I kid, of course. But I have seen quite a few Christmas wish-lists popping up on blogs that I read lately, so I thought I might as well jot down a few ideas for gifts:
- Anything from the ol' wedding registry. Many lovely items to choose from there!
- A knitting machine. I love to give scarf, hat and mitten sets as gifts but I hate knitting scarves. Hate hate hate HATE. I would love to have a tool that I could use to make scarves and other square things.
- Any one of these classic knitting books.
- The Options Interchangeable Circular Knitting Needle Set. Droooool.
- New iPod. The ancient 512mb Shuffle just isn't cutting it anymore!
- Some kind of basket for knitting/sewing notions.
- Scrubs: Season Seven
- Dexter: Season Two
- Hockey tickets!
- Please, no yarn. I have too much of it and I want to get through as much of it as I can before I accumulate more! However, gift certificates to Joann, KnitPicks, Needlework Unlimited, or Linden Hills Yarn would be lovely.
- Cookbooks. I don't have anything specific in mind, but anything that's well-reviewed in the vein of eating healthy, local, and for busy people would be wonderful.
All in all, though, I really don't need anything. I'm sure I don't need to mention the economy, but it's relevant and I would sincerely appreciate someone teaching me a skill (like crocheting or a refresher course on using my SLR) rather than spending money on things I that I do not need. I would also love handmade things. Preferably not baked goods, as I'm hoping to reduce the level of tummy paunch before I don an expensive white dress, not increase it! But any other sort of handmade gift would be lovely and greatly appreciated.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
More engagement shots!
Ryan's sister Jordan did an engagement session with us a few weeks ago during a trip back to the farm... and here are the results!!
Some of them are hilarious and awkward, showcasing Ryan in his full bootylicious form. And my hair looks completely crazy in about 85% of them. But we're both quite happy with the results regardless! Many thanks, Jordan!
We'll have a disc with the proofs in high-res so that all you out there who want an 8x10 (or 16x20!) of Ryan and I in our full glory can have one, or many!
(Upon review of my archives I noticed that I never posted the link to the original engagement proofs... interested parties can find them here!)
Some of them are hilarious and awkward, showcasing Ryan in his full bootylicious form. And my hair looks completely crazy in about 85% of them. But we're both quite happy with the results regardless! Many thanks, Jordan!
We'll have a disc with the proofs in high-res so that all you out there who want an 8x10 (or 16x20!) of Ryan and I in our full glory can have one, or many!
(Upon review of my archives I noticed that I never posted the link to the original engagement proofs... interested parties can find them here!)
Remembrance
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae, 1915
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae, 1915
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Things That I Hate
- Wedding planning. It sucks and I don't like it. Vendors don't respond in the timeline that I think is appropriate (I'm talking 3-5 business days for a major, well-established catering company/hotel chain). I'm talking about giving these people thousands and thousands of dollars and they can't be bothered to email me back to tell me what they charge and if they can accommodate me?! UGH!
- Norm Coleman. What an ass. Regardless of one's political persuasion, I think that we can all agree that Minnesota deserves a Senator that respects the rule of law. Not one that says, with a fluid 400-ish vote lead, that he won unequivocally and that his opponent should resign himself to that fact and call off the recount of the popular vote that is mandated by state law. Fuck off, Norm. Your record is shameful. You were the Democratic mayor of St Paul until you realized that it was easier to get elected as a Republican. So you switched. You then lost a race for governor to Jesse Ventura, almost lost to Paul Wellstone (RIP, to the most passionate representative the State of Minnesota has ever had in Washington) and may well lose to Al Franken. Hardly a popular mandate, sir, and THREE TIMES now, you have failed to carry your former city in an election! Comments like those he made on Wednesday disgust me. I hope the manual recount of votes prove Al Franken to be the winner in a blow-out.
- Working, but not having any work to do. Say what you will, but when I'm at work I like to be busy. I hate just sitting around, watching the clock tick. Nothing makes the time go faster than wading in thigh-high to a complicated report and making sense out of it. That makes me sound like a huge loser, but it's true. I hate just sitting around at work.
- Getting up every morning for work. I am not a morning person and I DO NOT LIKE being at work before 8am.
- Overly-sweetend things. It's true. I love things that are mostly unsweetened. When I drink juice, it's usually a 25% juice to 75% water ratio--also good for keeping the blood sugar level ... level. I don't really like chocolate, unless it's quite dark or in a flourless-type cake, or with mint. I prefer fruit desserts. Today one of the girls from the Cookie and Cracker desk at work came around with a giant cart full of samples, and I grabbed a box of "Stella D'Oro" 100-calorie packs. They are the most delicious, barely-sweetened cookies ever and I love them. They are, however, billed as "breakfast cookies", which I find odd.
- Baseball being over. For serious! I miss baseball.
- My car. Anyone want to buy a '96 Probe? At this point, I should just get rid of the damn thing. I'm not driving it at all, and by the time I might need a separate car from Ryan, I could save the money I would have spent on gas/insurance/maintenance on a down payment for a newer car. Seriously, if anyone is interested, let me know--I'll consider all offers. It's a cute little car and it's been quite the workhorse for me. I actually sort of love the thing, if it weren't for how teeny-tiny it is, and how not-teeny-tiny my dear Ryan is. Ah well.
This is something of a weekend of milestones for me, as one year ago today I was in Toronto for my lovely friend Paula's wedding! I miss her--and all my Torontonians--dearly. I can't believe it has been a year already! Also (and I thought of this a bit ago and told Ryan, which he was a bit put off by) today marks what would have been the sixth anniversary with university boyfriend Tim. Yowzahs. Sunday, of course, marks both the one year anniversary of Paula's wedding, and the two year anniversary of Tim's and my breakup. I have to say, on the whole, I'm pretty okay with how things have turned out ;)
- Norm Coleman. What an ass. Regardless of one's political persuasion, I think that we can all agree that Minnesota deserves a Senator that respects the rule of law. Not one that says, with a fluid 400-ish vote lead, that he won unequivocally and that his opponent should resign himself to that fact and call off the recount of the popular vote that is mandated by state law. Fuck off, Norm. Your record is shameful. You were the Democratic mayor of St Paul until you realized that it was easier to get elected as a Republican. So you switched. You then lost a race for governor to Jesse Ventura, almost lost to Paul Wellstone (RIP, to the most passionate representative the State of Minnesota has ever had in Washington) and may well lose to Al Franken. Hardly a popular mandate, sir, and THREE TIMES now, you have failed to carry your former city in an election! Comments like those he made on Wednesday disgust me. I hope the manual recount of votes prove Al Franken to be the winner in a blow-out.
- Working, but not having any work to do. Say what you will, but when I'm at work I like to be busy. I hate just sitting around, watching the clock tick. Nothing makes the time go faster than wading in thigh-high to a complicated report and making sense out of it. That makes me sound like a huge loser, but it's true. I hate just sitting around at work.
- Getting up every morning for work. I am not a morning person and I DO NOT LIKE being at work before 8am.
- Overly-sweetend things. It's true. I love things that are mostly unsweetened. When I drink juice, it's usually a 25% juice to 75% water ratio--also good for keeping the blood sugar level ... level. I don't really like chocolate, unless it's quite dark or in a flourless-type cake, or with mint. I prefer fruit desserts. Today one of the girls from the Cookie and Cracker desk at work came around with a giant cart full of samples, and I grabbed a box of "Stella D'Oro" 100-calorie packs. They are the most delicious, barely-sweetened cookies ever and I love them. They are, however, billed as "breakfast cookies", which I find odd.
- Baseball being over. For serious! I miss baseball.
- My car. Anyone want to buy a '96 Probe? At this point, I should just get rid of the damn thing. I'm not driving it at all, and by the time I might need a separate car from Ryan, I could save the money I would have spent on gas/insurance/maintenance on a down payment for a newer car. Seriously, if anyone is interested, let me know--I'll consider all offers. It's a cute little car and it's been quite the workhorse for me. I actually sort of love the thing, if it weren't for how teeny-tiny it is, and how not-teeny-tiny my dear Ryan is. Ah well.
This is something of a weekend of milestones for me, as one year ago today I was in Toronto for my lovely friend Paula's wedding! I miss her--and all my Torontonians--dearly. I can't believe it has been a year already! Also (and I thought of this a bit ago and told Ryan, which he was a bit put off by) today marks what would have been the sixth anniversary with university boyfriend Tim. Yowzahs. Sunday, of course, marks both the one year anniversary of Paula's wedding, and the two year anniversary of Tim's and my breakup. I have to say, on the whole, I'm pretty okay with how things have turned out ;)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Weeping may endure for a night...
But joy comes with the morning.
It's easier to be proud of my country today.
However, my state is troubling me. Michele Bachmann very well may get re-elected -- a statement that the St Cloud area is as nut-jobby as she is, perhaps.
That Norm Coleman may get re-elected makes me angry and upset. I think that he is the worst sort of politician, a carpetbagging, perfectly-veneered, Noo Yawk opportunist. The results that are coming in keep getting worse; the only bit of information that gives me some hope is that only 40% of Minneapolis precincts have reported their results, and in the results, Al Franken was bitch-slapping Norm Coleman to the tune of 114,012 against 84,798. (Also in St Louis county--Duluth area--with 18% returning, the margin is 53% Franken to 34% Coleman. Those precise numbers are a lot smaller than Hennepin county, but still.)
It slaughters me how unpopular Norm Coleman is and has been in the metro areas of Minnesota. He's a former mayor of St Paul who can't even carry his former city--not in his ill-fated run for governor and not in either of his Senate campaigns. I wish that message would carry to the outlying regions of Minnesota!: Those of us who know him, loathe him.
It was really something, truly, to witness what happened tonight. I'm only sad that Ryan fell asleep before the election was called for Mr Obama. Luckily I DVR'ed his speech so Ryan can watch it later!
update 12:22 am: Holy mother of crap, Hennepin county just jumped to 78% reporting and closed the margin from about 60,000 votes overall to about 4,000. This thing ain't dead yet. The count is now 250, 414 to 169,631 in the county; 954,661 (Coleman, 42%) to 950,952 (Franken, 42%) in the state overall. No, this race is certainly still up in the air. St Louis county is still at 18% reporting.
update 12:30 am: Watching Wolf Blitzer attempt to explain Minnesota politics, how Dean Barkley was briefly named a senator by Jesse Ventura when Paul Wellstone died, was freakin' hi-larious. The margin is now about 10, 000 votes in Coleman's favor. Bah.
Oh, jeez, I'm going to bed.
It's easier to be proud of my country today.
However, my state is troubling me. Michele Bachmann very well may get re-elected -- a statement that the St Cloud area is as nut-jobby as she is, perhaps.
That Norm Coleman may get re-elected makes me angry and upset. I think that he is the worst sort of politician, a carpetbagging, perfectly-veneered, Noo Yawk opportunist. The results that are coming in keep getting worse; the only bit of information that gives me some hope is that only 40% of Minneapolis precincts have reported their results, and in the results, Al Franken was bitch-slapping Norm Coleman to the tune of 114,012 against 84,798. (Also in St Louis county--Duluth area--with 18% returning, the margin is 53% Franken to 34% Coleman. Those precise numbers are a lot smaller than Hennepin county, but still.)
It slaughters me how unpopular Norm Coleman is and has been in the metro areas of Minnesota. He's a former mayor of St Paul who can't even carry his former city--not in his ill-fated run for governor and not in either of his Senate campaigns. I wish that message would carry to the outlying regions of Minnesota!: Those of us who know him, loathe him.
It was really something, truly, to witness what happened tonight. I'm only sad that Ryan fell asleep before the election was called for Mr Obama. Luckily I DVR'ed his speech so Ryan can watch it later!
update 12:22 am: Holy mother of crap, Hennepin county just jumped to 78% reporting and closed the margin from about 60,000 votes overall to about 4,000. This thing ain't dead yet. The count is now 250, 414 to 169,631 in the county; 954,661 (Coleman, 42%) to 950,952 (Franken, 42%) in the state overall. No, this race is certainly still up in the air. St Louis county is still at 18% reporting.
update 12:30 am: Watching Wolf Blitzer attempt to explain Minnesota politics, how Dean Barkley was briefly named a senator by Jesse Ventura when Paul Wellstone died, was freakin' hi-larious. The margin is now about 10, 000 votes in Coleman's favor. Bah.
Oh, jeez, I'm going to bed.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Once more unto the breach!
Ah, another Sunday night, looking towards the beginning of the work week. It's funny easily you become comfortable with a lifestyle: When I was first laid off, I freaked out with all of the time that I had at home, doing nothing, watching daytime television, etc. I quickly got used to it. Now, going to work feels so very strange.
I think we are starting to get down to brass tacks on wedding things. We've gone to look at a number of places: Blaisdell Manor, Van Dusen Mansion, Bayview Event Center, and the American Swedish Institute. Some of those we liked, some of those we didn't like, but all of them were oh-so-expensive! Well, they weren't actually that expensive in terms of wedding costs, but the scale of wedding costs as opposed to normal, everyday costs is extraordinary! I suppose, as my sister's very wise friend said, that this kind of thing is why people work hard and save money on the everyday things--it's for stuff like vacations, houses and weddings and if you work hard and save up the money, there is no reason to feel bad about spending money on a wedding.
Or perhaps the wedding industry is getting their message to sink in to my subconsious! I very much want both things: a simple, basic wedding that costs no money, and a lovely grand affair with all of our friends and family present. I want to keep my last name as a symbol to the world that I am my own woman and that I don't need to follow anyone's traditions, and I want to take Ryan's name because I love him and it seems romantic and that some parts of me really wants to have the "team name". Mostly, I just want to have a date, and a site picked out and set. I want that big thing done so that we can find a person to marry us, and a person to do the flowers and to make us a cake, etc etc etc.... I am almost beyond caring about the cost, just to find a place that will convince me that they have things on their end handled.
I am excited and nervous, nervous, nervous about the election on Tuesday. As a liberal person it's been easy, the past 10 years, to get excited about an election that looks like it'll go well for "our side" and then have it all fall apart. So nothing's for sure, nothing's a given. I want Norm Coleman out of office. I loathe him. Keith Ellison is pretty much a lock for re-election; good on 'im.
I think we are starting to get down to brass tacks on wedding things. We've gone to look at a number of places: Blaisdell Manor, Van Dusen Mansion, Bayview Event Center, and the American Swedish Institute. Some of those we liked, some of those we didn't like, but all of them were oh-so-expensive! Well, they weren't actually that expensive in terms of wedding costs, but the scale of wedding costs as opposed to normal, everyday costs is extraordinary! I suppose, as my sister's very wise friend said, that this kind of thing is why people work hard and save money on the everyday things--it's for stuff like vacations, houses and weddings and if you work hard and save up the money, there is no reason to feel bad about spending money on a wedding.
Or perhaps the wedding industry is getting their message to sink in to my subconsious! I very much want both things: a simple, basic wedding that costs no money, and a lovely grand affair with all of our friends and family present. I want to keep my last name as a symbol to the world that I am my own woman and that I don't need to follow anyone's traditions, and I want to take Ryan's name because I love him and it seems romantic and that some parts of me really wants to have the "team name". Mostly, I just want to have a date, and a site picked out and set. I want that big thing done so that we can find a person to marry us, and a person to do the flowers and to make us a cake, etc etc etc.... I am almost beyond caring about the cost, just to find a place that will convince me that they have things on their end handled.
I am excited and nervous, nervous, nervous about the election on Tuesday. As a liberal person it's been easy, the past 10 years, to get excited about an election that looks like it'll go well for "our side" and then have it all fall apart. So nothing's for sure, nothing's a given. I want Norm Coleman out of office. I loathe him. Keith Ellison is pretty much a lock for re-election; good on 'im.
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