Requisite Halloween Cuteness

Darth and the Littlest Ghost
Originally uploaded by monagrrl.

Another night of sugar and revelry has come and gone with much success and more candy than any pair of children needs. We got a wee bit damp but stayed reasonably warm and had a great time tromping up and down the hills in our neighbourhood with a pack of good friends.

It took Nathan only 1/2 hour to ditch the helmet (the eyes kept fogging up) and the gloves (he couldn't grab the candy very well). At which point he declared himself the Boy in Black. Uh-huh. Sophie's costume, on the other hand, held up very well and got lots of comments as to its originality which boggled my mind. Nobody wants to be a sheet-bedecked ghost anymore, apparently. Go figure.

Though undocumented photographically, I'll report that I was dressed as a bird flu victim - grey-faced with dark circles painted around my eyes. If only I had had a rubber chicken to carry around, it would have been the most awesome costume ever.

Crazy, but not that crazy (yet)

You've heard of NaNoWriMo, yes? It's a yearly event where, all over the world, people attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. That's roughly 1700 words per day, unless you're a procrastinator like me and leave it til the last week, then attempt 7,000/day and end up so weakening your body and mind that, like writers of the last century, you die of TB at a young age.

Yeah, that last sentence, plus the fact that I don't really have a solid idea for a 50K word novel, pretty much explains why I won't be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. But, in honour of the event, and as a way to kick my blogging ass into gear, I've created a November writing event just for me. KBloWriMo - Kristina's Blog Writing Month.

Each day I'll be here writing... something. Maybe even a couple somethings! (Hey, if you don't have starry-eyed optimism at the beginning of a project, you're sunk before you even begin, right?) By the end of the month, my hope is that the daily writing habit will be entrenched, never to disappear again. Right?

So. Let the blogging begin! Feel free to join in (on your own blog, of course), if the inspiration hits. And finally, good luck to my friends who *are* participating in NaNoWriMo this year. May your ideas flow and your fingers remain nimble and uncramped.

Pass the Popcorn

DeLay Will Likely Be Booked This Week

October 17,2005 | AUSTIN, Texas -- Rep. Tom DeLay will likely be booked in a Texas county jail this week despite attempts by his attorneys to bypass the fingerprinting and mug shot process.

Hard not to smile when you read that, isn't it? Let's hope that it's but one of many Republican perp walks we'll be seeing in the coming weeks. Oh, Scooter? Turdblossom? Senator Martha? Hear that knock at the door... it's for you! Beyond that... no, no. I dare not even hope.

Revelation

Puff the Magic Dragon is the most depressing song ever written. That poor fucking dragon.

The Limits of Language

I have a lot to say, really I do. I'm just not finding the words to say it. Next week I'll catch up on our vacation and the new school year and the rainy start of soccer season. But, of course, that all seems so self-involved and mundane, and it is in the face of what has happened in this country, the shame and anger I feel. So today, a day of remembrance, I'll just link to two people who have said about recent events what I'm feeling, better than I possibly could right now.

Here's What Gets Me

A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore

Dangling Conversation

Me: Hey, I have an idea!

Stephen: Um. Okay. Can you give me a second to move into fetal position before you tell me?

Yes I am on a bit of a "let's change our lives in profound and potentially expensive ways" kick, why do you ask?

Knowing My Limits

I don't care how difficult the job market is or might become in the future, I can tell you one thing for sure.

No matter what the pay and benefits, no matter that I could see the world (kinda), learn a new language, and be surrounded by potentially hunky men in naval uniforms.

Even though it's a given that one should never say never about anything, I'm going to put my foot down, plant my flag and prepare to died on this particular hill.

I will never and by that I mean never ever apply for work on a Russian submarine.

Just say niet.

A World of Pure Imagination

After finishing up our reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last week, and with their expressed desire to see the Johnny Depp version of the movie sometime soon, I thought it important that the kids see the Gene Wilder version first. So tonight we watched, and I was transported back to my own childhood with them. It had been... damn, I don't know HOW long since I had seen it last.

What a great movie... although the opening chocolate montage nearly did me in. My mouth was literally watering, and it took all the willpower I possess not to break into the chocolate chips that - even now, hours later - call to me from the kitchen with their wicked siren song.

And how I love Gene Wilder. Adore. The. Man. The only other actor that compares to him on my pure love meter is Dick Van Dyke. I tell you - when those two pass on, I might not be able to get out of bed for a few weeks.

But I digress.

What I loved most about tonight was that my kids wanted to watch the whole movie again, immediately. When that wasn't possible (it was already nearly 9 o'clock and a chapter of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator awaited), what scene did they choose to see, when the option was offerred up? Yup. The scary boat speeding through the tunnel with disturbing images scene.

How cool is that? I have freaky freaky kids.

Antici...

pation!

Tomorrow at 11:59 p.m, William and I will be at Barnes and Noble queued up to buy our copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As of this post, that is only 39ish hours away. Is it possible for one to die of anticipatory excitement?

If so, I might not actually see midnight.

squeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

Is It Me You're Looking For?

Boy it's dusty in here.

So perhaps you've noticed I've been on a bit of a blogbreak. I probably should have mentioned that I wouldn't be around for awhile, but honestly I had no idea it was coming. Let's call it a mini-breakdown, that wasn't really a breakdown at all... I just let most communication come to a screeching halt. Maybe I just didn't have anything I wanted to say. Maybe I was just lazy. My own personal June Gloom.

For nearly a month now I just haven't felt like writing, either in the blogverse or e-mail, and I also haven't kept up with the blogs I like lately (I have lots to catch up on). Apologies all 'round. But I think that the break has been good for me. I'm feeling ready to jump back into it.

So what have I been doing?

• I took a week off and Stephen and I worked on the house. We now have new baseboard and a lovely green room that is sans all traces of icky wallpaper. And now there is just so much MORE I want to do.


• I missed (and am still missing and am preparing to miss) my travelling friends... one in Africa (home tomorrow!), one in Hawaii (home Friday!), one in New York (home in a couple of weeks!), and one heading off to Amsterdam (home on the 17th and promising me a birthday visit).


• I worked my tail off (including evenings and vacation days) to push some work out by the required deadline and felt pretty good about it. I might not love my job, but I like the folks I work with and I'll do most anything to come through as needed in the clutch.


• I watched the Tigers and Mariners slide away from the brink of respectability as they both hit long, painful losing streaks. Oh, the pain.


• I finished 3 books and am cruising through another right now and in doing so remembered that I love to read. Love. It. I need to make sure I make time for it, just as I need to make time for writing here, no matter what.


• I thought about what I want to be when I grow up. I know, what's new? But I also made a baby step, put some energy out there, pink bubbled an idea and set it free to see whether anything might come of it.

There was more, certainly. And there are quite a few half-started-but-never-finished blog posts and even more half-thought-but-never-written-down ideas that may someday see the light of day in some form. Or they may not. Life moves so fast.

Hello.