strawberry lips

OHio is my state!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 05:42:01 GMT

And this is how I feel:

And

And

I live! Yay!

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:55:53 GMT

I return after four months to tell you all that I will not be watching Gossip Girl tonight, because the writers are fully and obviously evil.

Case in point:

Clearly, I am not emotionally mature enough to handle it when they destroy ~~all the hope in the world, ever~~ the only good thing on this stupid show.

Also! Hi!!!!

I'm so not over this yet

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:16:52 GMT

I keep telling myself I don't care about Gossip Girl, because it's GOSSIP GIRL, but then I see things like this:

Seriously, in what universe is Chuck Bass the better option over Dan Humphrey. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Why is this my life?

So

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:06:30 GMT

Judging from what I see on my TV, ballet is the new vampires.

Huh...

I can live with that.

The Vampire Diaries Gave Me Feelings.

Fri, 11 May 2012 23:58:17 GMT

This is the longest episode reaction I've had since my halcyon days in Supernatural's fandom. My thoughts are all over the place, so this is in list form. As you do.

Things that I liked:

1) Super-creepy-in-the-coffin!Klaus with his eyes open. Well played, show.

2) Elena turned. I know people have problems with this, but I knew it happened in the book and I figured it was only a matter of time. Also, I want to see vamp!Elena lose her shit. And I want Jeremy to be the one to bring her back to herself. Or Katherine. I would be okay with Katherine. (BUT - so Matt is the only regular who is not supernatural, now? That's sort of annoying. Poor Matty. Come over to my house and I will make you cookies.)

3) Cheerleader!Elena! I love that we get an episode where Elena is all light and bright and human before she turns.

4) Jeremy. I’m so glad they finally showed how important Jeremy and Elena are to one another. Elena got a lot of shade thrown at her for compelling Jeremy to leave because his life was in danger. I'm not condoning that, but I think this proves that Jeremy would understand.

5) Matt. I love Matt. Everything about him.

6) Ditto for my bb Elijah.

7) That Elena would rather save Matt than herself. And that Stefan respected that. (Though, um, Stefan? Can you not unbuckle a seat belt? I'm going to fanwave that away for the sake of the vamp!Elena story, though)

7) Bad ass Bonnie, finally taking action on her own. My bb's growing up!

8) Caroline and Tyler and their mothers who love them.

9) STEFAN/ELENA. Whatever. Haters gonna hate. It’s really unfortunate that we didn’t get to witness any real fallout or consequences of Stefan’s “ripper” actions, and it further proves many fans’ point that his arc was merely to serve the love triangle, which is a huge suck. On the other hand, Elena was always going to choose Stefan over Damon. Also, I will always be an Elena/Stefan shipper. So, even though I know it’s not going to last into season 4, I’m going to relish it just a little bit.

What I didn’t like.

1) That Elena somehow had to choose. HATE. DNFW. The whole triangle thing these last few episodes has turned into a grumpy curmudgeon. This whole notion that Elena “owes” the Salvatore brothers anything is just. so. frustrating. And so counter to what the show used to portray.

2) The whole “I met him first” b.s. What is that? The sentiment behind Elena saying she met Stefan first was not just a “we met one time for three minutes so I’m going to choose him,” but really “I fell in love with him first.” The retcon of her meeting Damon first is such crap. It was wildly out of character for him and wildly ridiculous, and just. UGH. Also, that was not season 1 Damon; that was season 3 Damon. NO WAY would Season 1 DAMON talk to Elena about love and passion. Become obsessed with her b/c she looks like Katherine? YES. Have a heart-to-heart with her? Hahahaha. NO.

3) Speaking of that conversation. No no no to the idea of a “consuming” love. Why is that romantic? Why is losing yourself to love romantic? The one thing I adored about Elena up until, like, 3 episodes ago, was how unwilling she was to lose herself in her love of Stefan. She would make sacrifices, yes, but they had to be on her terms. This just poops all over her character.

I hate that this makes me annoyed with Damon, because I used to LOVE his character and secretly rooted for him back in season 2, and now I'm all... BACK THE EFF OFF. Grrrrr.

I can’t tell if the good outweighs the bad right now. (In quantity, yes, but maybe not in quality.) The stuff that was good…was good, but the stuff that was bad, was really, really bad. Esp. the characters and plot now existing only to serve the love triangle. You’re better than this, Show. Or you used to be. Go back to when you had awesome plots and great characters and the romance was compelling and didn't require that I suspend my disbelief to see where you were coming from. GO BACK TO THAT. I’m kind of glad this was your season finale, because I think we need a break.

Of course, I say that, but I now have the whole of season 3 saved on my DVR, and my husband is just itching to delete them, but I want to have a marathon before I let him do that. I tend to like shows more when I marathon them.

So, Parks and Rec....

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:31:20 GMT

Made me cry. A lot. Knope 2012.

My life

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:27:00 GMT

I went to a book signing with Veronica Roth last week. She is ADORABLE in a very dorky sort of way. Then I devoured Insurgent. Sort of. It took me a couple days to get into it. There is one thing that nearly every YA novel does that I can't stand: namely, first person POV. I have such a knee-jerk DNW reaction against it; it always takes me out of the story and it's difficult for me to get into stories written in first person, unless the story is in journal form, because that at least makes sense. BUT. Every YA novel I've read in the past year, with the exception of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and the Heist Society series, has been in first person.

Also, both Insurgent and Divergent were very... choppy. (I think The Hunger Games has this problem, too - among other problems that frustrate me b/c I so loved the first book and then...not so much). So, while I like the story and the characters, they weren't the most elegantly written stories. I still recommend them though.

I also read the newest Gallagher Girls book, Out of Sight, Out of Time, which I found super cute (as I find all of Cater's books). Then I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Wayward Children, which I liked, but it wasn't totally my thing (let me be honest, though I like plot and want it to be good and feel it's necessary to have more than romance, I read YA often for the fluffy romance, and this felt rushed and lacking - this is my own issue though), and Tempest, by Julie Cross, which I also liked, but sort of forgot about immediately after I put it down.

You can tell when my life is stressing me out by the number of YA novels I read. They're like my version of comfort mac and cheese.

In other news related to YA, Gossip Girl is stressing me out so much more than any TV show has any right to, especially as I don't even watch the show - I just fast forward to the Dair stuff and ignore everything else. (HOW does DAIR even exist on this show? Hooooow?) So, I've been mainlining Dair fanvids, as they're the only thing making me happy about GG anymore.

They are PERFECTION. *sobs*

The Diaries of Vampires

Fri, 04 May 2012 12:54:22 GMT

I don't know what it says about me that my immediate reaction to last night's Vampire Diaries is Elena just lost a crap ton of blood; that tequila shot is going to knock her on her ass. That's what I took away from this episode (even though I did mostly like it). Also, I would like Elena's "choice" (SO CONTRIVED. DNW) to be no Salvatores, please. I don't know what happened to this show, but I'm very firmly team Matt all of the sudden.

going to the chapel

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:32:13 GMT

So, I am getting married in five days! FIVE DAYS. Everything is basically done (meaning, food and booze and wedding license, so the rest is fluff), and Chris has off all week except today to finish the little stuff. We went to a wedding last Saturday that was meant to start at 6:30 and didn't get underway until after 8:00. We figure if we can just be on time, we'll be ahead of the game. Apparently, they were late because they had underestimated the time it would take to set up, and then the bride was very late to her hair/make-up stuff. I'm really glad we went with a venue that does everything for us, particularly, as I've learned from this endeavor that I am a control freak, but have zero desire to plan things. It's an interesting combination.

My hair is freshly died, I have a fake tan and my teeth are very white. I am easily the most fake I have ever or will ever be.

Also, my state is an awesome state at the moment: The Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati (my alma matter), Xavier University (where I am currently a grad student), and Ohio University are ALL IN THE SWEET SIXTEEN. Four Ohio schools; two in my city! No matter what, at least one Ohio school is in the Elite Eight, as Cincy and OSU play each other Thursday night. My heart belongs to OSU football, but I'm definitely all about Cincinnati for basketball! It's sort of a win/win for me, though.

...Rather like the Fandom March Madness was a win/win. THOUGH, really, LESLIE KNOPE! I was so proud of fandom!

Also, I got a promotion at work, which, I, um, really didn't want - or well, I have some doubts about, we'll say, because I hate change and it puts me mostly on a campus I don't want to be on and it takes me out of the classroom and into administration (the ENEMY). BUT, I think I can do a good job, and there's no one else to do it. I'm accepting on an interim basis and if it's really not for me, I'll help them fill it and go back to my current position, which I love and am very good at.

I predict this week will be a good week, and then I'll be on a beach.

My life is hard, yo.

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:40:47 GMT

I CANNOT CHOOSE BETWEEN LESLIE KNOPE AND HERMIONE GRANGER. THEY ARE BOTH SMART, INDEPENDENT, EAGER OVER-ACHIEVERS WHO HAVE GREAT TASTE IN FRIENDS AND MEN. I AM SOOO CONFLICTED.

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:13:41 GMT

You all, with the hearts! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

In random news, I hear things about Gossip Girl that I like and wished for way back in season one when I watched the show. How lovely!

There was this one episode where, I think, Blair was going to model some clothes or something, but they picked Serena instead and then Blair was sad in a hallway and Dan sat next to her! (Does anyone know what episode that was? Am I making it up? It's possible I made it up.) That's all I remember, but I was immediately on the Blair/Dan train, and now I hear it's happening. This makes me happier than it should. As they're two fictional characters. On a show I don't watch. SIGH. My life.

XOXO

Nina Dobrev > Everybody Else

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:56:22 GMT

Proof!

Man, you know, I often become obsessed with TV shows first because I think one of the actors is really cute (hello: Supernatural), and then after a few episodes become very enamored with the actual characters. BUT, what usually happens is that I secretly have a very massive crush on one the male leads.

I am OBSESSED with TVD; however, I don't have a crush on any of the male leads (not that I would, you know, kick them out of bed). I just really want to be friends with Nina Dobrev. Seriously. I love hearing that she's awesome. I want to have martinis with her.

Also, I am getting married in 41 days! HOW STRANGE AND AWESOME.

Got VD?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:46 GMT

Two things: SOBBED. Totally sobbed my eyes out. Caroline and Elena. My darlings! Let me give you hugs and cookies (or blood, if that's your thing).

The originals annoy me. I am bored with them and I sort of want them to go away? Elijah can stay, and Rebecca. I don't care about mama (why does she speak English? WHY?) and the story of the original doppelganger left a lot to be desired.

BUT! Elena and Caroline. You totally made up for it. And an actual mystery! Fun!

(I'm also mildly concerned that Damon didn't answer his phone when Ric possibly needed his blood to heal his wounds).

Joyful Noise

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:58:10 GMT

This:

Looks like a cross between Steel Magnolias and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.

I am their target audience. Wheeee!

ALSO: DOOLLLLLY PAARRTTOOON! ILU.

3.10 The New Deal

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:11:46 GMT

Elena is a BAMF.

Seriously. Flawless. I want her to be my BFF.

LOOK AT HER!!!! Basically telling Klaus to suck it. LOVE HER.

I have some issues with this show's consent issues, but that will be saved for a day when I don't want to bask in how this show does a lot of things wonderfully.

thursday thursday thursday

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:28:10 GMT

View Poll: What will you be doing at 8:00 EST this evening?

zoe deschanel is sort of cute

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:45:02 GMT

I was the only one in the office yesterday afternoon and decided to watch New Girl on Hulu, mostly because the ladies at GoFugYourself had complimentary things to say about it and I basically get my fashion advice and TV-watching advice from them. (For example, I marathoned Make It or Break It* because of them, and I now own a navy blazer because of them. They rarely steer me wrong.) SO, I watched all the episodes I could for free and I sort of adore it. I cannot help it. I think I was annoyed at first, but quickly fell for its quirky charm. I am a sucker for girls who happily make fools of themselves.

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

* I have the TV-watching habits of a thirteen year old girl. I used to say that sort of jokingly, but about one year ago, boy and I became friends with a couple we adore who have a thirteen year old daughter and she and I bond A LOT over TV and YA novels. It's gotten to the point where I have been to their house and hung out with her for an hour instead of the other adults. I HAVE A PROBLEM. My next goal is to introduce her to TVD, and then I am going to introduce her mom and her to Gilmore Girls, because the mom had the daughter at 20 and for the first 10 years of her life it was just the two of them and daughter is crazy smart and Mom is crazy quirky. I frequently quote/recap GG episodes to them.

Totally random, but I am almost finished with Divergent by Victoria Roth, and it mostly lived up the hype, in case any of you were thinking about checking it out.

TV For Everyone!

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:53:34 GMT

The holidays are officially over. I'm sort of looking forward to going back to work today, which is crazy pants, but I feel lazy after the past couple of days - much needed rest days, but still.

I have no resolutions for 2012, other than get married, and that's not much of a resolution so much as it is a plan (less than 90 days!). We booked our honeymoon Saturday. And we have dance lessons that his mom got us that we start this week.

Of course, the best part of the new year: TELEVISION. Mainly, Sherlock, which I have watched twice now (forcing the boy to do the same), and EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I have missed ALL OF THEIR FACES. And - for me - the highlight of my week. VAMPIRE DIARIES. I have missed you. I can't wait to have you back!!!!! There's not much of a fandom for TVD, especially for Stefan/Elena, which I loooooovvveeee (I am seriously ridiculous about these two only they're the canon couple (er, sort of), so no one is writing fic about them and I feel I'm going to have to do it myself, because there are feelings. I have them). (Also, I want Elena/College and Damon/Katherine and Jeremy/ANYONE, and I also sort of want Elena/Alaric and all the stories about Caroline that exist.)

Anyway, bring on 2012. I am ready for it.(Which, since it's already here, is a good thing.)

sad face

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:37:49 GMT

flyingcarpet and I decided to close hpgw_otp. It's been a long time coming, I think. Sometimes we don't update for weeks at a time, and both of us are sort of moving on from fandom for various reasons. But, seriously, I've been sort of WEEPY about it. I think it's rather fitting that we're closing the newsletter when the final movie is coming out on DVD - sort of the end of the HP franchise.

Harry Potter was my first fandom. Harry/Ginny my first fandom love: the first stories I read; the first stories I wrote; the first forums I participated in; the first members of fandom I considered my friends. Specifically, flyingcarpet, who I don't think of a fandom friend, but merely my friend.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW. I'm far too busy to have much to do with fandom right now - though I hope that changes someday. Fandom has been with me now for over ten years. It's seen me through so many difficult times and even more wonderful times. It's made me feel accepted and loved. It's made me angry sometimes in a way only things you're really invested in can. It's made me laugh and cry and jump up and down and throw my hands up in disgust and it's made me SQUEEEE like nothing else in the world.

I'm not saying goodbye to fandom, but with the closing of hpgw_otp, I did want to say thank you. I am the person I am today because of fandom. Because of you. ♥ ♥ ♥

video!

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:59:58 GMT

Fraiser was never a show I sought out, but I always enjoyed it when I caught it during reruns. Once, about 12 years ago, I saw this episode with this one scene with Niles that was comedic gold - seriously, pure genius. Every time I see Fraiser on TV now, I stop to see if it's the episode, and it never is. For some reason, I decided to google it tonight. This is the scene.

I post this mostly for myself, but I also sort of defy you to watch and not guffaw like a fool. BRILLIANT.

food for thought

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:29:44 GMT

Thanks for those who gave me tips/advice for my stint in vegetarianism. I had plans to post every day about it this week, but didn't at all, because that's how I roll.

I didn't eat any meat this week - it was really very easy for me; I didn't miss it at all. Sunday night I made a vegetable pot pie (recipe here). It called for mushrooms, which I omitted and upped the potatoes and carrots instead. Very good and also really easy! For lunch every day this week I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a greek yogurt, and a peach or apple. I could probably eat pb&j every day for the rest of my life because I have the culinary tastes of a five year old. I also had a swiss and asparagus quiche that was delish (why have I not explored the awesomeness that is puff pastry until this week?), and boy made me mac and cheese with broccoli on Friday night, which was his night for dinner (he grilled himself some chicken).

This week I have a vegetarian chili to try as well as as vegetable bolognese. The latter recipe calls for lots of mushrooms, but I'm going to dice an eggplant and try that in place of the mushrooms. We'll see how it goes. I also bought a giant thing of spinach and plan on eating spinach salads with hard boiled eggs, cannellini beans, some mild cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds for my lunches this week. The goal is to still get enough iron and protein.

So far, this is actually much easier than I thought it would be. I've always been the sort to plan meals for the week, and I've always... thought about my food a lot. I sort of live my life waiting for my next meal. This takes a little more planning on my part and will eventually call for more creativity, but I'm enjoying myself so far.

We did buy some split chicken breasts yesterday up at a farm in Loveland - about 15 miles from our house. I'm probably not going to forgo meat entirely, though I want to be more aware of where my food is coming from. The farm is free range, hormone free, and local. I wanted eggs, too, but they were out. We saw chickens and turkey's running happily around. The turkeys were sort of hysterical - they practically rushed us in their excitement over new people. I think they thought we had food for them. The farm was adorable! No one was working and they had a cash box and a ledger and it was all very honor system and small-town-y.

We've got the breasts in the freezer in the basement, as I'd like to go a couple more weeks to see how I do before I go back to meat. I do have to say that I completely admire those of you who have made this a lifestyle choice. I felt really healthy all week. I was worried I wouldn't get enough protein or have enough energy, but the opposite was true! I REALLY admire people who can go totally vegan. I could not do that. Cheese and eggs are certainly going to be staples for me, I think, as I explore this a bit more.

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:57:04 GMT

WHY IS NOBODY ON MY FRIENDS LIST DISCUSSING THE VAMPIRE DIARIES?!?!

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HALP ME!

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:22:35 GMT

I've been toying with the idea of going vegetarian for a little while, now, or at least eating a whole lot less meat. I was a vegetarian for most of high school and part of undergrad, but not the healthy kind - more the french-fries-diet kind. I didn't really cook; I didn't really like vegetables; It was boring and unhealthy.

BUT. I am older and wiser and I'd like to test this out for a couple weeks.

If any of you have recipes/tips/etc. I would be uber grateful. What I'd really love are good recipes for eggplant lasagna (or the like), chili - hearty stuff. Also, any brands of soy products you prefer? Any frozen veg stuff you think is great? Any and all help would be appreciated.

I should caveat that I don't hate mushrooms, but I don't really like them either. It's a texture thing. I can eat them in small doses, like on pizza, but that's it.

I won't be going vegan, so eggs and cheese (!!!!) = good to go.

FACEBOOOOOOK RAGE

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:53:04 GMT

SIGH. On Facebook some of my friends are doing that meme: I am X months, and I'm craving X. I think it's one of those memes that go around to raise awareness for breast cancer. I'm am SO ANNOYED by this.

I had this all typed up on my Facebook and then thought better of it:

At the risk of sounding like an asshole - I am desperately annoyed with "girls only" posts that I'm seeing on Facebook. It's very similar to the color-of-the-bra meme that was going around last year. If you want to raise awareness for breast cancer, talk openly about breast cancer! Don't be cryptic and exclusive about it, especially as breast cancer does not merely affect women (men can develop breast cancer, too).

That would likely enrage some of my Facebook friends, but I feel the need to rant about how annoyed I am with these "inside jokes". I mean, I get the point (ish) that piquing interest would make people want to know what the hell these women are talking about - but making breast cancer all cutesy takes away from the fact that it's cancer and a serious, deadly disease. It's not cute. It's terrifying. I feel the same way about those damn "Save the Ta Tas" bumper stickers that sexualize (is that word? It doesn't look right.) a very scary disease and make it all about how a woman looks.

rage rage rage.

this might be longest i've ever stayed awake

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:44:49 GMT

Right now it is 2:45 PM. I have not slept in THIRTY THREE hours, and I have another seven hours of work to go. ahahahaha. I think I'm starting to hallucinate things, like beds and pillows and George Clooney. I don't want to drink any caffeine, because it will keep me up even LONGER tonight, but I need to do something to keep myself awake for the next 7 1/2 hours (as I reaaaally don't want to fall asleep at the wheel on my way tonight at 10:00).

Any suggestions?