Friday, December 05, 2008
can you see my background?
i updated the blog look last night, but checking it out on my work computer, there is no design, no background, just content. so tell me, can you or can you not see snowflakes (give it a minute to load)? wait until it's 'done' before you respond. thanks!
Thursday, December 04, 2008
looking forward
you guys all got that link from the last post, right? this one? ok then, moving on...
so here's the out of town work travel schedule for '09. if you live near any of these cities, or you want an excuse to visit one of them, start your planning now!
January 15 – 25 Orlando
February 14 – 19 Las Vegas
March 21 – 25 Las Vegas
March 25 – 29 Phoenix
April 22 – 28 Baltimore
June 26 – July 1 New Orleans
July 9 – 15 Seattle
August 27 – September 2 Kansas City
September 8 -14 Chicago
September 23 – 28 San Antonio
sadly, i'll be on the road for valentine's day (maybe that's a blessing!) AND my birthday (not so much), but i do like the fact that i get to start gallavanting again.
so here's the out of town work travel schedule for '09. if you live near any of these cities, or you want an excuse to visit one of them, start your planning now!
January 15 – 25 Orlando
February 14 – 19 Las Vegas
March 21 – 25 Las Vegas
March 25 – 29 Phoenix
April 22 – 28 Baltimore
June 26 – July 1 New Orleans
July 9 – 15 Seattle
August 27 – September 2 Kansas City
September 8 -14 Chicago
September 23 – 28 San Antonio
sadly, i'll be on the road for valentine's day (maybe that's a blessing!) AND my birthday (not so much), but i do like the fact that i get to start gallavanting again.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
public service announcement
christmas is coming.
you're welcome.
okay in all seriousness, or in part seriousness anyway, gifting is tough for me. it's hard to pick out the right gift for someone, and somehow it's even harder to tell someone what i want. a common conversation around birthdays and gift giving holidays goes like this:
other person: what do you want
me: i don't know. nothing really
other person: come on, seriously
me: seriously, there's nothing. you know, when i want something i just buy it for myself
i don't know why this conversation happens, i always want stuff. i have an entire bookmarked folder labeled 'i want that', with a sub-folder labeled 'i want it now.' one would think i would just delve into the folder to find something reasonable and make it easy on the 'other person', but no, instead i always tell them there's nothing i want.
recently, i've been updating my boxedup account. it's a wishlist type service where you can grab things off the web and indicate your desire to have them. mostly i've been updating because it's a good way to prioritize, and while amazon sells ALMOST everything, there are a few other sites i visit. so, for the 1-2 of you readers who might be considering a christmas gift with my name on it, conveniently located on my sidebar is the boxedup widget, where you can see what i am lusting after, or you can visit the site at www.boxedup.com/tara3. don't be deterred by the fact that there are a couple of pricey items on top--there are much less expensive ones as you go...although if you want to help me get closer to my pricey items, gift cards are always welcome.
and if you happen to be one of the 1-2 people this will matter to, it would be really great if you'd create your own wishlist somewhere and then tell me about it so i don't end up looking or feeling like a chump.
this concludes today's public service announcement. i'll try to go back to once a week blogging again :)
Monday, November 24, 2008
other stuff
you know that book 'the secret'? i've never read it, but random people have told me random things about it, and if i remember correctly, someone told me once that one of the examples in the book was that if you wanted to get married, you had to sleep on one side of the bed and leave some space in your closet for your non-existent future spouse visualization to work. anybody read it? do i have that right? if so, i might be in trouble. i've always slept on one side of the bed, so i'm fine there. but my closets are full, and beyond that, i'm completely settling in to my new place.
and by settling, i don't just mean unpacking. i spent my saturday purchasing bathroom fixtures (towel rods, toilet paper holders, etc.) and replacing the current ones. i also have a mind to replace the medicine cabinet and light fixture. it just has so much potential!
i also went searching for window treatments, and this is completely new and overwhelming for me. the last few places i've lived have either had wooden shutters or roll up shades, but the new place had these horrible awful no good very bad vertical blinds. if they were full length, MAYBE that would have been ok, but my window is about 70 inches wide by 36 inches tall, and the blinds were old and yellowish and had this gross plasticy valance thing. it was the one thing i actually hated about my room and knew i wanted to change. i've been looking at options for a couple of weeks to replace the nastiness, but hadn't settled on a solution. i love the idea of roman shades, but after exhausting my google fingers, i still couldn't find any that 1) i particularly liked or 2) wouldn't have to be custom made for size. so i headed out to bed, bath, and beyond to see what i could see, and landed on a major score!
note: i recently replaced my bedding because 1) change is good, and 2) linens n' things is going out of business and had some great deals! the new color scheme is chocolate brown and blue. it's always been an appealing combo for me*, but the fact that it tied into my last scheme so well (the same blue and a sage green) made it easier to transition some of my matchy matchy stuff. i wandered into the window treatment area of the store and was getting a little frustrated. i was about to give up when i heard something. i'm not entirely sure what it was, but it sounded like angels singing. then out of the corner of my eye, i saw a light. when i turned, i was staring at the most perfect window panels ever. though made by a different company and located at a different store, these panels appeared to be made for my bedroom set. i looked at the price, and though slightly disheartened, i couldn't have hand sewn a more perfect match. so i selected a rod and went to make my purchase. which! is where i learned that my curtains were on clearance for 50% off. this my friends, is what we call destiny.
they are absolutely perfect and i'm really happy with the way the room is progressing, but what i'm wondering now 'secret' readers, is, have i sealed my single fate by settling in? am i doomed for a solitary life just because i want my room to look pretty?
*for those of you who may also find the chocolate/blue combo appealing, i discovered an entire website devoted to it today.
and by settling, i don't just mean unpacking. i spent my saturday purchasing bathroom fixtures (towel rods, toilet paper holders, etc.) and replacing the current ones. i also have a mind to replace the medicine cabinet and light fixture. it just has so much potential!
i also went searching for window treatments, and this is completely new and overwhelming for me. the last few places i've lived have either had wooden shutters or roll up shades, but the new place had these horrible awful no good very bad vertical blinds. if they were full length, MAYBE that would have been ok, but my window is about 70 inches wide by 36 inches tall, and the blinds were old and yellowish and had this gross plasticy valance thing. it was the one thing i actually hated about my room and knew i wanted to change. i've been looking at options for a couple of weeks to replace the nastiness, but hadn't settled on a solution. i love the idea of roman shades, but after exhausting my google fingers, i still couldn't find any that 1) i particularly liked or 2) wouldn't have to be custom made for size. so i headed out to bed, bath, and beyond to see what i could see, and landed on a major score!
note: i recently replaced my bedding because 1) change is good, and 2) linens n' things is going out of business and had some great deals! the new color scheme is chocolate brown and blue. it's always been an appealing combo for me*, but the fact that it tied into my last scheme so well (the same blue and a sage green) made it easier to transition some of my matchy matchy stuff. i wandered into the window treatment area of the store and was getting a little frustrated. i was about to give up when i heard something. i'm not entirely sure what it was, but it sounded like angels singing. then out of the corner of my eye, i saw a light. when i turned, i was staring at the most perfect window panels ever. though made by a different company and located at a different store, these panels appeared to be made for my bedroom set. i looked at the price, and though slightly disheartened, i couldn't have hand sewn a more perfect match. so i selected a rod and went to make my purchase. which! is where i learned that my curtains were on clearance for 50% off. this my friends, is what we call destiny.
they are absolutely perfect and i'm really happy with the way the room is progressing, but what i'm wondering now 'secret' readers, is, have i sealed my single fate by settling in? am i doomed for a solitary life just because i want my room to look pretty?*for those of you who may also find the chocolate/blue combo appealing, i discovered an entire website devoted to it today.
twilight
as a result of circumstances and timing i ended up seeing the 12:01 am showing of twilight on thursday night/friday morning, and my experience was mixed. i found that much like twilight: the book, i can't really explain why i liked twilight: the movie, but i did. enough to see it a second time in a couple of days. i've come up with a list of positives and negatives to help me sort through the dichotomy that is twilight.
on the negative...
1. jasper and jacob: jasper was by far the most poorly cast character. looking at him i was honestly baffled as to how he got this gig. can anyone say 'nepotism'? as for jacob, at the moment, i'm sad. i've always preferred him to edward, but this actor just isn't doing it for me. maybe by movie 2 when the character comes into his own i'll feel him a bit more, but i'm really skeptical at the moment.
2. money money money: i know this was low budget, and i didn't expect much. the two areas i felt could have been better approached, even on a low budget were carlisle's makeup and edward's twinkling. to the first, i just don't understand why 1) they made him so much paler than the others, and 2) where the makeup artist learned (or didn't learn) to blend. as cousin jenny pointed out 'i could SEE the line!' frankly, there's no excuse for that. as to the second, i just have to believe there was a better way to handle edward's 'i sparkle like diamonds in the sunshine' bit.
4. would you like crackers with that cheese: i knew the cheese factor would be high, although admittedly there was less than expected. however, when present, it was so sharp that it made me throw up a little in my mouth.
5. huge chunks of plotline/conversation left out: this is the fate of every book to movie journey, i know. but i felt like the bad guys vs. good guys portion of the story was inconsequential and irrelevant, included only to set a precedence for future plot lines, not because it actually had any merit on its own. i remember reading the books and feeling bella's fear while james terrorized her and edward's panic to protect her, but i felt none of that in the movie. i mean, so what he broke her leg. instead they spent sooo much time building the relationship portion, it was as if these other vamps were an afterthought. don't get me wrong, i loved the relationship building, i just thought the balance was off.
6. the soundtrack was trying to hard to be cool and failing (see #3 below for the one exception)
and on the positive...
1. edward, bella, alice, and jessica were all phenomenally cast: i'm semi-biased about pattinson because i had a crush on cedrick diggory long before he became edward cullen, but in general the casting was quite good. those named above are simply the 'stand outs' for me.
2. awesome chemistry between bella and edward: those stares gave me chills, and they definitely reminded me how intense and consuming it feels when you are a teenager in love.
3. a gorgeous piano piece (i downloaded it immediately - 'bella's lullaby', carter burwell) accompanying a perfect scene: honestly, if i had to pick one thing that sold the movie for me, it was this scene. i found it amazing that though there was no dialog and the scene was simply edward playing the piano for bella, you could feel her falling more in love with him. maybe i relate because i'm a sucker for men who play piano. i'd be falling more in love too!
4. huge chunks of plotline/conversation left out: it's no secret that in the book i found bella to be whiny and edward to be controlling. not having to hear bella's thoughts constantly, made me like her so much more! and rather than being a dominating chauvinist, edward got to be the white knight hero that he should have been in the book.
5. a few really great moments: there were some significant failures and some spectacular successes. i suppose to an extent i expected the failures, so the successes came as a wonderful surprise. there were a few moments i had to pause and acknowledge that something had been well played. standout moments for me included the baseball game (one of my favorite parts of the book), edward's sleep watching, billy's wheelchair antics, charlie (everything about charlie), and the scenes where edward and bella were talking, but all we heard was music. it was a brilliant way to advance the relationship without having to get too nitty gritty.
6. james looks like brad pitt, and that ain't bad.
now am i right, or am i right?
overall, i liked it. there is something to be said for low expectations, but given the parameters (a poorly written book and a low budget) i enjoyed the movie a great deal. i expect much more from the second movie, although despite my history with jacob, i am sort of sad now that edward will be missing for so much of the flick. that being said, i hope jacob can redeem himself, carlisle gets better makeup, somehow it will start making sense how jasper got cast, and that nobody messes with the stuff they got right this time around!
on the negative...
1. jasper and jacob: jasper was by far the most poorly cast character. looking at him i was honestly baffled as to how he got this gig. can anyone say 'nepotism'? as for jacob, at the moment, i'm sad. i've always preferred him to edward, but this actor just isn't doing it for me. maybe by movie 2 when the character comes into his own i'll feel him a bit more, but i'm really skeptical at the moment.
2. money money money: i know this was low budget, and i didn't expect much. the two areas i felt could have been better approached, even on a low budget were carlisle's makeup and edward's twinkling. to the first, i just don't understand why 1) they made him so much paler than the others, and 2) where the makeup artist learned (or didn't learn) to blend. as cousin jenny pointed out 'i could SEE the line!' frankly, there's no excuse for that. as to the second, i just have to believe there was a better way to handle edward's 'i sparkle like diamonds in the sunshine' bit.
4. would you like crackers with that cheese: i knew the cheese factor would be high, although admittedly there was less than expected. however, when present, it was so sharp that it made me throw up a little in my mouth.
5. huge chunks of plotline/conversation left out: this is the fate of every book to movie journey, i know. but i felt like the bad guys vs. good guys portion of the story was inconsequential and irrelevant, included only to set a precedence for future plot lines, not because it actually had any merit on its own. i remember reading the books and feeling bella's fear while james terrorized her and edward's panic to protect her, but i felt none of that in the movie. i mean, so what he broke her leg. instead they spent sooo much time building the relationship portion, it was as if these other vamps were an afterthought. don't get me wrong, i loved the relationship building, i just thought the balance was off.
6. the soundtrack was trying to hard to be cool and failing (see #3 below for the one exception)
and on the positive...
1. edward, bella, alice, and jessica were all phenomenally cast: i'm semi-biased about pattinson because i had a crush on cedrick diggory long before he became edward cullen, but in general the casting was quite good. those named above are simply the 'stand outs' for me.
2. awesome chemistry between bella and edward: those stares gave me chills, and they definitely reminded me how intense and consuming it feels when you are a teenager in love.
3. a gorgeous piano piece (i downloaded it immediately - 'bella's lullaby', carter burwell) accompanying a perfect scene: honestly, if i had to pick one thing that sold the movie for me, it was this scene. i found it amazing that though there was no dialog and the scene was simply edward playing the piano for bella, you could feel her falling more in love with him. maybe i relate because i'm a sucker for men who play piano. i'd be falling more in love too!
4. huge chunks of plotline/conversation left out: it's no secret that in the book i found bella to be whiny and edward to be controlling. not having to hear bella's thoughts constantly, made me like her so much more! and rather than being a dominating chauvinist, edward got to be the white knight hero that he should have been in the book.
5. a few really great moments: there were some significant failures and some spectacular successes. i suppose to an extent i expected the failures, so the successes came as a wonderful surprise. there were a few moments i had to pause and acknowledge that something had been well played. standout moments for me included the baseball game (one of my favorite parts of the book), edward's sleep watching, billy's wheelchair antics, charlie (everything about charlie), and the scenes where edward and bella were talking, but all we heard was music. it was a brilliant way to advance the relationship without having to get too nitty gritty.
6. james looks like brad pitt, and that ain't bad.
now am i right, or am i right?
overall, i liked it. there is something to be said for low expectations, but given the parameters (a poorly written book and a low budget) i enjoyed the movie a great deal. i expect much more from the second movie, although despite my history with jacob, i am sort of sad now that edward will be missing for so much of the flick. that being said, i hope jacob can redeem himself, carlisle gets better makeup, somehow it will start making sense how jasper got cast, and that nobody messes with the stuff they got right this time around!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)