N is for (The) Neverending Story

18 Comments

Not! 
But stick with me….

The Neverending Story (along with The Dark Crystal, The Flight of the Navigator, and The Boy Who Could Fly) were my sister’s favorite movies when she was a little kid. 

Let me tell you about my sister.


She’s awesome
And tough and funny
She sings like a bird and drives faster then me. She’s always had better hair (except when she selfishly volunteers as guinea pig to her friends going through cosmetology school….perms are seldom a good look, sister)

Me & my bestie, doing what we do best,

I gave her The Corrs, she gave me The Backstreet Boys
I gave her Downton Abbey, she gave me Veronica Mars
I gave her Twilight, she gave me Katie Fforde
I gave her The Pimpernel, she gave me Star Wars
We discovered Monty Python, The Marx Brothers and Robert Downy, Jr together
We share love-custody of Gilbert Blythe and Gerard Butler
She gave me Brad Pitt
She understands my fascination (and borderline obsession) of Deb, Ang and Jen
Even though I don’t quite get her enthusiasm for alternative rock and ska
We share a fear of circus freaks and a love for all-you-can-eat buffets and Brit Coms
We’re both going to marry Jedi Knights someday
And Mr. Big

We shared a room in college for one summer and spend those hot nights trying to sleep while cooking up alternate endings to Phantom of the Opera and “What was Mr Darcy really thinking…” scenarios. 


Nicknames: 
(Seinfeld) she calls me “Gammy,” I call her “Mulva.” 
(Gossip Girl) she calls me “Em,” I call her “Es.” 
(Ab Fab) we both answer to “Pats”


I love you mucho, sister! Enjoy your “Day of N.” And I’ll allow you….THIS TIME, to watch one of your crap movies. 
I’ll see you in California tomorrow!!!
ex-oh, ex-oh.

N is for (The) Neverending Story

18 Comments

Not! 
But stick with me….

The Neverending Story (along with The Dark Crystal, The Flight of the Navigator, and The Boy Who Could Fly) were my sister’s favorite movies when she was a little kid. 

Let me tell you about my sister.


She’s awesome
And tough and funny
She sings like a bird and drives faster then me. She’s always had better hair (except when she selfishly volunteers as guinea pig to her friends going through cosmetology school….perms are seldom a good look, sister)

Me & my bestie, doing what we do best,

I gave her The Corrs, she gave me The Backstreet Boys
I gave her Downton Abbey, she gave me Veronica Mars
I gave her Twilight, she gave me Katie Fforde
I gave her The Pimpernel, she gave me Star Wars
We discovered Monty Python, The Marx Brothers and Robert Downy, Jr together
We share love-custody of Gilbert Blythe and Gerard Butler
She gave me Brad Pitt
She understands my fascination (and borderline obsession) of Deb, Ang and Jen
Even though I don’t quite get her enthusiasm for alternative rock and ska
We share a fear of circus freaks and a love for all-you-can-eat buffets and Brit Coms
We’re both going to marry Jedi Knights someday
And Mr. Big

We shared a room in college for one summer and spend those hot nights trying to sleep while cooking up alternate endings to Phantom of the Opera and “What was Mr Darcy really thinking…” scenarios. 


Nicknames: 
(Seinfeld) she calls me “Gammy,” I call her “Mulva.” 
(Gossip Girl) she calls me “Em,” I call her “Es.” 
(Ab Fab) we both answer to “Pats”


I love you mucho, sister! Enjoy your “Day of N.” And I’ll allow you….THIS TIME, to watch one of your crap movies. 
I’ll see you in California tomorrow!!!
ex-oh, ex-oh.

L is for List

16 Comments

Where have the months gone? Time is seriously ticking away. But I’m getting closer to reaching my goal of 40 Things.

#11 – Retry 10 foods I always thought I hated.

Cottage Cheese

Since I’m such a texture freak, I assumed I would still detest this stuff. But because someone explained to me that it’s NOT supposed to be sweet like yogurt (which I thought it was), but is more salty….like ricotta (which I LOVE (see HERE)), I was pretty much hooked after the first bite. Now, I eat it practically daily; with pairs, or tomatoes, or blueberries, or straight out of the tub. I only hope its healthier than ricotta….for the amount I’ve been consuming! 
Side note: I prefer the small curds to large. But they’re both rather delish.

(This was my first attempt. Which explains the tiny amount. I was nervous. I eat much larger scoops now!)

#15 – Take on a new leadership responsibility at work.
 United Way hotdog cookout (celebrating natural gas summer grilling…for a good cause!)

Planning this has been such fun, and the execution was far beyond my hopes. With the help of my fellow marketing team and some other lovely volunteers, I was put in charge of a relatively huge event.We raised a pretty huge amount for United Way.

Go Team Atmos Energy!
Pre-staging. A view of the grill and dining area.
“Big Tex,” the massive grill, with the two superheroes who run the sucker.

The first wave of fine diners. They were ready to eat!
 
One of the natural gas grills we raffled off. I did NOT win.
Me with some of the Marketing angels.
We had ice cream, yo.


#32 – Volunteer at a soup kitchen (or something similar in the community)

Donated surplus food (from the above cookout) to North Dallas Food Bank & to a local first station

Yes, I did happen to volunteer to take the food to the firehouse. And, I’m not gonna lie…a bunch of steamy firemen were outside playing shirtless basketball when we pulled up, and yes, they showed their appreciation in very intimate ways. Nope, no pictures included here. 



#31 – Renew my passport

(This is my expired one. Don’t I look 12?)

Because I still had the BROWN HAIR when I had my passport renewed, I opted to use a different passport-sized photo I had taken over the summer, for my CHL class. At that time, I had very blonde hair….as well as a pink stripe. My new passport will be rocking that picture for the next decade. Party on.

#24 – Learn to do a Sudoku puzzle
I didn’t complete as many as I thought I would; I guess I’m still a crossword puzzle girl. But, at least now I know how to do a Sudoku, and I’m no longer afraid to chat about them at the next Sudoku cocktail party I attend. And that’s what this is all about!

(My first lesson.)

brought to you  by……

L is for List

16 Comments

Where have the months gone? Time is seriously ticking away. But I’m getting closer to reaching my goal of 40 Things.

#11 – Retry 10 foods I always thought I hated.

Cottage Cheese

Since I’m such a texture freak, I assumed I would still detest this stuff. But because someone explained to me that it’s NOT supposed to be sweet like yogurt (which I thought it was), but is more salty….like ricotta (which I LOVE (see HERE)), I was pretty much hooked after the first bite. Now, I eat it practically daily; with pairs, or tomatoes, or blueberries, or straight out of the tub. I only hope its healthier than ricotta….for the amount I’ve been consuming! 
Side note: I prefer the small curds to large. But they’re both rather delish.

(This was my first attempt. Which explains the tiny amount. I was nervous. I eat much larger scoops now!)

#15 – Take on a new leadership responsibility at work.
 United Way hotdog cookout (celebrating natural gas summer grilling…for a good cause!)

Planning this has been such fun, and the execution was far beyond my hopes. With the help of my fellow marketing team and some other lovely volunteers, I was put in charge of a relatively huge event.We raised a pretty huge amount for United Way.

Go Team Atmos Energy!
Pre-staging. A view of the grill and dining area.
“Big Tex,” the massive grill, with the two superheroes who run the sucker.

The first wave of fine diners. They were ready to eat!
 
One of the natural gas grills we raffled off. I did NOT win.
Me with some of the Marketing angels.
We had ice cream, yo.


#32 – Volunteer at a soup kitchen (or something similar in the community)

Donated surplus food (from the above cookout) to North Dallas Food Bank & to a local first station

Yes, I did happen to volunteer to take the food to the firehouse. And, I’m not gonna lie…a bunch of steamy firemen were outside playing shirtless basketball when we pulled up, and yes, they showed their appreciation in very intimate ways. Nope, no pictures included here. 



#31 – Renew my passport

(This is my expired one. Don’t I look 12?)

Because I still had the BROWN HAIR when I had my passport renewed, I opted to use a different passport-sized photo I had taken over the summer, for my CHL class. At that time, I had very blonde hair….as well as a pink stripe. My new passport will be rocking that picture for the next decade. Party on.

#24 – Learn to do a Sudoku puzzle
I didn’t complete as many as I thought I would; I guess I’m still a crossword puzzle girl. But, at least now I know how to do a Sudoku, and I’m no longer afraid to chat about them at the next Sudoku cocktail party I attend. And that’s what this is all about!

(My first lesson.)

brought to you  by……

K is for . . .

4 Comments
I know you think this should be K is for kissing, but I’m never one to jump to the obvious. So today’s post is brought to you by the letter K, which is for the Khan Academy. 
 
 
The what, you ask?
 
The Khan Academy is a not for profit, free educational website, which has the rather lofty goal of bringing a world class education to everyone with a PC, for free. Basically, not only is this a fabulous tool for quick and dirty lessons on algebra, art history, or economics (and a lot of other stuff), it’s been very useful for me when researching a book. You can quickly find a subject (Baroque art, anyone?) and find out enough about it to enable a character to speak with authority on the topic. For me, the three lessons on the Fibonacci (you know, that ratio of numbers that seem to appear in every part of nature), has been invaluable.
 
An example of Fibonacci. Pretty, right?
 
Go, look and learn. And then do what I do: pretend you’re an expert.
 
This (way too smart for me to ever come up with) post came from my lovely and talented critique partner, Sue. She’s super-fab. Check her out on the Twit: @scwine
 
 

K is for . . .

4 Comments
I know you think this should be K is for kissing, but I’m never one to jump to the obvious. So today’s post is brought to you by the letter K, which is for the Khan Academy. 
 
 
The what, you ask?
 
The Khan Academy is a not for profit, free educational website, which has the rather lofty goal of bringing a world class education to everyone with a PC, for free. Basically, not only is this a fabulous tool for quick and dirty lessons on algebra, art history, or economics (and a lot of other stuff), it’s been very useful for me when researching a book. You can quickly find a subject (Baroque art, anyone?) and find out enough about it to enable a character to speak with authority on the topic. For me, the three lessons on the Fibonacci (you know, that ratio of numbers that seem to appear in every part of nature), has been invaluable.
 
An example of Fibonacci. Pretty, right?
 
Go, look and learn. And then do what I do: pretend you’re an expert.
 
This (way too smart for me to ever come up with) post came from my lovely and talented critique partner, Sue. She’s super-fab. Check her out on the Twit: @scwine
 
 

J is for Jaffa Cake

15 Comments
Today’s post comes from my lovely and talented critique partner, Sue. She’s super-fab. Check her out on the Twit: @scwine

 
J is for Jaffa Cake
Yes, I know. You know about Hob Nobs and Cadbury’s, you may even drink tea like the British do, but I’m betting you don’t know what a Jaffa Cake is, and that okay. Great, even. Because once you know, and you actually taste one, you’ll be dreaming about them, and worse, eating them constantly. It takes at least three weeks to kick the habit. It’s bad. These fascinating little cookies have a layer of yellow cake, with a strip of orange jelly on top, covered in dark chocolate. The description doesn’t do them justice. But next time you are shopping, and you come across the ‘International’ aisle, or, rather quaintly, the ‘exotic foods’ section (that’s in a Stop and Shop in CT), pick up a pack of Jaffa cakes. Double dog dare you. Or, make them from this lovely British recipe:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/homemadejaffacakes_91480 
Oh yes, you’re going DOWN!

J is for Jaffa Cake

15 Comments
Today’s post comes from my lovely and talented critique partner, Sue. She’s super-fab. Check her out on the Twit: @scwine

 
J is for Jaffa Cake
Yes, I know. You know about Hob Nobs and Cadbury’s, you may even drink tea like the British do, but I’m betting you don’t know what a Jaffa Cake is, and that okay. Great, even. Because once you know, and you actually taste one, you’ll be dreaming about them, and worse, eating them constantly. It takes at least three weeks to kick the habit. It’s bad. These fascinating little cookies have a layer of yellow cake, with a strip of orange jelly on top, covered in dark chocolate. The description doesn’t do them justice. But next time you are shopping, and you come across the ‘International’ aisle, or, rather quaintly, the ‘exotic foods’ section (that’s in a Stop and Shop in CT), pick up a pack of Jaffa cakes. Double dog dare you. Or, make them from this lovely British recipe:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/homemadejaffacakes_91480 
Oh yes, you’re going DOWN!