SLIDER

Shawn's Birthday




On October 28, we celebrated Shawn's 37th with a low-key Enjoy-Autumn day.
When he got home from work (a little early - 6:30AM) - I made his cake and then fixed a big french toast breakfast for the three of us, as french toast is his favorite.
Then it was sleepy time for a while.

Then we got up and had a nice latte and headed to our favorite farm market for some Fall Fun.

It was one of those super-bright, brilliant, crisp and chilly Autumn days with the blowing wind and the smell of leaves in the air and the sun shining.  

A bit fuzzy, but perfect pumpkin doughnuts with cinnamon sugar dusting.  So-so-so good! 

Heading toward the corn maze.  I didn't edit these pictures - that's how brilliant blue and clear the sky really was that day. 
 And it was windy and my hair kept flying in my face. 
 I love seeing the sheep.  They just stare at you all unimpressed while chewing their hay and thinking "I am smarter than you."
I used the photo on the left and turned it into the crappy meme on the right, laughing like a jack-ass the whole time because when I get over-tired and hopped up on sugar, this is the kind of thing I find amusing. 

Running chicken.
(I had one of a hen hanging out in the big tree, but it didn't come out very well.) 
I bought carrots, onions, and potatoes for the stew I'm making tomorrow (actually today, now).
We didn't get hot cider this year as we'd both just finished our lattes from the coffee shop, but we did get a 1/2 gallon of Honeycrisp cider - it's so delicious. 
 
 Heading out, last shot. 

After that we drove around in the downtown neighborhoods and admired all the houses and Halloween decorations, then went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for an alarm clock and I got overly excited seeing all the Christmas stuff.  Because I kind of have no self control about how excited I get for Christmas.  And finally, we went to dinner and he got a candle in his dessert: 
It was french toast (I told you it's his favorite) bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and caramel.

Our waiter was really awesome and nobody sang (awesome!).  We hit Target to get some necessities (because I consider a new pair of tweezers when the old ones are dull a definite necessity, okay?) and then headed home.  And of course, we were too stuffed to even think about having any of the pumpkin-spice cake I'd made him that morning, so we had it for breakfast the next day.  Score ten points for cake for breakfast.
Oh, did I not mention that between the doughnuts and the cake and the cider and the birthday dinner out that my diet has not even been close to healthy this past weekend?  Yeah.  Enjoyed every minute of it. 






Movies From Back in the Day: Adult Horror Films Viewed as a Kid

Of course I am going to be doing a horror movie post for October!
There have been plenty of movies that have scared me over the years, but this collection is "adult audience" (not camp or satire or kid's horror) genuine horror movies that I saw before hitting puberty, so they had a particularly strong impact on me.

1.) JAWS



















So, the first time I saw this movie was shortly after I turned 5 - yes, FIVE.  The scene that upset me the most was this one:



I woke up drenched in sweat and screaming my lungs out having nightmares of this scene.  I ended up sleeping on the couch for a week before I finally stopped dreaming about being eaten by a giant shark.
Awesome.

2.) Flatliners



















My mom loved this movie and this was a favorite to watch on rainy days while sat in her favorite chair knitting something.



3.) Hellraiser
















To this day, the cenobites are some of the scariest creatures ever.  If you're wondering "what the hell was that girl doing watching such a movie when she was 9 years old?" - well, now so am I, actually.  But hey.







Chucky doesn't need batteries! Was there anything creepier than this in 1988?  Not for me there wasn't.  Especially with my brother running around with his damn "My Buddy" doll.  Oy. 
The trauma of childhood.

What 'grown-up' movies scared the crap out of you?




A to Z Book Survey





So this bad boy has been floating around the internet and of course I must do it, because - books.

So far, two bloggers I follow (Meg and Nova,) have done it and I can't wait any longer.

Author you've read the most books from:
In terms of just numbers, my whole life, probably R.L. Stine, because I read Goosebumps and Fear Street like it was my job back in the day.  Otherwise probably John Irving?

Best sequel ever:
Probably Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - which isn't exactly the best sequel ever, but it is a sequel that made me laugh out loud and I didn't want to beat the author over the head with a copy of the book for having written it.  (I haven't read George R.R. Martin yet, so no bitching, either.  It's on The List.)

Currently reading:
This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong.  (Which incidentally, is a sequel, so...)

Drink of choice while reading:
Whatever I'm thirsty for.

E-reader or physical book?
All around, I prefer physical books.  I like to break the spines and make notes and such.

Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school:
Dude, seriously?  Neville Longbottom.  Because let's talk about how cool I was in high school.  Though of course I would've had a crush on frickin' Fred & George Weasley.

Glad you gave this book a chance:
Um....all of them?

Hidden Gem Book:
Velma Still Cooks in Leeway by Vinita Hampton Wright - A surprising amount of depth is shown in the daily life of a midwestern woman.

Important moment in your reading life:
One would be when I read Catch-22 for the first time in junior high.  I was blown away.

Just finished:
The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster

Kinds of books you won't read:
Two words: vampire. romance.  Ugh.

Longest book you've read:
I don't know; it's hard to say with fonts and paperback vs. hardback and crap.  Probably either Goblet of Fire or The StandLast Night in Twisted River by John Irving FELT the longest.

Major book hangover because of:
Death Be Not Proud (memoir) by John Gunther.  I cried hard, heaving sobs while reading this book and it left me emotionally drained by the end.  Worth it.

Number of bookcases you own:
One tall one.  I am an avid library user and also I try only to keep the books I really-really want.

One book you have read multiple times:
Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding.  I despised it the first time I tried to read it.  The second time around, I laughed my ass off and fell in love.  Now I read it an average of once a year, usually in winter, because for some reason I associate Bridget Jones with winter time and I always need a laugh.

Preferred place to read:
Wherever.  On the couch.  Waiting for a friend at a coffee place. 

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:
Oh, bloody hell.  Let's see....dude, it's hard.  I don't really memorize books, that's why I underline things.  One line I never forgot is actually only part of a sentence: "...soothe my shattered self."  From Life of Pi.

Reading Regret:
Over the Holidays was a pretty awful excuse for a book and I could've lived without that experience.

Series you started and need to finish (all books in series are out):
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson; I've read the first but not the second two yet.

Three of your all-time favorite books:
This is hard because I tend to qualify things by category, e.g., chick-lit, horror, memoir, etc.  In general though....(thinking, staring at bookshelf....) nope, can't be done.  Sorry.

Unapologetic fan girl for:
Harry Potter.  Yes, really.

Very excited for this release more than all the others:
I don't know.  I'm not really waiting for anything at the moment.

Worst bookish habit:
Reading too many books at once, or starting and stopping one because I got distracted by another. 

X marks the spot - start at the top left of your bookshelf and find the 27th book:
(Side note: why not the 24th book, which would make more sense for X marking the spot?)
The 27th book: The Zombie Survival Guide. 
And the 24th book: John Dies at the End by David Wong

Your latest book purchase:
This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong
and
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up way late):
World War Z, definitely.  I read it when it first came out in like, two days and I had dry, bloodshot eyes from staring at the pages and I ended up with crazy nightmares whenever I'd sleep.  




7

October 7, 2006 

So this is one of my favorite pics from our wedding day.  Our photographer thought it would be nice to get a few shots by this tree, but she had to check on something, so we were there waiting, laughing, hugging, and generally being happy with post-ceremony joy. After several minutes of this, we were all "Dude, is she coming back or what?"  Then we turned to look for her and saw she was already shooting away and had been for some time.  So this is one of my favorites because it was actually taken when we thought no one was watching. 

~Happy Anniversary, Shawn.~

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