guenievre | Entries tagged with family

Ninjas are still cooler, so I shall not say "Yarr", nor "Avast ye" nor... well, all sorts of other piratey things I'm not saying.

Went to Florida over the weekend - something of a command performance, in that my inlaws decided they didn't see us enough so they flew us down there. But that meant a free trip to Busch Gardens, so I can't complain very much at all. I've mostly gotten over my fear of roller coasters, so we rode several interesting ones - Nick's favorite was Montu, while mine was a toss-up between Montu and Kumba. The only other thing of note (well, there were cute animals and such too) was the adorable stuffed peacock I found in the giftstore. That, and I got to go to Lush...I have much happier skin and hair now.
Kumba.

Montu.

Perry the Peacock.

In other news, I bought a FoodSaver. More news later on whether it's all that is advertised, though I feel vaguely dirty that I bought something that was "As Seen On TV". Though, just to clarify, I didn't see it on TV.

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: slacking off from work

Today was frustrating. For whatever reason, my... well, I'll call it ADD though I've never been diagnosed of course was acting up again... well, to be honest it HAS been acting up again for the past week, but today was worse. Which was especially annoying because I have stuff I *have* to get done for work... and stuff I want to get done this evening at home (sew new garb). Instead, I'm here at work, though I've given up on getting anything else done (will come in early tomorrow to do useful things, I suppose) writing this and waiting for Nick to get done w/ Buckston practice (I forgot to snag the work keys from him before he left, so he has to come back so that I can lock up). I could be sewing - I have handsewing with me that I brought thinking I'd go to practice - but I'm just too frustrated at myself right now.

Maybe I'll cook something tasty for dinner, that might make me feel better...(though last time I tried cooking I managed to fail at making pasta. No, really, the dough just wouldn't go through the machine for some reason, and I ended up taking the ravioli filling (cooked chicken and bits of mozarella with garlic and sundried tomatoes) and just tossing it with the pesto sauce and some angel hair. It was tasy, but NOT what I wanted - and if THAT kind of failure happened to me today I'd cry.

Yes, I'm being melodramatic. Sorry 'bout that, like I said I've been... cranky for a few weeks now. Or to put it bluntly, the chronic depression I've had off and on (again, not diagnosed, but might as well call a spade a spade) for years is "on" again. I wonder... if I had had a more "normal" childhood, whether I'd be having these issues now? I mean, my life is pretty damn good, so there's NO reason for my brain to be doing this stuff to me... other than these pathways of apathy and discontent were so well-trodden back then that they become VERY easy to fall into now...can your brain get "worn" like that? I wonder if anyone's done that study...

Current Mood: discontent

1. Back at you. What is the hardest thing you've ever had to do?

Probably telling my dad I quit UNC - I'm not good with disappointing people. And that, of course, was a very huge disappointment for him... one of the things that sealed our (lack of a) relationship.

2. Is romantic love or family duty more important?

This one I'm going to have to say is situational. If you've met the love of your life and your parents are refusing to speak to them or something b/c of something petty, then yes, romantic love is more important. On the other hand, if you're a parent who has children living with them, you have to put them first.

3. Do you think pet names are cute or disgusting? (Like honey, muffin, pookie, you know...those kinds of things)

Definitely cute. Though we don't have that many for each other - I usually stick to FAIRLY innocuous ones like "dearest".

4. Does bad grammar, or the total lack thereof, online bother you? And how much if it does? Why or why not?

Bad spelling (that isn't obviously just a typo from typing too fast or something) bothers me much more. I don't mind fractional sentences and such from people who I know know better, but if it's someone I don't know it can definitely shape my opinion of them. Also, I mind bad grammar/spelling much more in emails and livejournal much more than I mind it on IM - I mean, I barely capitalize on IM, but I usually try to stay fairly coherent in email.

5. Free speech or safety in America?

I would definitely choose free speech, because no one can guarantee safety even in the absence of free speech. I think the government tends to treat the American public like a bunch of children, which is total bullshit... In my ideal world, the government would be a lot more hands-off.... then again, my friends have accused me of being an anarchist before, so...

Standard offer applies;
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

1) What is your favorite thing to cook?

Thanksgiving dinner. It doesn't have to be on thanksgiving, mind you, just turkey and graving and stuffing and... yeah. It's not just that I like that food - it's that everyone tends to like that, and one of my favorite things about cooking is it makes people happy. Besides, there's just something... comforting about turkey and stuffing and gravy.

2) If you could live in any country and speak the language, why would you
live in France?

Mostly for the air of romance. There's just something about the place that seems both sophisticated and sexy... or at least Paris does. Also, there's just so much history just saturating the place...Really though I'd be happy living anywhere in Europe, living somewhere without the Puritan background just appeals to me, for obvious reasons...

3) Between cooking and sewing, if you could be truely great at one and
suck at the other, which woulld it be?

Cooking. It's much more enjoyable/rewarding than sewing. Though I suppose I would just have to start carrying around a basket of goodies at events, since I wouldn't look as good... No, really, it's mostly that like I said before cooking makes people happy, and is a bit more useful.

4) Any ideas on childrens names?

Not sure yet. I rather like the name Michael, but... at one time we had names picked out (back at science and math) but I've since forgotten them... so they can't have been THAT great . I know that the potential son will NOT be named Nicholas, nor will he have Dennis as a middle name (though the latter will disappoint the inlaws, they can bite me). Also Ann is right out.

5) What person do you most regret loosing touch with?

My parents of course. Not that the circumstances could be changed... but that doesn't mean I don't still miss them.

Standard offer applies;
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

of my livejournal. After all, I can't let my dear husband show me up on this, can I?

So... where to begin... it was a VERY long holiday season, and yet seemed to go by overly quickly at the same time. That doesn't make sense... but it seems like my life is doing that a lot lately - being weird about time I mean - like my life seems to be going by in blinks.

Christmas was spent in Florida - which was actually a lot more pleasant than I thought it would be. I'm starting to get used to (after 6 years? 'bout time) having inlaws. It helps that right before we left on the 21st, I realized that I was kind of pushing them away because I felt guilty for having a relationship - any relationship - with them when I don't have one w/ my real parents. That wasn't really fair to anyone involved, so, I'm trying to quit.

We went to St. Augustine - which wasn't quite as cool as I thought it would be - the fort was nice, but otherwise it was touristy and colder than you'd think it would be in Florida - I don't care if it was December, Florida is supposed to be warm (yes, I'm spoiled. And?) We took a REALLY long trolley/train tour of the city - unfortunately there were two trolleys in a row, and we got the one with the incompetant guide. We also went to the Lightner museum, because for some reason I *thought* a painting I adore was there - unfortunately, I remembered wrong, the painting is actually sitting in the national gallery of Ireland. Oh well. There was some interesting stuff there, just not worth the 6 bucks we paid for it.

Meanwhile, I didn't get as much sewing done over vacation as I should have - I got distracted and ended up reading LOTR instead. Which was cool, I finally got over my dislike of Tolkein's style enough to *really* enjoy the books (and this is like the 4th or 5th time I've read them, so I was a bit surprised.) Maybe the Simarillion next?

I barely got time to turn around twice before the New Year's Party. Good points - the food was good (yay eggnog and cream puffs, and I *think* everyone had a good time. Bad points - Nick drunk w/ hangover, my house hasn't QUITE recovered (from the party, not the hangover) and we have SO many leftovers. Oh well, that's ok, there are worse things, so I'll definitely do it again next year. And @ 4th of July, of course.

Resolutions, I think, will just have to be covered in another entry. Mostly b/c I haven't QUITE decided on specifics.

I spent last weekend playing entirely too much Soul Calibur on Xav's playstation - I did find the perfect character for me, at least... she has a tantrum attack!!! (Can't find screen shot) Again, lack of sewing, which leads me to this week...

FRANTIC COMPLETION OF 12TH NIGHT GARB!!! (And I said I wouldn't have to do that this year....) But I finished the first of Nick's sleeves last night... and its very cool... so I think it'll be worth it... Meanwhile, in the next three evenings, I have to sew large portions of 2 houpes... hosen... hats... yeah, it's not going to be fun.

more later...

Since I don't write in this that much, and I envy my friends who DO muse on their lives in their journals, I think I'm going to start something new with this. There's a community on LJ,

dailysoulsearch, that has, hmm, daily essay prompts for people to muse on their lives. So I've decided to start doing them. But, since I think they're going to stop posting them soon, I'm going to go back and start at the beginning, and hopefully while I'm writing about these prompts, I'll be inspired to write about the rest of my life as well... and it'll give me something else to write about other than just sewing and work and such.

SO... day one's question... "What is your first memory from childhood? Describe it in detail. How old were you at the time? What is the significance of this particular memory - i.e. why do you think you remember this specific event rather than a different one? How do you think the memory of this early event subsequently reflected on other events or themes in your life? For instance, does your first memory involve an activity which ended up being part of your current lifestyle in some way? Do you think this early event could help shed some light on why you turned out the way you did?
"

This is a more difficult question than most, in terms of ones to answer, for a lot of reasons. Most of you who know me know that I had a rather... difficult childhood. There aren't that many good memories of it - I don't have that many memories of it in general, really - I didn't really enjoy being a child, I wanted to be an adult NOW. The problem with being precocious...and the few memories of *early* childhood i have i don't really know *when* they were. So I can't say what was the earliest. I guess I could just pick a few....let's see...I suppose I remember learning to read, which in some ways was the only reason I came out as sane as I did... lol, such an escapist I was/am. I guess I was 3?4? I had all these little workbooks, and I went through them really fast, so my dad had to keep buying me new ones. So yeah, that did have an effect on me, obviously - it's why I'm such a geek, it's why I *never* fit in in Wilkes County, it's what made being where I was bearable. wow, this entry is morbid.

Meanwhile, this weekend was not as productive as I meant for it to be. No sewing done at all! Though, to be fair, I did do lots of other stuff. Friday night we went to see Last Samurai - which surprised me in how good it was. ( Spoilers )

Saturday was Unevent. Chatelaine's meeting was just, well, kind of there. not really sure that's a job I'm meant for - I mean, I enjoy talking to new people, but I'm not QUITE as outgoing as I should be. The problem is I really feel like I *should* be giving back, etc, by being an officer, but at the same time I'm not sure I'm really suited to be one... something to ponder for the future.

Then of course we went to Vin Rouge w/ Isobel (fun! though their food is going downhill from what it used to be - maybe it was just an off night, but...) Isobel's great - wish she lived closer.

Sunday my one thing of note was that I cast >100 buttons - still need painting and drilling, but they're there at least. Other than that... much talking about the !@#$ demo... don't even get me started...

Back to the grind...