit of getting used to.

I actually like the tast of rum (the good stuff, anyway). I'm weird in that I like the taste of rum and tequila (tequila is da bomb!) Not that I get many opportunities to consume, but... (takes mug of hot milk and raises it) cheers!

[fishity.livejournal.com]

Ewww, rum. Can't stand the taste. Unfortunately this rules out about two thirds of all cocktails for me because even a faint hint of rum is a no-go for me. Southern Comfort, on the other hand...

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm weird. Most people actually freak at the thought of tequila by itself. Southern Comfort, as I remember, was too sweet for my tastes. For me the evil drink is vodka. That stuff is just nasty, although I might not have had the best brand.

[fishity.livejournal.com]

Vodka is okay for me, even moderately cheap brands (the very cheapest brands are nasty though). But like any kind of alcohol, I only like it in very small doses, mixed with lots of shiny sweet things to distract from the sharp taste. I'm such a girl...