Today is, so far, a good day. I am happy and smiling and hope nothing comes along to kill the mood. I know it will slip away as the day progresses, because that's just the way work goes, but for now I'm going to enjoy it.

It's been a rough month, both personally and for my friends and Fam Damily. I intend to stretch this little bit of happy as far as I can. =D

And since sharing happiness seems to make it grow, I hope you have a happy day as well.

As is traditional, I ate WAY too much yesterday and now, in that perverse way it has after being stuffed, my body is ravenously hungry. I'm telling it to sit on that thought for a while, then I'll feed it. I have left over dinner rolls from yesterday and Mom's rolls are always nom-worthy, but tea first and then a roll (or two) instead of giving in to what my stomach thinks it wants and eating all of my share and Shar's as well.

( Dinner recap )
So today I have a little leftover turkey, the previously mentioned rolls and two dirty pie plates to go with the rest of the dishes I left out. The weather tells me there will be no yard work and Black Friday tells me that I will not be going anywhere near a store, so those dishes will get dealt with, the floors will get vacuumed and there might even be some decorating. I expect some portion of the Friday Night crowd to descend on us tonight, though I will be surprised if it's more than a small fraction what with Dicken's opening today, people being out of town, etc.

And tomorrow it looks like I'll be heading out to Dicken's myself to do some shopping, browsing, ogling, dancing and birthday greeting. Yay long weekends!

In the oven are two pies, one apple and one pumpkin, for my family's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

I have to be honest -- they are UGLY. Lumpy, bumpy and, in the case of the pumpkin, slightly uneven around the edges. I have faith they're going to taste good though, and really, if there's anyone you can take an aesthetically unappealing pie to, it's got to be family right?

Of course, having left work at lunch time and spent the afternoon baking, my brain is now in full Friday mode and I keep thinking I should start getting things together to head to Fremont for the evening. I think Poe would be a little surprised if I showed up on her doorstep unannounced on a Wednesday though... =)

And so begins the longest of long weekends for my year. I've been looking forward to this all month. Work went from slow to very hectic in a day this year - almost no ramp up at all - and I've been running at full tilt most of the month, so a break is feeling really really good.

I have almost no goals for the weekend. Pies today were probably the most ambitious of my actual plans. Tomorrow I get to spend the day with my family (including the Seattle contingent) and then I have three blissfully unscheduled days to play with.

Since Friday is a good day to stay at home, I'm contemplating doing some more yard work and digging out my Christmas decorations. Shar and I did a little shopping and picked up a tree (yes, artificial - he's allergic to the real thing), and I plan to actually decorate this year, for the first time in a long while. It feels good to be able to plan to do that. I remember really enjoying decorating when we lived in Campbell and then at the Murrieta apartment and on 5th Street, but with all the moving around and just not being entirely happy with the last house, I haven't had the drive the last couple of years. It's nice to have the space to have a tree and the motivation to put it up.

And the pies are almost ready - so Happy Thanksgiving to everyone if I don't get online again tomorrow. May you all have a wonderful, relaxed holiday...or, if you can't manage that, may you at least have the opportunity to recover from whatever holiday you do have.

I have successfully returned home from a long weekend in the Sierra's exploring the wonder that is Yosemite National Park. Technically I've been to the park once before, but we were within the boundaries of the park for only a few hours and only got out of the car for a few minutes, so this was my first real trip.

Oh my god is it beautiful there! *swoons*
( Cut to save your page )

It's absolutely astounding what a difference a good night's sleep will make.

I've been sleeping poorly for weeks now - since mid-August to be exact - and it's been taking a toll. Last night, for the first time in what feels like forever, I actually slept the way I normally sleep. No tossing. No turning. No bad dreams or waking up feeling like I've been drifting just on the edge of a deeper, better quality of sleep. Just dead to the world unconsciousness, broken only by my loving hubby coming to bed and forcibly removing the blankets from my iron grasp and myself from the dead center of the mattress. (Really, force is the only option when I'm dead to the world.)

It was heavenly.

Now if this will just continue - I might even be able to deal with things like leaving my cell phone at home (again) and the ungentle return of autumn. (Holy crap it was cold this morning!)

I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive, which is probably the least positive part of my weekend so far. While rearranging things in the garage and removing the cabinets-of-uselessness, Shar and I discovered that the main pipe that drains from the master bath sink and shower (but not toilet thank goodness!) has a very large crack in it, such that when the shower is running it creates quite a puddle on the garage floor. Since we were working with dust, dirt and spiders (ugh!) and both very desperately want a shower, calling the plumber was kind of a must...instead of merely being a really good idea (seeing that Romeo's sink is backed up in the upstairs bath).

Aside from faulty plumbing, it's actually been a really good weekend. ( Recap )
Overall, a productive, relaxing weekend. I didn't get the dishes done and didn't get to the grocery store, but these things can be worked around. And next weekend there will be a three day weekend and a trip to see my folks for the first time in months, which I'm looking forward to. Now I just need my shower back... =)

I'm currently enjoying day 2 of my annual "avoid the office birthday celebrations" vacation time. (Not that I actually avoided anything this year - my co-workers have gotten wise to me and brought a card and breakfast goodies on Friday.) Doing another "stay-cation" this year, but I'm thinking that next year I need to go somewhere. Originally, I was thinking I'd be buying myself a house for my 35th, but since I got to that THIS year, I think using my passport would be an appropriate way to celebrate next year.

So far, the week has entailed a good bit of time on my bike (YAY!), some projects within the house and the decision to completely rework how we set up the front room and library. There will be moving of furniture at some point. There will also be cataloging and sorting of books, music, movies and comics since we finally got software for that and a scanner is on the way. (Yes Snoopy, this means I really need to remember to return your toys and thank you for the loan. =D )

Since I can't work on making jewelry (soon...it will be soon...it will or I will go crazy), I've decided to get my existing pieces organized. The necklace/earring rack I made for myself a few years back has been broken in the course of multiple moves and no longer holds everything anyhow. Right now, I'm waiting for the glue to dry on part of their replacement, and then I will get my room organized. (I will. I will. I will!)

Shar and I finally watched Torchwood: Children of Earth yesterday as well. ( Cut for spoilers in case I'm not the last person to have seen this. )

Other than home projects and television, I haven't been up to much of anything lately - which results in a general lack of posting. Work has been quiet-ish, but we should be heading into the busy season as soon as I get back next week, so for now, I'm just going to enjoy not having to be up early and having time to do what ever I feel like for a week.

I've been delaying my annual BayCon post - Monday I was (predictably) exhausted and would have fallen asleep over my keyboard if I'd tried to spend time on the computer and yesterday I was trying to pretend that I was getting work done. Today I've given up on that work concept for a bit (it really is just that quiet this week) and get on with it before I forget all the high points of the weekend.

This won't be the usual "OMG!! SO AWESOME!! *SQUEEEEEE*" post that I usually do, because while it was a GOOD weekend, it was also very...quiet. I know a lot of folks have used "quiet" to describe the Con this year, and in my case, I think it's because I wasn't disappointed with the weekend, but it was sort of slow by comparison to other years. The overall energy level of the convention just wasn't there.

However, this was the first time that Shar has come out with me, which proved to be quite enjoyable, and I got to introduce him to all the wonderful folks that I really only see at Con for one reason or another. There was also a higher percentage of the "Family" in attendance as well, which was awesome.

( So without further ado, the high points: )

The wedding was lovely - and I know everyone says that, but really, I've been to some that just weren't. This one really was.

The Brazilian Room is a lovely facility on the top of a hill in Tilden Park. No cell service, but plenty of trees and a length of lawn spilling down the hill that makes me wish we hadn't been all dressed up and could have just rolled down it. Finding it was tricky, but it makes a beautiful location for an outdoor ceremony.

Nitehunter officiated and the whole thing went off without any visible hitches. The bride was appropriately beautiful. The groom was appropriately handsome. The attendants all looked appropriately stunning in dressed and tuxes (and wow...I had no idea how well the guys can pull off hats!).

The DJ kept the reception running at such a smooth pace that I didn't realize how long we'd been there until we hit the last dance and filtered out at mid-afternoon. There was an amazingly good lunch (must remember that spinach salad!) followed by some moving toasts (points to Poeso for managing to get those of us who rarely "ruin our makeup" to do just that) followed by the appropriate dances, tossing of flowers and undergarments and cake.

I think the bride MIGHT have some things to say to the groom about rummaging about under her dress "looking" for the garter - but it was hilarious. There was satin and taffeta and half of the Admiral...and a squirt gun? and a flashlight? =D I haven't laughed that hard at a reception in a really long time.

They kept the whole thing very light hearted, a good touch of silly and therefore very very fun to be at. It was a good day to be part of.

And to the happy couple -- Congrats again and if possible, I would really like to get a copy of the "Friday Night Group" photo! I want that for my wall. Pinkies out everyone! =)

Now I really need to get to that ridiculous to-do list I've developed for myself.

Though I might be trying to commit some subconscious and very slow form of suicide by stress. Further determinations on that will be forthcoming.

leiland will be here soon and we're off to see the Admiral and his MishFish get themselves properly wedded. I'm sure there will be more congratulations to the happy couple if I get time to post tomorrow, as well as a basic wedding recap. It should be lovely, since it's going to be in Tilden Park in Berkeley.

So far, the day has started with not one, but _two_ wardrobe malfunctions for me - hopefully this means I attracted the gremlins away from the ladies in the wedding party and they won't have any issues! *crosses fingers* (My zipper broke - the slide, not the tab - on the dress I was going to wear and then my garters wouldn't stay attached to my stockings...so different dress, no stockings and I think I look presentable enough.)

I'm looking forward to seeing a whole bunch of my friends all dolled up and getting to see if I really did make jewelry that will go with the dresses, and not just make the girls squeal. (Which they did rather gratifyingly when they got their shinies last night.)

This marks the beginning of a run of, well, running about - almost literally. Today is the wedding. Monday we sign the loan documents and, assuming nothing happens that shouldn't, or doesn't happen that should, we will close on the house Tuesday. (I'm closer to squealing with excitement, but still won't believe it until I have the keys in my hand.)

Next weekend is Relay for Life - thank you mdyesowitch and hoppie for donations! - and then BayCon. Somewhere between now and then, I have to finish my outfit. I have the paint. I have the components to make the accessories. I have the dress cut out. Now I just need to sew the dress together and make the accessories. Shouldn't be all that time consuming, but I do need to get on it.

I should also start packing. Presumably, we'll be moving at the beginning of June. And I have an extensive to-do list beyond that as well (not to mention finding the time for 15 miles of walking/running each week!) but I'm not going to freak myself out with that right now. Instead, I'm going to post this, find my shoes, finish my tea and go to a wedding. =D

The group got together last night to see Watchmen. Thanks to gwenrose's kind loan, I was able to read the graphic novel this week before seeing the movie, which helped since I knew NOTHING about the story. (Although the two or three people in our group who hadn't read it before the movie didn't seem to have much trouble following the action.)

Without giving any spoilers, it was a remarkably faithful rendition of the main story line of the graphic novel, with the exception that I'm not sure how I feel about how they modified ... well, I guess that would be a spoiler. :P
( Continued rambling... )

On Wednesday night, after work, I drove out to SF to meet up with my boss, two co-workers and their spouses for dinner at Postrio. My boss has been wanted to celebrate getting our proxy statement done and out the door - she's tried to plan a dinner like this for several years but we've never actually set a date, time and location. Usually, she wanders in to my office after we file and says something to the effect of, "We should have a group dinner to celebrate." And I say, "ok..." and she says..."but it has to be in the City" (because there's nothing good enough out here) and I say, "Uh huh..." and it gets dropped, because at least two of the people who would attend live in the Tri-Valley and have no desire to go to the City on a week night.

But this year, it happened, due to some changes in the conversation that kept it from getting dropped and never brought up again...and so there we were - a very nice restaurant in SF run by none other than the famous Wolfgang Puck. The food was very tasty, and there were one or two things that were truly fabulous (the crab cake appetizer and the butternut squash risotto in particular), but over all, I wasn't all that impressed. I expect a little more "wow" with a place like that.


Last night, we had a "family dinner" at Poe's place. Poe cooked a turkey that's been living in Stride's freezer, and everyone else brought the fixings. There was cornbread, cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, rice, salads, stuffing, green bean casserole and several varieties of dessert, including the GLADoS cake (which definitely was delicious and moist).

There was no fancy plating or exotic ingredients or fancy china or carefully paired wines. There were no table linens or fancy napkins. We sat where there was space and stood when there wasn't and put our plates in our laps.

It was the antithesis of the fancy dinner two nights before...and better than it in every way imaginable. Best way to end the week ever. =)

I am officially totally impressed by the main maintenance guy in our office building. He found a Bluetooth headset in the elevator (mine - it fell off where I hooked it on my purse), remembered that I was one of the two people he'd seen get into that elevator just before he found it and has worked on our AC units (including the thermostat in my office) enough to remember where I work and brought it to my office! Talk about service. =)

Now I need to find a better spot for my headset...

New Year's Eve requires more of a post than my brief comment yesterday, but at the time I posted last night, I'd only just started to find pieces of my brain again. I think it fell out sometime during the party and scattered. I've located about half of it at this point, and will be trying to find the remainder shortly here. Apparently it was good enough that I'm still in recovery phase. Thank god I had today off from work - I went to bed at midnight last night but didn't get to sleep until almost 2am for some reason, and then didn't wake up until noon. (*grr* Didn't want to lose so much of today!)

But I'm fed and working on caffination, so I'm going to take a stab at just what made it a good end/beginning to another year.

( Auld Lang Syne )
Seeing as everyone else seems to agree with me, I declare the end of 2008 a success and here's to a better, happier, brighter and significantly less dramatic 2009 for everyone.

And now, to get cleaned up and try to salvage what remains of my Friday before I gather up all the misplaced belongings and remaining left overs to bring to Poe and Killian's tonight.

Congratulations to the newlyweds, rosered32 and keshian. You two are adorable, and Snoopy has the photo to prove it.

And to my family of choice, as always, I can think of no better way to end and begin any year. Thank you all for another wonderful New Year's Eve.

Had a good Christmas day, though I noted to Shar that it didn't really feel like Christmas - or even a holiday - particularly. It was more like a Saturday visit to family with incidental presents. But since family is, and has been for a long time now, more important to me than the holiday itself, I figure, this isn't a bad thing.
( General Holiday Rambling )
I hope everyone out there in LJ land had a lovely holiday and is enjoying their time off as much as I am.

Oh, and there was movement on the house hunting, but I'll put that in its own post.

The annual cinnamon rolls are out of the oven and my house smells, predictably, rather delectable. I've even snagged the odd numbered roll (how convenient that I managed to have an odd number...I wasn't even trying!) and drenched it in butter. They're more tender than years past (probably the humidity) but the flavor doesn't seem as rich as it should be. Maybe they're just better when I don't eat anything else the day I make them.

Gifts are wrapped - not my most creative year in that regard, having stooped to gift cards in two cases - and the laundry is nearing completion. In all, a good Christmas Eve without too much stress. Heck, I even remembered to get yeast and extra flour before the baking event! (Preparation? The hell you say!) So all that's left is to relax for a while before waking Shar from his nap and packing up to head to the in-laws' place for the evening.

I have a book. I have Rock Band 2 (it arrived yesterday) if I want to take chances on waking Shar early. I have shiny metal rings that arrived earlier than expected. Should be a good couple of hours and a good weekend after that. There might even be a meeting with the realtor to set up an offer on "bachelor #3", depending on how her schedule plays out this weekend. (Merry Christmas to us...)

Since I don't expect to be online again until Friday sometime (or at least late tomorrow) -- to my family and friends and all of you out there in LJ land, Happy Holidays. May you have a lovely long weekend (or Winter Break for the school focused folks) and get plenty of rest for New Year's Eve. ;P

And my god is the date changing fast these days. I can't believe we're halfway through December and rolling up on Christmas. It's almost enough to induce a mild bit of panic.
( Two weeks worth of posting crammed into one life update )

Last night, due to missing players, our Exalted game did not happen. Instead, Lairian used a handful of us as test subjects for a cookie experiment.

We learned three important things:

1) It is possible to have too many cookies. Corollary to this: it's amusing to hear an adult saying, "I can't...please don't make me eat any more cookies!" =D

2) Cookies should never, ever cause the test group to make the Unholy Face of Doom(tm). These were not happy cookies. Even Lairian agreed that batch was just not worth eating and made faces on the first bite.

3) It's possible to make a fairly tasty, low-fat cookie.

And butter makes for really good cookie dough. I could have eaten the whole batch raw...good thing I didn't get hold of the bowl until the cookies were in the oven.

Surprisingly, my pants do still fit this morning - but I'm wearing one of my looser pairs of slacks, so that may not be indicative of anything.

Had our Halloween bash a little late due to weddings and Steampunk Con last weekend, but I think it went well. All signs point to a successful party: recycling bin filled to the brim, liquor cabinet on the counter, incriminating photos in people's cameras, miscellaneous stuff left behind, post-party RockBand and breakfast (speaking of -- F*** Beck. F*** him with a rusty, spiked pipe. Three dot vocals my ass!)...

Speaking of stuff left behind:

- Snoopy...I have your cane
- Luthein...did you get your sambuca?
- Ladies...someone left their make-up remover in my bathroom. Let me know who you are and I'll get it back to you
- Twitch and Poe...I'll bring the brownie and cupcake pans to game tomorrow

Hopefully everyone had enough fun to tide us all over to New Years'. =)