Naturally Optimistic

Officially. It hasn't been a good couple of days on the film festival submission front. I'm not feeling much like blogging. And I have nothing to say, really. I do have cat hair in my eye and I can feel it starting to swell. Another thing to be happy about. gah

Just back from another workout at the Y. I'm really enjoying this "Salsa Cardio" class. Actually - it kicks my butt which is exactly what I need right now. We're in the CRAP season of dark at 4:30 yet no snow so I can't really hike, bike, x-country ski or snowshoe after work right now.....so this is good! I'm actually USING my Y membership! I didn't know if I would or not since I haven't been a member since I was about 8 or so...I'm really enjoying it so far. My arms, however, are like rubber chickens. I kid you not. Tricep (t?) pushups make me watery....but they're getting easier which is a good sign, right? It rained ALL day today. WTF? It's November 28th. HELLO. I live in Duluth for chrissakes....where is the snow? Apparently it's all in South Dakota and Western MN - heading our way? Perhaps. I would love a snow day about now. Did you all have good and yummy Thanksgivings? Quick recap: Made pie (pictured below) Ate turkey, fi...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

My warmest wishes to all on this wonderful day of thanks! Enjoy time with friends, family, loved ones, football, whatever you like.....have a wonderful wonderful day.

We're way past the colors here up north. But this is pretty to look at so I thought I'd post it. It's from the hike around Dry Lake in Ely, MN. 

Man I love it when the Vikings win!! Especially against the Packers and especially on Monday night! woooooooooo!

We just got back from pre-thanksgiving dinner. It was fun. It was a group of people that we've only hung out with a couple times, but I really like them and maybe it will grow into more get-togethers. That would rock. Now it's time for a nightcap and Thursday's episode of The Apprentice - we have redneck TiVo (a vcr). ha. SHORT WEEK - yipeeee!!!!

Just a little note on the weekend...I love them and think there should be more than 52 a year. Personally. Friday night we had 'date night.' We had pizza for dinner and then planned on going to see a flick. However the "Christmas Cit of the North" Parade mucked up our plans in getting to the theater in time so we moved on to the next "date night" activity...which was a lovely hot tub soak at Steve's Mom's house (they were gone). It was soooo relaxing. A little Jazz, a little soaking it was nice. Then we were almost late to the late show of the movie (we're bad that way). We saw North Country which I thought was very good. Heartbreaking to be sure but good. Every movie we go to apparently makes me bawl my head off, why is that? It was fun to see the Iron Range scenery and towns I'm somewhat familiar with. There were some very powerful moments. Saturday was PLUMBING DAY 2005 EXTRAVAGANZA but it turned into fixing the toilet day only. HEY that...

Whew...made it through another week. Today was much better. Thank you all for your kind words and cyber hugs. Needed them. Today - my zipper works! (if I zip it just the right way - wheeee) Today - my new windshield wipers are on (I was trying to make it WAY harder than it was. Steve put them on in about 2 seconds. Today - is FRIDAY which means I don't have to go to work for 2 days. Double Yay. Today - we're going to have pizza or spaghetti for dinner, GO to a movie (unbelieveable) and then take a jacuzzi...lovely.... Tomorrow is another story - errands to run, plumbing to fix, laundry to do, dust to collect, etc...but I get to be HOME and that is awesome. HAPPY FRIDAY!

*sigh* I'm in a terrible mood. I had an incredibly frazzled hour at work from 3-4 where I was back and forth on the phone with my boss and our travel agent as he is stuck in Philly. I must've made 20 (30?) phone calls and was just left feeling ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT at the end of it. I ordered some soup from work today because there were a few cases that had cosmetic flaws and of course no one bothered to tell me when it came in so mine got taken home with the lady who brought it in and I'll get it tomorrow. Not that big of a deal but MAN once again to I feel fucking invisible. I tried to put on my FUCKING wiper blades after work (Yes, I feel like saying FUCK a lot right now) and I just can't get it. It took about 30 minutes to get one off and now I can't get the new one on to save my life. I feel like an IDIOT and it is frustrating me greatly and things like that do not sit well with me. And my fucking jacket - the zipper keeps going up up up - hey, no problem - onl...

Woke up this morning and it was truly FREEZING ASS COLD in the house. Hmph. And the 50mph winds weren't helping anything...they even SOUND cold. It's dark all the time My zipper is broken on my winter coat. I do not have "winter coat" in the current budget! Ack!! I lost a mitten last February and have yet to replace them. Brrr, cold fingers My storm door was frozen shut. My back gate was also frozen shut. My garage door too was frozen shut. My windshield wipers are inadequate (to say the least) for all the slushy, salty, wet crap on the roads. * I have yet to get touch-up paint for my car and to touch up the little rock chips which have been plaguing me since warm weather. And now the salt & crap is already on the roads - ack!! ** My hat is warm but makes me look a bit like a conehead. *** It's cold. Those are just a few reasons. *sigh* I am, however, ready to snowshoe and x-country ski! I suppose it has to be cold an...

Well, winter is knocking on the door....but since I live fairly close to the big lake I will probably get crappy slushy ice stuff instead of actual snow tonight. Hmph. I'm in the mood for snow. Perhaps it's the new snowshoes that I just bought or maybe I'm ready to get more into the holiday spirit or something. I don' t know. That being said, I'm NOT in the mood for cold. AT ALL. We're on a strict oil budget right now too (ie: we're broke) so the house is set at a toasty 60 degrees when we're awake - ack! I don't really see that lasting too long once the temps really start to dip, do you?! Yeah, me neither. I do have the thermostat programmed to turn on though at 6:30 so it's nice and toasty when I drag my arse outta bed. Otherwise it's just not happening! In other news - I ordered my wedding dress last night - eeeeeeeeeeeeee! I love it. I do. It's 'the one.' I'm so excited but sadly I cannot talk about it, post it, etc since...

The baby blanket! Finished!! This was my 1st baby blanket and my 2nd knitted project. It's not perfect but it was a lot of fun. Hopefully the baby will enjoy it. :-) 

Detail of L's baby blanket 

I had a very productive weekend... finished the BABY BLANKET that I've been knitting like a mad fiend for the past few months (long story short - I started it in August knitted til October, decided there was a fatal flaw, ripped out 5 skeins of yarn and started over. Completed in 4 weeks. Yes!). Pictures soon. It was my first blanket (2nd knitted project) and I think it was a success. There are flaws but hey, that's what makes it one of a kind. I think the Mom-to-Be liked it. She just happens to be my best friend. :-) I went wedding dress shopping and tried on a gazillion different gowns and came back to the decision that the one I tried on in Duluth and like back in October is the one I'm going to get. Unfortunately it is discontinued and there are about 7 left in my size ANYWHERE so I'm feeling the need to get my butt up there and order it. I aslo decided on bridesmaid dresses (*I think) with the help of my Mom, sister and S (My two bridesmaids), looked for centerpiec...

Just another November day of gray skies and winds! Holy crap. I know it's not a hurricane or anything but 50mph wind gusts are plenty for me. I could hardly get in and then out again of my building for work. Sheesh. I thought Francis (my car) was going to get blown off the freeway. I'm glad that I'm now tucked inside and don't have to leave the house again til morning. Tonight's schedule: Roasted Squash & Apple Soup (courtesy of Dr. Weil & Martha) and finishing some CRAFT PROJECTS which seriously need to be finished. Sounds good to me!

Well, this weekend's screening has come and gone. We're a hit! I had a lot of positive response from both crew/cast and friends which was great. Granted they're my friends but I think you can tell who's for real and who's not. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and to reconnect with some people I haven't seen in ages. It was also cool to be in a "real" theater with stadium seats, popcorn and the whole she-bang. I can't wait for more. We're now raising money for dvd replication - (Paypal - NewtonsDisease[at]yahoo.com) and we're submitting to SXSW this week. Next up? Wedding Dress Shopping Best Friend's Baby Shower wheeeeeeeeee - Can a weekend get any girlier than that?!?

The screening was weird…. I got to Jason’s at about 6:10 so we could have a glass of wine before going to the theater We were testing the DVD and our lovely moment of relaxation was ruined because the DVD WOULDN’T PLAY! Wonderful. It’d get to a certain point and it would freeze up and then start jumping around. So not cool. Commence freaking out. We decided to take the DVD’s (we had a few versions/copies) and get to the space so we could check it there. We did and it worked there for some reason – we tested the whole DVD just to make sure. This did not ease any knots in my stomach OR make my body temperature return to a normal level. Sheesh. We had about 35 people or so – about what we thought. We watched the film – not a ton of laughs, but a few. There are still some things that I think are hilarious and no one laughs at them. There was a section of the film where the sound was off by a few frames, don’t know why but that was frustrating and annoying. I had to fix that at lunchtime so...

....and one to go.... There were some MAJOR minor technical difficulties pre-screening but we got things worked out before start time. THANK GOD. Just got back from hanging out and sipping martinis so not really in a good blogging mood....well, in a GREAT blogging mood but should do this tomorrow after some sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. It went....okay. Although there are some things that I'm confused about. Mostly about how people FLED the theatre after the screening was done. Hmmm....perhaps not a good sign? I do know that some of my good friends LOVED it which is a huge relief but am wondering why my good friends/neighbors bolted without saying one word to me...???? My in-laws (future) were very Huggy but I'm not sure they "got" it - luckily they were huggy at least - ha! I ordered som Potato Oles on the way home (via Steve) but canceled said order as I really don't need deep fried potatoes at this hour....so now I'm going to bed.... Summation: I'm alive. More ...

It’s 9:02 am. In 12 hours it will all be over but now I have 10 hours to wait. Gah. I’m not really nervous, yet. I mean, I know I will be nervous so there is inherent anxiousness but it’s not really hitting me yet. Ugh. Actually when I think about it I feel a bit of that yucky twinge. It’s going to be hard to not think about it as I’m writing this. Ha. My background is in theatre. I am a theatre geek. I started in 6th grade and didn’t look back. My degree is in theatre – which has proved very helpful in my adult-office-career (hmph). I love theatre. I love performing, I love the emotion, the spectacle, the music, the drama, whatever. You get the idea. I moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to pursue my acting career. It’s not where I wanted to go. I always envisioned myself in a touring production of the latest hot Broadway musical or doing regional theatre throughout the country or whatever. Instead I followed my boyfriend to LA. He was an actor too. LA sucks. In my opinion. I wasn’t tall eno...

Here is the cutest guy in the whole world - The Pilsbury Doughboy!! And you're all invited to my NEXT Halloween get-together. I'm buying a big keg (and tequila, JenB!)