T-Minus 4 hours...

Our newest kitty, Sohma Kyo (aka Kyo-kun) watches me blog.

CR II starts tomorrow! I have been fighting the temptation since Friday to start a new book. I finished the Dark Tower 6 just in time, so my first book shall be the final Dark Tower! It's HUGE, so I may as well get it out of the way. To my fellow readers, good luck and good reading!

And Happy Halloween! Not a single trick-or-treater tonight. Wasn't expecting any out here in the boonies, but still... a very quiet Halloween at home. Hope y'all are having a great time with the ghoulies and goblins tonight.

P. S. No one's figured out from where I got Kyo-kun's name. Any guesses?

Everyone loves a parade!

Today was the annual Mummer's Parade in my hometown. It was postponed from yesterday thanks to the tsunami that blew through here. I have many fond memories of marching in the parade in high school, but it's much nicer to be able to sit, relax, and enjoy the whole thing with my family.

There were some very creative floats this year, including a great Sweeney Todd float. And lots of cool costumed characters were walking the route. One guy was dressed up in the most elaborate Death costume I've ever seen (wish I'd taken a picture) - he looked like the Ghost of Christmas Future from the movie Scrooged, but amped up a notch. I got a few photos of his cohorts over on my FB page.

The highlight of the parade for my little cousins is always the candy they throw out to the crowd, and this year, they didn't disappoint. We sit near the end of the parade route, so we tend to get whatever's left over. So when the Frito Lay float hit us, we made out like bandits. They literally dumped boxes of Cheetos and Funyuns over our heads. And the Pepsi Co float handlers handed out cases of soda.

But the best moment of the parade wasn't one of the floats or the free swag. No, for me, the highlight came from my little cousin Julian, shown at the top of the post. He's 6 and he's precocious and devilish - a bad combination, to be sure. We were sitting sandwiched between two other families. As the parade passed us, the people giving out candy would throw candy to the family on our left, then walk past us, then throw candy to the family on our right. I'm sure it was just due to the pacing of the parade - you can't really throw candy to everyone. But that's not how little Julian saw it. After about 3 or 4 groups passed by without giving us any candy, Julian turned to me and said, "They're only giving candy to the white people!"

I lost it. I completely cracked up, and grabbed him and smothered him in a hug. Then I reminded him that he is half-white, but I don't think it really mattered.

Ahhh, Saturdays...

I've never been a huge sports gal, save for playing tennis, but since I've been with Matt, I've turned into a college football fanatic. And there have been some amazing games today! Penn State kicked Michigan's sorry butt, Terrance Cody from Alabama became Tennessee's worst nightmare today, and that last minute TD in the Iowa-Michigan State game was unfuckingbelievable. I really thought Stanzi wasn't gonna win that one... ah well.

The 'rents took us out for my birthday dinner tonight. We went to Ichiban, a local Japanese hibachi/sushi restaurant. They always put on a great show, and the food is fantastic. After dinner, they brought out a cake and sang to me, with a gong to punctuate each line. It was goofy and fun. And my dad was in fine form this evening. He's a very garrulous guy, but I love him despite his (sometimes embarassing) ramblings.

He was super excited about the birthday card he'd picked out for me. It was one of those cards that plays a little message, and it was all about surprises. Well, he'd apparently thought it was the funniest thing on earth, and spent the last week playing it over and over, cracking himself up. My brother said he'd seen Dad laughing so hard that he started crying. Over a card! Finally Mom had to tell him to stop playing it or it would be dead by the time I got it. He made me open it in the restaurant, and then again when we left.

Cut to Matt & I in Wal-Mart tonight. We stopped on our way home to grab some stuff, and as we passed the greeting card section, Matt suddenly made a beeline for a card. It was a Halloween card that had the same characters as my birthday card, and a similarly goofy message. I can't wait to see the look on Dad's face when he opens it on Saturday... if I can wait 'til then to give it to him. What can I say... he's goofy, for sure, but he's my dad, and I wouldn't want him to change for the world.

We had plans to go out tonight with some friends, but they weren't planning on gathering until 10:30. I had to work this morning for the first time in months, so I am super exhausted and the idea of waiting until 10:30 to go out? Isn't too enthralling. Call me an old lady, but right now nothing sounds better than snuggling in my nice, warm bed... and maybe watching some Home Movies before bed.

Happy Wednesday

It's my birthday today. I am 27. I don't really have any strong feelings about getting closer to 30, and I'm not gonna do any big introspective entries about my life tonight... but suffice it to say that I didn't expect to be this old and living in my hometown again.

It's been a quiet birthday. I woke up early, bought myself some breakfast before work, treated myself to lunch as well, then came home to an empty house. Matt's still at school, so I have no idea if we'll even celebrate tonight - if he even has a celebration planned. I guess that's a downside of getting older - it's not a big deal anymore. I did get some nice messages from several friends... and a few emails from some radio stations down in Orlando. (I must've signed up for a contest & ended up on their email lists.)

I've already jumped the gun on the Cannonball Read. I FINALLY got the sixth book in the Dark Tower series, and I was too eager to start reading it to wait two more weeks. So now I have to try to finish it before November 1.

Our apartment has been invaded by ladybugs. As I sit here now, I can see about a dozen on the wall & ceiling, and several more flapping around the ceiling light. Folklore says that finding a ladybug in your house in the winter is a sign of good luck... but I'm still gonna vacuum these suckers up.

I got the New Moon soundtrack the other day. Sure, the books & movies are crap, but the Twilight soundtrack was great, and I had high hopes for this one. I mean, look at the list of artists on this album - Bon Iver, Muse, Thom Yorke, Lykke Li, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Ok Go, etc, etc. And yet - the album is the meh. It's kinda slow and low-energy and sluggish. I suppose, in retrospect, I should've known it would be like that. For the uninitiated, New Moon is the book in which Edward decides he and his family are putting Bella's life at risk (gee, you think?!?), so he totally bails on her. Bella spends the rest of the book pouting and brooding and being a complete waste of life (moreso than usual)... so it only makes sense that this soundtrack would be very, very mellow. Ah well. I also got the latest from Stellastarr*, and it's much more upbeat than their last album.

Workin' on the reading list

I raided my mother's library yesterday. She has an impressive collection of books, thanks to an old bookstore in town that used to have "Buck-a-Book" sales. So now I have a few books to get me started on the CR. I will be reading:

• Waiting by Ha Jin
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
• The Horse and His Boy (book 3 of the Narnia Chronicles)
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (book 4)
• Slander: Liberal Lies About The American Right by Ann Coulter

Yes, I've never finished the Chronicles of Narnia series. I've read the first two books, and I figure now's a good a time as any to finish the series. I'll have to hit up the library for the rest.

As for the Ann Coulter book... I was surprised to see it in Mom's collection. And when I confronted her about it, she was just as surprised. She swears she didn't buy it, and I believe her. I bet one of our conservative relatives gave it to her. I've decided to read it for myself. Might be nice to do a scathing review.

If anyone has any science fiction recommendations, I'm more than willing to listen. I'll be raiding the library for Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, and the last two books of the Dark Tower series. But beyond that, I could use some suggestions.

...well, here goes nothin'

Alright. I gave in and got one of these blog thingymabobs. Not because I have anything terribly interesting or profound to say... wait, where are you going? Come back, I have cookies!*

No, I've finally given in and started a blog so I can participate in the second annual Cannonball Read. For those of you asking, "Wasn't that a terrible movie starring Burt Reynolds?," first of all, NO, that was The Cannonball Run and it was hi-larious**, and secondly, it's a competition to read 52 books in a year - and review them all on here. See linky for details.

So, that's all for now. Look for book reviews, wedding updates, ramblings, random stories about Rilo Kitty, and much, much more to come in the future!

*I have burnt chocolate chip cookies. Still edible.

* *Or so I've heard. I've never actually seen it. But I enjoy the fact that it's called "THE" Cannonball Run, like how people call Ohio State "THE" Ohio State University. Terrell Pryor still sucks, no matter how many articles you add to the school's name.